For some they are a burden that one would like to get rid of as quickly as possible, others, and this includes the real nature lovers among the garden friends, would quite like to have one or the other representative of frogs, newts and toads as permanent guests. Watching them is not only very entertaining, especially when there are children on the property. These native amphibians are even extremely useful and help with natural, i.e. environmentally friendly, pest control.

Frogs and toads kill insects

A toad in my garden? So maybe some readers will now think that she can only have gotten lost? But she hasn't at all, quite the opposite. Maybe a few months ago she created her own personal habitat between the flower beds, hedges and trees, completely unnoticed, maybe even wintered there?

Amphibians in the garden? But how?

It doesn't matter whether it's a toad, a newt or a frog: They shouldn't simply be released somewhere outside again, because most of these animals would come back, which could be dangerous for them on busy paths and roads. On the other hand, you shouldn't take amphibians and all the other small animals home with you on your next walk in the forest or from the bank of your village pond. The population of most species has declined massively in recent years, so that they are now on the Red List and therefore under very special protection. Some animals, such as the common toad, are known for their extreme site loyalty, so that permanent implementation can even be life-threatening. As an excellent beneficial insect in your garden, it eats large quantities of harmful insects such as snails, but still lives very dangerously, as these toads are among the favorite menus of grass snakes, raccoons and gray herons.

Create day hiding places and areas of retreat

It is not just about creating a completely new garden pond. Habitats that are friendly to amphibians are already taken care of if there are one or more protected heaps of brushwood or leaves on the property. If necessary, an old, unjointed stone wall will do, and a garden that is as natural as possible and not only offers the amphibians sufficient food but also protection is best. In addition, the use of chemical insecticides and snail exterminators as well as pesticides should generally be avoided in the environment of the animals.

Pools or ponds at ground level are life-threatening for the animals, especially if they were built with vertical walls and without shallow water sections on the bank. It is not possible to leave these danger zones with your own strength, so you should set up exit aids as life-saving measures in such cases. Equally dangerous for amphibians are the light shafts, which are often mounted in front of basement windows. If the animals fall in, they usually have to starve to death unnoticed and dry out completely from the inside as a result of the dehydration. It is enough for protection if a close-meshed plastic net is stretched over the coarse metal grid, which protects the frogs, toads and newts from a possible fatal fall.

The most common species of amphibians in the garden

Depending on the region, we are dealing with a wide variety of amphibian species in Germany, which sometimes only differ from one another in barely perceptible details: The most important representatives are:

  • Moor Frog: During the mating season, the males are extremely blue; Animals that mainly live in areas with higher groundwater levels or on the fringes of moors grow up to seven centimeters in length.
  • Common Frog: Green-brown spots as basic color with a length of up to eleven centimetres; distinct dark brown spots on underside; live rather undemanding and in almost all habitats;
  • Agile Frog: Four to five centimeters smaller than common frogs and less heavily spotted; preferred habitat are mixed deciduous forests; adult animals can jump up to two meters;
  • Natterjack Toad: back with characteristic yellow line with mouse-like locomotion; body length about eight centimeters; excavation pits and military training areas primarily serve as habitats;
  • Crested newt: conspicuously jagged dorsal crest in the males; Coloration dark brown to black (very clear yellow-black spots on the belly); grows up to 16 cm long; Habitat often in the forest as well as in the public landscape;
  • Corded newt: conspicuous tail with a long end thread; belly light and back brownish; lives preferably in forests and migrates to spawning in the smallest water bodies (puddles and water-filled lanes in the wad); length nine to ten centimeters;

Category:

Animals in the garden