What could be nicer than listening to the frogs' quack concert on a mild summer evening. Although the amphibians can get quite noisy during mating season, they are important helpers in a garden. Frogs are hunters and only go for live, moving prey. In a flash, they grab the prey with their tongues and devour it in one piece.
Recognize frogs
The frog never leaves wet areas, because drought can be dangerous to it. If the living environment and the food source are available, the croaking guests will not be long in coming, even with a newly created pond. Features of a frog:
- slender elongated body
- long slender legs
- Webbed feet
- smooth to shiny skin
- hopping locomotion
- Habitats in the area of water
Note: The frog is sometimes mistaken for a toad. Although they both have the same food spectrum, toads only go into the water to spawn and spend the rest of the time on land.
Frog species and food preferences
Many are familiar with the tree frog and the common frog, but many other species find a home in the garden pond. Coexistence is possible without any problems, because although their main source of food is insects, most species have certain preferences.
Note: The coexistence between amphibians and fish usually runs without problems when it comes to native fish species.
Exotic fish like koi can, however, also come from different amphibians or whose offspring are dangerous.Tree frog(Hyla arborea):
- Approaching insects (mosquitoes, dragonflies)
- smaller insects (crickets, beetles)
- Spiders (all native species)
The food spectrum of the tree frog is very large. They are not very picky and also eat different articulated animals if they do not catch insects in flight.
Common frog(Rana temporaria):
- Insects (ground beetles, flies, mosquitoes, fruit flies)
- Spiders (all native species)
- Nudibranchs (generally all domestic snails, preferably aquatic species such as water snails)
- Worms (predominantly annelids)
The common frog has a greater range of motion around wetlands. Its diet, which not only focuses on insects, but also includes smaller nudibranchs, is accordingly. As a result, the common frog in the garden is an important inhabitant in the fight against snails.
Note: In any case, slug pellets should be avoided with common frogs in the garden. If the amphibians eat a poisoned snail, it will inevitably mean death for them too.
Smaller
Pond frog(Rana lessonae):- Approaching insects (flies, dragonflies, mosquitoes)
- Insects (grasshoppers, crickets)
- smaller vertebrates (small lizards, other frog species)
The little pond frog has such a strong jaw that it can easily incorporate smaller vertebrates into its food.
Sea frog(Rana ridibunda):
- Insects (water beetles, ground beetles, dragonfly larvae)
- small invertebrates (annelids)
- smaller fish (mainly juvenile fish of exotic fish species, such as goldfish or koi fish)
- smaller mice (careless young animals of all mouse species)
The sea frog moves almost exclusively in the water or in the immediate vicinity of the shore. As a result, when searching for food, it focuses primarily on living things in the area of the water. Problems can definitely arise here if fish are kept in the pond.
Water frog(Rana esculenta):
- Approaching insects (dragonflies, mosquitoes)
- Insects (ground beetles, grasshoppers)
- smaller vertebrates (lizards, small fish)
Compared to other frogs, the water frog does not grab its prey with an outstretched tongue, but rather while jumping. However, he only hunts in or at the water. If smaller vertebrates fall into the water, they too often fall victim to the water frog.
Balance in the garden pond
Small garden ponds in particular can become a breeding ground for gels in summer. Frogs are welcome helpers here. Some species not only eat the mosquitoes, they also eat the mosquito larvae. This also applies to other insects that live in or near the water. Unfortunately, some beautiful dragonflies also fall victim to the frogs.
For the frog, however, it is important that its food source can be found in the area of the pond. Otherwise, there will be no settling in new systems
Amphibians or if the infrastructure no longer fits, the frog will migrate at some point. Near-natural garden ponds are preferred by the frogs, whereby near-natural does not mean overgrown. The frog needs places of refuge where it can hunt undisturbed. Since he also spends a lot of time on the water surface or spends on land, it is important to make the pond bank attractive for the amphibians.Selection of plants for the pond bank:
- Bachbunge (Veronica beccabunga)
- Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
- Fever clover (Menyanthes trifoliata)
- Lady's mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris)
- Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
- Siberian iris (Iris sibirica)
- Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)
- Sweet flag (Acorus calamus)
- Cattail (Typha angustifolia)
Plants such as the marsh marigold, lady's mantle or fever clover offer the frogs different options. On the one hand they can hide under it very well, on the other hand they also use the large leaves to sit on them and catch prey.
Tip: Both free and overgrown riparian zones offer the frog attractive habitats where it can go hunting. Water and bank areas should be a balance between tall and low plants.
Overgrown wet areas are ideal, supplemented with a few aquatic plants, but which should not cover the entire pond. Too many plants can cause the pond to topple, which also causes the amphibians' food sources to disappear.
Suitable aquatic plants:
- Frog bite (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae)
- Water lilies (all types suitable)
- Streaky pondweed (Potamogeton perfoliatus)
- Water whisk (Hydrilla verticillata)
The choice of plants and how many are planted depends on the size of the pond. In principle, every body of water is attractive for a frog species - even a few square meters of water attract the amphibians. However, frogs like the pond frog defend their feeding grounds, which means the smaller the garden pond, the fewer amphibians will settle.
