We are talking in various forums about encouraging frogs and other beneficial critters to our gardens this year for an Earth Day resolution.

I have started by putting out a ceramic frog house. I am hopeful to attract a nice frog or froggie family to my upland desert garden.

It's actually not even an official frog house. What i am using is a tart/scented oil burner, the kind you put a tea candle in and let something scented simmer on top of. I got three of those free from a free box behind a thrift store, and am only using one as a tart burner. One is sitting outside hoping to attract a frog to my garden. I might put out a second one but i don't know how territorial frogs might be, so i want to look into this before trying.

I was encouraged in the Water Garden forum to try putting brush around my frog house to make it more comfy to any prospective frogs.

We have been talking about frogs and attracting beneficial garden critters on several forums right now so we can help people help themselves freely and naturally. There are tons of great critters that are affordble, non toxic and fascinating in their own right! Lady bugs, praying mantids, froggies and toads, lizards, insect-catching birds, bats, certain spiders, even nematodes!

I actually picked up some nematoads from a garden supply store recently to try to decrease my gnat and termite population. I also have a little hive on one of my porches too that houses a gentle species of wasp that also eats noxious bugs. Between the critters and the diatomaceous earth, I am ready to have a completely non toxic, inexpensive war on bugs this year!

Here are some of the garden frog/critter threads:

Container Gardening
Attracting beneficial wildlife

Attracting Honeybees


Exotic Pets
garden frogs

Water Gardens
Ceramic Frog House

Sounds great, Jilly. I love frogs and toads. They are not only very cute, but quite beneficial in the garden.

I have to say that I like ladybugs and the praying mantis as well. Such great little creatures that naturally take care of garden pests for us.

I think frogs are kind of cute I just plain forgot about the ladybug. Wasps are an excellent form of natural pest control.

Leaving the environment alone, meaning don't trap and remove animals because they disturb you or make a mess. An example, the skunk is very important to help keep the circle of life circling evenly. Take one element away you can end up destroying the whole circle.

Skunks were removed in a new LA area, the area became overrun with rats. Over populations of pests are usually controlled by nature itself.

I have a family of skunks that hangs around my house at times, and also a large feral cat colony living in the area. They are GREAT for pest control. And now that I think about it, would probably kill off any froggies i attract?

I imagine they may kill frogs. They would no doubt frighten them off. When I lived near feral populations I think all of them moved inside with me Feral populations can mess up the circle of life scheme of things.

See if there are any funded (nowadays?) organizations that will trap and neuter/spay. At least eventually there would be some control.

Hey Everyone,

What do you suppose the collective noun for frogs is? A friendliness of frogs? A furrow of frogs? A forum of frogs? I must look it up!

And it follows 'as the night the day' that I must ask for your ideas on a collective noun for 'Bellaonline forums on frogs and other friendlies' ... a froggy of forums? Smile now.

Cheers

P S Went and looked it up and came across these ...

Collective nouns include an army of frogs, a knot of frogs, a colony of frogs, a fester of frogs, a bundle of frogs, and even a froggery of frogs.

A froggery? Hmmm, effective if you are really stuck and need that final point to pass your English language test paper I say. Sounds like I just have a family of frogs in the back garden and not a froggery, not enough of them there.

You missed one important name for a bunch of a chorus of frogs. Seems fitting! Not that we can forget a knot of pest eating toads.

Hi there Diana,

Chorus is such a good one too! Darn that I missed this obvious one! Does anyone have any others? A choir of frogs? A huddle of frogs?

Cheers

How about a battalion of frogs? Or a ward of frogs. A congregation, a crew, ....

I love frogs. So did Aesop:

Frog in a Milk-Pail
A frog was hopping around a farmyard, when it decided to investigate the barn. Being somewhat careless, and maybe a little too curious, he ended up falling into a pail half-filled with fresh milk.

As he swam about attempting to reach the top of the pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too high and steep to reach.
He tried to stretch his back legs to push off the bottom of the pail but found it too deep.
But this frog was determined not to give up, and he continued to struggle.
He kicked and squirmed and kicked and squirmed, until at last, all his churning about in the milk had turned the milk into a big hunk of butter.
The butter was now solid enough for him to climb onto and get out of the pail!

"Never Give Up!"