Frogs and Toads make wonderful garden guests! Fabulous Hunters, they eat slugs, and snails and many other insects that seek to munch on your plants! Here are 5 ways to attract Frogs and Toads into your Garden…

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A Healthy Garden Ecosystem

Frogs and Toads are natural born predators, like them, or loathe them, they are an essential part of a gardens ecosystem….

A garden, whether it be large or small should aim to support the needs of local wildlife. If that means providing a pond for frogs, a wood pile for insects, or building a bee hotel, we can help by providing a favourable environment for the tiny beasts that live amongst us!

A garden is not just a place to grow flowers! It is essentially, a home! A home to Plants, animals, insects and other organisms. All of which, live, work and sustain each other to form their own little world.

Why Are Frogs Good For your Garden?

Frogs and Toads are Carnivorous and have large appetites to boot! In short, slugs and snails had better learn to sleep with one eye open once these hoppity predators move in!

And not Just slugs! In the undergrowth of the garden, all manner of bugs, such as earwigs, Aphids, Beetles, Grasshoppers, Grubs, Worms and Spiders are fair game to these hungry heroes!

Grasshoppers love to snack on leaves, flowers, stems and seeds

Frogs and Toads take care of the garden pests we can’t always see! A single frog in just one night, can eat over 100 insects! Attracting and keeping frogs and toads in your garden, will help manage pest populations that seek to decimate your vegetable garden and eat your flower beds. Encourage them to come, you’ll be glad you did!

5 ways to attract Frogs and toads into your garden

Before I delve into Frog and Toad hospitality! The basic needs of a frog is this … food, water and shelter. If you can provide those elements, then you’re on your way, to one day becoming a proud Frog neighbour. Here’s a little more detail…

1. Create a pond

It goes without saying, but frogs love a dip! The best way to encourage frogs to visit your garden is by building a pond. Big or small, it doesnt matter, just make sure it is at least 60cm deep, in a part shaded area and has shallow edges for the tadpoles.

Ponds are a vital habitat for frogs, not just a place they can have a good swim! A pond is where they reproduce and hydrate * Fun fact: Frogs dont actually drink through their mouths-but absorb water through their skin!

Here’s some tips for creating the perfect frog pond !

Build your pond in autumn or late winter to allow it time to establish before Spring.
Place your Pond in a part shade, part sun spot to prevent the build up of Algae.
Make sure the pond is at least 60cm deep
Ensure there are ledge areas below water level for tadpoles
Ensure there is a sloped platform for frogs to get in and out of the pond, this can be done by using rocks and stones
Place plants and rocks around the pond to create habitats for insects and other wildlife.
Avoid introducing fish to your frog pond, they will eat the frog spawn and tadpoles!
Add a variety of pond plants, including underwater plants. Plants will not only enhance the beauty of your pond, but also provide shelter both above and below the water for wildlife.
Let frogs come to your pond naturally. As tempting as it may be, its unwise to place frog spawn from another pond into your pond. It may spread disease or introduce an invasive species.

Buy a small Garden Pond

2. Provide shelter

Did you know? That Frogs actually spend more time out of the pond than they do in it? In truth, frogs only use ponds to hydrate, cool and mate! The rest of the time, they prefer dry land!

Frogs love shady, damp spots where they can hide during the day. Give them a log pile or messy pile of leaves, or even a half burried terracotta pot to get snug in.

Buy a ready made frog house!

3. Keep predators away From The Pond

Dogs, Cats and other adorable mini beasts are probably best playing in other parts of the garden! Whether deliberately or by accident, your furry friends may cause more harm than good to the amphibian community ;O)

4. Avoid chemicals

Frogs absorb moisture and breathe through their skin. This makes them very sensitive to garden Chemicals. So, for a frog friendly garden, please steer clear of pesticides and other toxic chemicals

5. Let the Grass grow!

Us humans love to walk barefoot in the grass don’t we? Well, so do frogs! If you can tolerate it, allow areas of your lawn to grow a little more wildly! Frogs love long grass to shelter in! Long grass will also support lots of other wildlife, adding more variety to the garden ecosystem.

My Spirit Animal is a frog!

I’m sure of it! I seem to attract them!

I could find a pond blindfolded as a kid! As a little girl, I spent countless hours searching in the local woodland for frogs, just me, my bucket, and a pocket full of penny sweets! I would be gone until the Street lights came back on!

In my little Orange Bucket, I would scoop up a frog, along with some pond water, look at it, and hold it for a while, then pop it back in the pond. I would then go in search for more frogs! Today, I leave my bucket at home, I no longer need to search for them. My Allotment is hopping with them!

And to prove my affection for them, I even Have A frog Door Knocker on my potting shed door…