Frogs are very good at squeezing through very narrow gaps under fences etc. I have paving slabs around the edge of my pond which are not cemented down. When I lifted one to remove a persistent dandelion there were grooves dug out and a couple of frogs tucked up together in the centre. Frogs will find water. My cat ignores frogs and toads but the dog is fascinated by them, hunts them when they hide amongst containers but has never picked one up.
We had newts visiting our brand new ponds back in June 2019, seemingly out of nowhere, and they’ve now become well established (along with damsel flies, water boatmen, water fleas, visiting birds, squirrels etc).
Ours isn’t a large pond by any means, but I was stunned at how quickly nature found it.
I’d always wanted frogs, but apparently newts do love them too, so you won’t get one if you have the other,Ive been told.
It's getting the balance right. The first year after we made our pond we were thrilled to see clumps of frog spawn, but after a few days it didn't look right. I took a torch out after dark to find the spawn surrounded by 15 - 25 newts, all pushing and shoving, eating the little black dots from the outside into the centre. However, toad spawn must taste bad because they won't touch it. We still get a frog from time to time but the tadpoles never make it.
I’d always wanted frogs, but apparently newts do love them too, so you won’t get one if you have the other,Ive been told.
Like a lot of stuff we read or have been told, it is not always based on fact. It is certainly true that Newts will feast on frog spawn but if your pond is a reasonable size and well balanced, both will happily co habit and breed year after year. All my ponds over the last 30 odd years have sustained both so I wouldn't take this myth too seriously
Mine is about a metre across, by 1.5 m in length, so quite small. But deep in the centre and with beaches and sloped sides. Time will tell 😊
It's getting the balance right. The first year after we made our pond we were thrilled to see clumps of frog spawn, but after a few days it didn't look right. I took a torch out after dark to find the spawn surrounded by 15 - 25 newts, all pushing and shoving, eating the little black dots from the outside into the centre. However, toad spawn must taste bad because they won't touch it. We still get a frog from time to time but the tadpoles never make it.
Nooo! A friend offered me some spawn from her garden, but I politely declined as I’ve heard it isn’t good to transfer it from one place to another. I hope frogs will find their own way there soon. There are woods with ponds not far away... Now hedgehogs - that’s another creature I’m trying to attract, but that’s for a separate thread 😊
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Frogs will find water.
My cat ignores frogs and toads but the dog is fascinated by them, hunts them when they hide amongst containers but has never picked one up.
We had newts visiting our brand new ponds back in June 2019, seemingly out of nowhere, and they’ve now become well established (along with damsel flies, water boatmen, water fleas, visiting birds, squirrels etc).
Ours isn’t a large pond by any means, but I was stunned at how quickly nature found it.
I’d always wanted frogs, but apparently newts do love them too, so you won’t get one if you have the other,Ive been told.
Now hedgehogs - that’s another creature I’m trying to attract, but that’s for a separate thread 😊