A strainer that is used in association with a motor-driven pump that sucks water out of outdoor pits, reservoirs, streams, ponds, and the like, usually for irrigation or watering purposes. The strainer has a cylindrical screen disposed on a spool-like body for rotation substantially about its own axis. Nozzles that are disposed interiorly of the screen spray water outwardly through the screen to both rotate the screen and to dislodge any debris that may have accumulated on it due to the pump suction force. The screen is a plastic that has a specific gravity of approximately one and it is guided for rotation by the margins of circular discs that form the axial ends of the spool-like body.