Cooloola City Farm – Frogs

Unfortunately, Cooloola City Farm is closed for an indefinite period during the Coronavirus pandemic.

We will however, continue our series on attracting animals to your garden. This month, our topic is frogs.

Providing native plants of various sizes and conformation, mulch, rocks and water will make your environment attractive for frogs. Plants attract insects and provide a place to rest and shelter from wind, sun and predators. Frogs are natural controllers of insect pests. They also eat mosquito larvae.

A pond is the best way to attract frogs to your garden. Place the pond out of direct sunlight. Have grasses, sedges, reeds, ferns and ground covers around the pond and aquatic plants in the pond, as these provide protection and tadpoles will eat the decaying matter from the fallen leaves.

Ensure there are ways for the emerging frogs to get in and out of the water. It is important to keep the water free from any chemicals. Frogs can coexist with some native species of fish,  but many fish will eat spawn and tadpoles.

It is best not to handle frogs as their skin is very sensitive and vital to their ability to breathe and absorb moisture. Avoid putting the pond near bedrooms – your own or those of your neighbour –  as the noise in wet times can be overwhelming!

A drawback to ponds is the cane toad, which is a major threat to frogs and native wildlife. Ensure your pond does not become a home for cane toads by removing any toad eggs. These are black and are in long strands while those of frogs are a clump of jelly or foamy mass.