Frogs, Friend or Foe?

[DeepWater]

How can anyone not love these little cuties!

 

[James_Pond]

Surely, if you don't want frogs or toads you don't put a pond in your garden. I don't really understand the complaint.

I haven't put fish in my pond because I don't want them to eat the eggs or tadpoles that appear. So, by that reckoning, the worst that'll happen is that your fish get a free meal.

 

[sissy]

My koi kill frogs so I catch them and take them to local farm ponds .The farmers are happy and I am happy and frog should be happy he is not food for aggie and bert and I sure am happy as no scooping up the leftover frog parts every morning .Not pleasant thing to do when you are having your morning coffee

 

[Faebinder]

Epic resurrection of a dead thread.

 

[Timothy]

Epic resurrection of a dead thread.

But for those of us that didn't see it the first time, it's new.

As for the toads and frogs, the toads are temporary. To us it's a sure sign of spring. I agree they can be pretty shrill at times, but it won't last. It's always amazing to me to have hundreds of perfectly formed baby toads each one small enough to sit on a finger nail, emerging from the pond one day and the next day they've all disappeared into the surrounding area.
We've found the frogs are pretty much all season. It's quite amusing to watch a frog fight and have them wrestling over a certain piece of "turf".
We've never had any issues with toxins or poisoning. I have watched a goldfish suck up a tad and spit it right out again, but neither was the worst for wear after the encounter.

 

[peter hillman]

I like to SEE them, but really don't like mating season with constant calling all night.

 

[adavisus]

I can't hear upwards of a thousand bullfrog, green, leopard, chorus, green, gray, barking, pine barrens, american, southern, eastern narrow mouth toads are having a song song, while nodding off to npr in the ear buds

I quite like the orchestral effect as the roaring noise sweeps around like a mexican wave in a stadium

 

[peter hillman]

I guess if it's something you're used to. But once we had one right outside the bedroom for weeks!

 

[adavisus]

The raucous orchestra can be silent for weeks, months, then one stormy night the whole band breaks out. It's, magnificent

Just like a stadium roaring. Wonderful.

The tree frogs climb into the rafters, stick to the windows, going at it....

The Southern toads make the most delightful fluting sound, there's some unidentified thing out there making the most peculiar 'tonk' sound. Or is that, the American toad

The barking tree frog could tone it down, a bit... That might worry the narrow mouth toad that bleats, like a sheep

 

[carolinaguy]

My wife likes the frogs almost more than the koi. We have never seen an article in the 15 years we have had a pond that says frogs are deadly to fish. Maybe I have just forgotten the articles. You know how my memory is. ....now what were we talking about?

Here's a neat story though. In our last pond I've seen this happen twice. A big frog, maybe 8 ounces, was sitting on the edge of our pond next to a water hibiscus with the big red flowers. Anyway a flower had bloomed about 18 inches above where the frog sat. A hummingbird came in to check out the flower, and when it got about two feet from the frog the frog turned quickly toward it like the turret on a tank. The hummingbird stopped and hovered above the frog at about two feet and moved back and forth. Every time the bird moved the frog turned quickly toward it like a gun turret. Back and forth. The bird edged closer and when it got about 12 to 16 inches away, the frog leaped at it mouth open trying to eat it! You gotta love a pond full of life.

 

[adavisus]

Frogs, deadly to fish?

How are you going to get them to fess up?

 

[carolinaguy]

There has been comment that frogs can carry parasites like ick from pond to pond. I don't know how you stop that. That picture reminds me...I gotta go on a diet.

 

[DeepWater]

I would think ducks or herons could do the same thing? (transport water droplets from one pond to another and anything within)

 

[MitchM]

There has been comment that frogs can carry parasites like ick from pond to pond. I don't know how you stop that. That picture reminds me...I gotta go on a diet.

I consider parasites to be omnipresent.
The best defense is to ensure that your fish are healthy and stress free.

 

[adavisus]

Yup, the probability of pests arriving hitch hiking on frogs, turtles, birds is always a possible

The option to salvage your favourite stuff to a paddling pool, and nuke a badly affected pond is useful