How To Frog-scape

Frogs are something that give many the ick, but I love them!

They come in such a massive array of shapes, sizes and colours, not to mention sounds!

Sand Frog

Motorbike Frog

I have so many fond memories of laying in bed at night and listening to the motorbike frogs rev their tiny voice boxes, calling out to each other from various ponds, puddles and pools.

Frogs play a vital role in our ecosystems, and decent frog numbers actually indicate a healthy environment.

They eat huge amounts of bugs we generally don't appreciate, such as; cockroaches, mosquito larvae, spiders and other creepy crawlies.  They are also a massive food source (unfortunately)for other animals.

Frogs have an interesting life cycle, well, I find it interesting.

Starting out as a squishy, gelatinous egg, or cluster of, they are laid in a nice moist environment, likely pond in your backyard, the little embryos will develop and hatch tadpoles! These tadpoles will have gills, a tail and no limbs.munching and crunching, they will get bigger and bigger, devefirst back legs. Then, lungs and front legs begin to grow. Metamorphosis takes place! Within about 24 hours lungs develop, gills disappear, organs reposition, and their skin changes. 

Tadaaaa! You now have a tiny frog!

Western Banjo Frog

Roseate Froglet

So, how do we attract frogs to our gardens and how do we make a frog-scape or frog hotel?

It is quick, easy and fun to do with kids!

1. Gather materials:

. Pieces of pvc cut to different lengths and edges sanded (we don't want to cut the froggos).

. A decent sized pot, something that can hold moisture or water is ideal.

. Gravel or pebbles.

. Pvc elbows (optional)

. Water plants; preferably native to your area.

Construction is simple, arrange your pipes as you fancy, try keep them clustered together though, and tour pebbles to about ½ to ¾ the way full, ensure you are still happy with how it looks, add your plants and more pebbles/rocks around the pipes and plant roots to hold it all in place.

Now fill with water.

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You can also make yourself a little pond. You can head to your local hardware store or nursery and buy a premade plastic or fibre glass one. Alternatively you can do some manual labour and dig your own.

Once you have your pond, and it is water tight, now we can make it frog friendly. We can add some nice rocks, a variety of plants, wood and gravel. Please ensure what ever you choose is clean and has not been in contact with chemicals.

If using things you've 'found', ensure you clean them correctly as you never know what's been on or in them, and this couls potentially leach into our new environment,  harming our new friends.

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Now something I see often is the 'rehoming' of tadpoles. Be careful! There can be and usually is laws/regulations regarding frog and tadpole relocation and there can be fines for us and repercussions for the frogs, such as, diseases being spread, species being transported outside their natural areas/range which can lead to the animal not being able to cope with the new environmental conditions.

Where I am, it is roughly a 5km area from where the parents are from( taddies are laid.)

A lot of people just want to see tadpoles and frogs instantly and go collect them from rivers, dams etc. And, while not ideal or recommended, can be fine (check local regulations) , just be mindful when collecting.

Remember to be gentle when catching them, always use a net.

Ensure your storing the correctly for transport, in a clean container or ziplock, anyway you would transport a fish. Also try not to collect too many, 10 to 15 is generally OK, but taking masses could affect local populations and have effects later on for the area. Not to mention large amounts of tadpoles can fool us water very quickly! You'll have to ensure you are stating on top of things to ensure everyone is healthy.

Moaning Frog

Sunset Frog

Dont forget, just because frogs like moisture doesn't mean you can't make the area surrounding your pond or hotel pretty. There are many plants that will enhance your tiny paradise:

. Sedges

. Mints

. Rushes

. Taro

. Rotalo

. Grasses; lomandra, lirope etc

. Elephant ears

The options are truly endless. Head down to your local Bunnings or nursery for inspiration.

Good luck, and let's see some of those hotels!

For more information on native Western Australian frogs see Frogs.org

All frog images sourced via this site.