Question:
Does anyone know hoe to get rid of frogs from your garden.
I rang the councils pest department but they said they don't deal with frogs as their good for your garden.
Thats fine about them being good for your garden but i'm over run with them, there is atleast 30 of them, we have no pond and are near no water so i don't know why there here. My neighbours don't have a pond either.
The situation has got that bad that the kids wont go out in the garden.
Any ideas will be helpful.
Answers:
Thats a shame, can you show the kids the frogs and explain why they are good to have, I wish I had more in my garden. Why are they scared of them, explain they dont bite etc. Frogs only need a pond to lay their eggs, tell the kids the alternative is to put nasy poisen down which will kill the birds etc. I know that sometimes I have a bit of a scare if I am gardening and disturb one, but then I get over it and move it to a damp dark place and carry on.
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The other problem is mowing the lawn as thats where their living i'm getting worried about running them over.
The kids are too young to understand properly as ive tried to tell them they wont hurt but its no good.
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Maybe gather them up in a bucket and take them to your local park, I know its hard but short of putting poison down I cant think of an alternative, what about raking the grass first. better to mow the odd one down than kill the lot. Maybe keep the grass short and then they wont be in it. Bit of effort but got to be worth it really. Sorry wish I could think of something better maybe others will have good idea. I am jealous you have so many, would save me out at night slug and snail hunting
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Forgs are great and eat lots of garden pests including sluggs and snails!
some useful reading:
Catch them carefully with a fishing net and take to a local pond. Nb you are bound to get more!!
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I think frogs & toads go back to the same place year after year after spawning & the next generation seem to go to the same place too - they seem to go instinctively where thier parents did.
There were frogs & toads near where my parents lived that spawned in a quarry. They used to migrate to the gardens & fields near my parents. when all the tads had grown legs and could hop/walk we used to get hundreds of them crossing the road at the top of our street and coming into our gardens. Loads got run over & picked off by magpies & cats on the way.
If you are in a frog/toad migratory path it will be impossible to get rid of them forever - you will either have to poisen them every year, get a cat, or just teach your kids all about them.
My dad used to teach us all about frogs. We used to have a tank of frog spawn every year & watch them grow and name them, then set them free in the garden when they were old enough. I have fond memories of 'fishing' for spawn with my dad. They were the only pets we had as children
We caught adult newts one year too and fed them on fish food. We called them Troy & Aquamarina (from Stingray) and they laid thier eggs in our tank.
My best advice is to get some frog spawn next spring & keep it in a tank in your house. (we didn't have a fish tank just a clear plastic draw from the bottom of an old fridge - you may be able to get something from a tip/freecycle) stick a bit of clean gravel in the bottom and a bit of pond weed in it (from the same place you get the spawn) this way you should pick up some water snails too - they'll clean the tank. When they grow legs stick a brick in the water so they have a surface to sit on & breathe air.
Teach the kids all about frog spawn (loads of info off internet) let them watch them hatch & grow legs then set them free in the garden, then when they play out and they see a frog it won't be scary it'll be one of thier pets.
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I think this is desperately sad.
All amphibians - frogs, toads and newts - are under threat as more and more of their habitats disappear. We've always had frogs in this garden - as others have said they come back and back to the places they always lived. They only need a pond for breeding, and for most of the year they live under bushes and among plants. They eat insects, they don't do anybody any harm. We had a wildlife pond made for us a couple of years ago and the activity has been fascinating, better than a soap-opera! The sparrows and starlings splashing and quarrelling, the frogs on a rainy morning in February acting as if they were all on Viagra, the tiny frogs no bigger than your thumb-nail....if everyone did a little bit to help wildlife we would all benefit from it. Your attitude to 'frogs - help - phone the council - they're pests - get rid' is helping to ensure that your children's children will only be able to learn about frogs in old books and songs like 'Froggy went a-courting' and they'll say to their parents 'Mummy, Daddy, what is a frog? Did you ever see a frog when you were my age?'
Sad, sad.
The same applies to hedgehogs. Future children will read 'Mrs Tiggywinkle' and wonder what a hedgehog was. I haven't seen a hedgehog at all in my garden this year, and we have ideal conditions for them - places to shelter and hide, food and water, no slug pellets etc. I used to see them, but I don't any longer.
Margaret
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i have a small pond and had lots of small frogs but they have all gone into the field now i think, its their second year they start breeding and come back to the pond where they hatched, margaret i never had hedgehogs either till the cat wanted to stay out all night and i would put a saucer of cat food out for him, kitekat etc and often found a hedgehog tucking in, they really like cat food and that is what you are supposed to put out not milk and bread
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Margaretclare: I don't want the frogs killed, thats why i phoned the council hoping that they would move them not kill them.
The reason i want them moving is so i don't kill them when the grass is mowed and strimmed etc.
Also so that the kids can have things such as pick nicks in the garden as we have done a couple of times this year but unfortunately the frogs came over jumping on th food frightening the little ones, who don't understand no matter how much i have tried.
The older one is also out alot in the garden with his mates and i get concerned of them standing on them when playing football.
I wouldn't be bothered if there was one or two but the amount we have is too many.
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How about phoning or emailing Jean Christophe Nouvelli haha!
(only kidding)
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Hello mspig
I really feel for your dilemma. One night I was curled up in the chair reading a book and something caught my eye - frightened the living daylights out of me, thought it was the biggest spider ever, turned out to be a frog!
Must have been one of the cats, so I don't recommend getting one otherwise you'll be over run inside as well as out!!
The only thing I can think of is catching them and taking them elsewhere, if the kids watch from a window and you lark about it might make it less scary if you get invaded again. Offer them to friends and neighbours? Sounds silly but previous posts are right about them being great at reducing slugs and stuff, you never know, you could end up with a cottage industry!
Hello
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bloomin eck. No one seems to know how to get rid of them do they?! I feel for the OP..Everyone wants to save the frogs!! LOL I wouldnt want a picnic with a load of frogs hopping along even though I have nothing against them. I think it's the shock factor of them popping out and setting of my fight or flight mechanism!
Just wanted to add my support and hope you get someone who has a clue how to re-home them for you. I have just had mice and no one objected to me poisoning the little blighters...seems frogs have lots of fans.
Incidentally - I ran one over a frog with my lawn mower once by accident and it wasnt pretty! I felt sick all day.
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I know for newts you can put a strip of material about 12" high from the ground arround the bottom of fences to provide a barrier to them so they can get in your garden. newts are a protected species and must be taken care of apparently. I expect this would work for frogs maybe not this year but next year you could put the barrier up and stop them getting in.
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i really feel for OP. i am terrified of frogs but as a vegetarian i wouldn't want them killed either. as for them keeping the slugs and snails away my daughters love the snails. they even have a giant african one