You probably feel icky when you think of slugs… Not only are slugs slimy, but they are harmful to gardens. They munch away on your dahlias, petunias, brassicas and salvias. But there are predators that will eat slugs. Let’s take a look at one of them: Do frogs eat slugs?
Yes, frogs do eat slugs. One of the main natural predators of slugs is frogs who enjoy eating slugs as part of their diet.
Slugs make up a large part of a frog’s diet. Frogs love to consume slugs, and an adult frog will be enough to eat most of the slugs in a small-to-medium sized garden.
As a gardener, frogs can be your best friends to help you eliminate slugs in your garden. Frogs will remove pests and are unlikely to cause any damage to your plants: A real win-win!
Do Frogs Get Rid of Slugs?
Yes, frogs do get rid of slugs simply by consuming them. Frogs have a fairly substantial appetite so will hop around your garden hoovering up the slugs that are ruining your garden.
The presence of frogs alone is unlikely to deter slugs but they will certainly become workhorses at getting rid of slugs.
How to Attract Frogs To Your Garden
But before you can use frogs to get rid of slugs in your garden, you first need to find a way of attracting frogs to your garden. Frogs won’t just come to your garden if you don’t make it an attractive proposition.
But how do you attract frogs to your garden?
Build a Pond
You can build a pond in your garden easier than you may think.
Dig a hole in the ground. There’s no need to make it perfectly proportioned. Instead, you want it to look and feel organic and natural so just dig away. At the edges of the pond, try to dig in some ridges to make it easy to add plants and to give other animals easy access in and out of the pond.
Next, you’ll need to line the pond so that it holds the water. Run the lining up along the base, up the sides and over the edges. Secure it with large rocks around the edge.
You can then fill it up. Ideally, you need to fill it with rainwater as tap water can contain additives. All that’s left to do is to fill the pond with plants, rocks and pebbles and you’re good to go.
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Provide Water
If you have a small garden then building a pond is going to be a bit of a challenge. But don’t let that stop you from providing water. Frogs will go where there is water.
Burying a bucket, an old sink or a washing up bowl can all work well enough to attract frogs.
Remove Hazards
In addition to creating spaces for frogs, you must also eliminate any hazards that can cause harm to them.
For example, you must remove any sharp objects that can physically hurt the frogs. Also, you should close any space from which frogs can fall out. Moreover, if there are natural enemies of frogs in your garden, they will not stick around.
Some dangerous spots you should look for are open excavations, drains and basement stairs. You can either close these spots completely by placing a mesh wall or create an escape route for frogs.
Apart from natural enemies, if you have pets, they will also deter frogs. For example, cats are curious animals and may want to play with the frog. Small children can also scare frogs if they are loud and rough with them.
Many people still use chemicals when deterring pests. Frogs will not settle in your garden if there are traces of insecticides and pesticides. Therefore, it is best to keep your garden clean to make it suitable for frogs to live in.
Do Frogs Eat Snails?
It can surprise people when they find out that, apart from slugs, frogs can also consume snails. Even though snails have a hard shell, frogs can eat them because they are big enough to swallow fully with the shell.
If a frog is large, it will swallow a snail whole. Snails move slowly and stand no chance against the frog’s quick tongue. Snails make easy prey for frogs, and consuming them in large amounts is common.
In addition, frog and snail habitats are the same, and therefore both always find each other.
Frogs make good snail eradicators. If your garden has been suffering at the hands of snails, you may want to get a frog to help with the problem.
Even having one hungry frog in your garden is going to help you tackle all the snails.
Summary
Slugs can be harmful to plants and flowers in your garden. One way to control slugs in your garden and get rid of them is to invite frogs.
Frogs are slugs predators, and they form a major part of their diet. However, to have slugs in your garden, you must create an environment that suits them. For example, you must have a pond, a space to hide, remove any hazards, and use natural pesticides.
Along with slugs, frogs also consume snails. Since frogs do not chew, they swallow the snail whole and catch it with their fast tongue.
Other amphibians like toads, salamanders, and slow worms also eat slugs.
Ryan is a keen gardener from the UK who’s spent years dealing with countless, common pests over the years so knows the ins and outs of how to deal with pests in the garden
