Summer is in full swing and temperatures can be sweltering. If you’re dreaming of a dip in a pool, it’s worth remembering that so, too, are wildlife.

Every year, Friends of Animals hears of far too many pool-related tragedies where wildlife are unable to escape and drown.

Recently our allies at Wildlife in Crisis, the largest wildlife rehabber in the state of Connecticut, received a call about a red-shouldered hawk drowning in someone’s pool. They advised the caller on how to safely rescue the hawk with a pool net and safely transport it to WIC. There, to everyone’s surprise, they found three frogs clinging to the hawk’s back—they, too, were lucky to escape!

Unfortunately, though, most of these incidents don’t end as happily as it did for the hawk and those three frogs; Wildlife in Crisis says they receive at least one call a day throughout the spring and summer about animals drowning in pools.

It’s hot, after all, and wildlife are naturally attracted to the cool water, especially in areas where natural water sources are scarce.

Mice, chipmunks, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, snakes, fawns, coyotes, frogs, and even molting birds unable to fly all can, and do, get stuck in pools. Their steep edges and lack of exit points make it impossible to escape for wildlife.

There are laws requiring fencing around the perimeter of pools to protect children from drowning, but there are no such regulations for protecting wildlife, so the responsibility falls upon us instead.

Wildlife drowning incidents in pools are easily avoidable. Wildlife in Crisis recommends hanging rubber mats over the pool’s edge and securing them with rocks as weights on the outside; this provides wildlife with a makeshift, climbable ramp so they can make their way home.

Frog Logs are another great option, designed specifically to help frogs and other wildlife exit your pool. They can be ordered online, and placing a few of them around the pool’s perimeter should do the trick.

Similarly, if you don’t have a pool, yet leave out dishes of water for wildlife, do please remember to add stones to serve as a ramp, so that wildlife can’t get stuck in there, either.

Your pool will undoubtedly be the star of this summer, and with just a few small additions, it doesn’t have to come at the expense of the wildlife it shares a yard with.