The garden pond is only complete with a romantic frog concert in spring. In order to attract the picky amphibians, important criteria must be taken into account, because the protected animals must come onto the property of their own free will. This guide explains how to successfully establish frogs in your garden.
How do you attract frogs to the garden?
In order to successfully settle frogs in the garden, the pond should be at least 60 cm deep, contain no fish, and have shallow bank areas and large-leaved plants. Avoid fountains and pesticides and create a natural garden with hiding places and cat-safe areas.
Fish pond deters frogs - tips for the ideal frog pond
All efforts to create a frog-friendly garden will be in vain if there are fish in the pond. Goldfish or koi like to eat frog spawn and tadpoles, so you won't be able to look for adult pond frogs. This requirement applies to normal-sized garden ponds. Only when the body of water has the dimensions of a pond can fish and frogs live side by side in harmony. In addition, a frog pond should have these components:
- Pond depth of at least 60 cm
- Riverside area with shallow vegetation as access and exit for shore excursions
- Planting with large-leaved aquatic plants, such as water lilies
- No fountains or water features that cause choppy water
- Consistent avoidance of all types of pesticides or mineral fertilizers
If there is a snake at the pond, like the grass snake, this is no cause for alarm. Although water snakes prey on frogs, they do not cause any damage to a he althy population that could endanger the population.
This is part of the frog-friendly garden - safety is key
A frog-friendly garden should not be accessible to cats. Even a single house cat or outdoor cat is enough to destroy an entire population of young amphibians as they hop around in the garden. Tight-meshed nets and daily inspections ensure that cellar stairs and ventilation shafts do not become a deadly trap for frogs.
So that the lawn mower does not chop up the little hoppers, please search the green area thoroughly before each mowing. You can also set the maximum cutting height. If you create a flower meadow to replace the lawn, your frogs will be completely happy. In general, the gentle animals want a garden close to nature that also offers hiding places outside of the water, such as piles of leaves, dry stone walls for sunbathing or a rotten tree trunk.
Tip
Snails are at the top of frogs' diets. Fighting slugs with poisonous slug pellets is therefore taboo in frog-friendly gardens. If a poisoned snail is eaten by a frog, this is its inevitable death sentence.