Bonking Frog Winery, Dardanup, WA

Julie swears he is plotting his revenge after being summarily dismissed from her pantry for jumping out at her from the plastic bags and taking ten years off her life!

Embrace the Pantry Frog, Julie! And thanks for the wine and frog figurine.

Our story started out fairly simple – we have a fishpond with a multi-stage filter, part of which is an old concrete laundry tub, set higher than the pond and creating a waterfall into the main pond. Several years ago, we found that motorbike frogs had laid eggs amongst the vallis in these tubs. Unfortunately, many of the tadpoles went over the edge and into the waiting mouths of the fish below. Well, that wouldn’t do!

So we got an old corner-style bathtub and set that up (without a pump) and stocked it with vallis and western perch (a very small native species that doesn’t eat tadpoles because their mouths aren’t big enough!). That worked fine until the herons and egrets found the pond – the birds thought it was an open-air restaurant. A mesh “box” over the top stopped that.

In the mean time, frogs were still breeding in the fishpond filter – and those that didn’t go over the waterfall were turning into frogs. Even some that did go over the edge managed to evade the fish and turn into frogs! And of course, the fish food was equally palatable to the taddies so they grew pretty quick…

So when we found out about Frog Watch, we joined up right away – frogs return to where they grew up and we were knee-deep!

The biggest problem we have had is turning down people who live too far away. (According to the Frog Watch information, tadpoles shouldn’t be moved more than 2-3 suburbs away and shouldn’t be transported into a different “region” e.g from the Coastal Plain to the Hills.)

We haven’t had any other types of frogs make our place into their home. I suspect that is because all of the ponds (yes, there are now three) have fairly steep sides. I suspect other frog species would prefer some shallower water or even water-logged soil for breeding.

However, what we have found is that the frogs need some sort of shelter (e.g. water plants) and protection from marauding birds. Some small native fish (e.g. the western perch) will help control the mosquito larvae so you don’t create a serious bug problem (note that the tads won’t eat the mosquitoes!).

When we run the bore, the sprinklers also provide some top-up to the ponds (without adding chlorine and the other chemicals that are in the mains water). This also helps to cool the water down a bit. Speaking of which, if the water is too shallow, it will heat up to much and too quickly, so at least part of the pond should be reasonably deep.

Put all those together, get yourself a “starter pack” of tadpoles, and you’ll soon be knee-deep too! knee-deep, knee-deep!

One of these extremely worthy people was Jan who said she has had many people over the years come to her home to collect tadpoles from her pond, and she has found the register to be satisfactory.

Jan directed me to a slide show of photos of her pond and it’s dwellers. There are some very good photos of frogs on it, so go and check it out at Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7570207@N02/sets/72157612728554849/

I love getting photos of frogs to display on my site, so if you have any you would like to share, you can contact me through the form below.

He reminded me that not all frogs need a big pond with clear, clean water to survive. In fact most of them would prefer just a bit of boggy ground to lie in and congregate around.

Motorbike frogs are about the only species of frog in WA which have evolved to depend on pools of water for reproduction. Most other species, including Slender Tree frogs, only require a bog to meet their water needs.

The important thing to remember when creating your frog friendly garden is to create a variety of water levels and provide plenty of under growth for hiding and foraging. This way you will be providing diverse habitats for all frog species and soon you will be seeing all types of frogs hanging out in your backyard!

For more information on creating diverse habitats for frogs in your backyard take a look at the Frog Species of the Perth Metropolitan Area and their Habitat Requirements page listed under Frog Stuff to the right of this story.

I have written about this phenomenon before in Competitive Edge. As newly formed frogs emerge from the water they emit a hormone that inhibits the growth of tadpoles still in the water (it helps eliminate any competition for food). This hormone can build up in the water, after quite a few frogs have crawled out and the water level has dropped due to evaporation and the likes, and you can end up with taddies that seem to stay tadpoles for a year or more.

Before I knew about this little trick I had some tadpoles in my pond which had been there forever, so I bought them inside and put them in a fish tank to watch them and figure out why they weren’t growing. But within a week they all sprouted legs and started losing their tails. I quickly transferred them back outside and they continued on their journey through life. I wanted to know why so I did some research and that is when I learnt about the inhibiting hormone. I guessed it was the change of water which had the desired effect.

I advised Tim to try changing his water in his ponds, but he says he has already tried that. I wasn’t able to suggest anything else to help him with his problem.

Can anyone out their help Tim?

We can hear frogs in our backyard, but we have never been successful in seeing them. I suppose they are burrowing frogs.

How do we spot them?

Would a frog pond encourage them to come out?

This is how I answered Helens questions.

It can be hard to spot frogs sometimes and sometimes the sounds you hear could be other garden friendlies. For years I thought I was hearing a frog calling out of season in my yard but finally discovered it was a burrowing cricket (sandgroper - a very gruesome looking character, I can tell you!)

Try searching at twilight or night time with a torch around your water source (the light reflects from their eyes and stuns them so they are easier to spot). If you don’t have a pond or pool or other water source in your yard already, then it may not be a frog at all.

Frogs usually set them selves up near a suitable water source and then set about attracting a mate to this likely nursery. Some frogs will lay their spawn in wet soil, but these are specialist exotic types.

Happy hunting, Helen!

4 frogs have made a home in our spa which is full of water but without the chemicals, they hide under the cover. I am trying to make a frog pond so we can use the spa and not kill the frogs. Problem is, are they going to use the pond once we put the chemicals in the spa!

As I found out the hard way, it is difficult to keep frogs out of their favourite places when you need to. If your frogs are getting in even with the cover on then it may be impossible. The best you can do is put the chemicals in in the morning when they are hiding out and hope the water is less toxic by evening when your frogs will want to come out and play.

A new play ground may help. I always advise putting in a pond. Maybe introduce your frogs to it before you put the chemicals in your own water playground, but if your frogs are anything like mine, they will keep going back to your spa or pool.

My frogs swim in my pool all the time and it doesn’t seem to effect them, it’s only when we put in such high concentrations of chemicals to sanitise the water that it overwhelms them.

Good luck, Rae! I hope the whole operation goes smoothly for you.

My advice on getting taddies is to ask around. You will be surprised how many people have frogs in their backyards and are more than happy to share stories and tadpoles. It is best to get tadpoles from your immediate neighbourhood, within about a 5km radius, as that way the new frogs have ponds in their range and there is less possibility of spreading disease if you keep things close to home.

The WA Museum also has a tadpole register where you can register your name and contact details and if a suitable match comes up in your area they will hook you up!  Check out the website Frogwatch.

I hope this helps all those who are seeking taddies to start forming networks in their own communities and create a Tadpole Telegraph! What a fabulous way to bring people together in these troubled times. Save the frogs and make friends while you do it!

We have a large lake right next to our house (we are so lucky!!!), so I have built a pond. So far I have seen two motorbike frogs in the garden.

At the lake you hear hundreds of motorbike frogs, but you never hear any Slender tree frogs or any other frogs. In the pond there are tall rushes so I thought there would be. Is it possible that you can’t hear the slender tree frogs???

This is the answer I sent back to him.

I’m not one hundred per cent sure about your lake, and the frogs that might live in it, but I do know that it is possible for many varieties of frogs to live together in the same environment. I have been on a frog stalk at Herdsman Lake and seen, and heard, Motorbike frogs and Banjo Frogs and even Slender Tree frogs living together, and if you listen hard you can hear the different calls.

Banjo frogs have such a distinctive bonk, bonk sound and it is easy to distinguish from the Brrr, grok of the Motorbikes, but Slender Tree frogs have a high pitched screech or whistle and it can be hard to make out with the noisy Motorbikes around. They are also harder to spot, they blend in so well with their surroundings and are much smaller than a fully grown Motorbike frog. Motorbike frogs have also been known to accidentally eat a smaller frog so they really need to lay low and not be noticed.

I have heard that Motorbike frogs have become a bit of a problem at some sights because of this habit of eating anything that moves, including other frogs, as they sometimes end up making it difficult for smaller species to survive. Lets hope this isn’t happening at your lake! Regardless of this very natural aspect of frogs diets, the Motorbike frog is still my favourite, and all frogs need our help to survive.

Another thing to consider with frogs calls is the timing of their mating season. Banjo frogs breed in winter and spring, Motorbike frogs call in the summer, starting in November or December, but Slender Tree frogs are spring breeders. So maybe they have stopped calling by now.

I have been getting lots of questions lately about frogs, and I really enjoy researching and answering your emails. Keep them coming!