Frog, have i done the right thing?

[Adrastea]

Talk about giving you a fright when you're happily weeding the garden and Mr.Frog decides to pop out at you!!! I think it's quite sweet tho finding them under the pots and logs in the garden. We used to have a pond with frogs in and I hoped they would clear the slugs from the garden, but quite often I would find the slugs attached to the side of the pond with Mr.Frog sat not 2 inches away and showing no interest whatsoever in the slugs!! I've built a few froggy hideaways in the garden as we have 2 cats, one is a geriatric (as the vet calls him) and a bit deaf tho. Please if anyone doesn't know, not to handle frogs with bare hands

[sewer rat]

I got a visit from a load of local schoolchildren today and after they / I had picked swede, cabbage / kale / turnips / carrots and onions) (they were making soup this afternoon) they asked to see the polytunnel - I opened the door and there he was - my first (and very small) toad. I have a flooded quarry nearby but that is a hell of a journey for this little chap to have made. Anyway, now I know he's in there, the puppy has been banished forever from the tunnel as puppy is now a fully fledged killing machine and is decimating the vermin population at every opportunity, and one gulp and my wee toad would be no more.

[janeyo]

Why can't you handle them with bare hands?

I don't go anywhere near them (except to cover them with a bucket so as to prevent sport for th cats til OH gets home to move them) but he uses bare hands.

janeyo

I once threw a pile of washing down the stairs where it stayed for several days probably til I was ready to actually put it in the machine - when I scopped it all up there were 2 frogs under. I don't know who was the more shocked them or me! Then they hopped up the hall (which was 20 metres long, a horrible waste of space) and I had to get the neighbour in who I had never met to catch them.... well it broke the ice lol

[Adrastea]

Frogs shouldn't be handled with bare hands because the salts on our skin can be harmful to them and irritate their skin. Bacteria and fungus from our hands can also enter their system and give them diseases. If you must pick up a frog it is best to wash your hands well before and after, that would help

[MrsC]

When I first moved here I had a couple of frogs and no water as such, my son built his own mini pond (a black bucket sunk in the ground) filled with and surrounded by cobbles. They seem to quite like it! We now have a wildlife pond and I have loads of them all sizes all over the garden. I have to hop around them sometimes to avoid stepping on them, but I'm quite happy to have them as I have had virtually no slug damage this year.