Leaping into Frog Month

April 12, 2023

Kermit taught us it’s not easy being green.

While that sentiment can’t be verified with exact certainty, we can confidently confirm that April is national frog month. So, tune up your swamp banjo and show these amphibians some love by perusing this overview of unique frog factoids.

Help the Frog Population

Even the smallest action can help our amphibian friends. Here’s a list of ways you can help frogs in your backyard and beyond:

  • Add a pond to your garden. This will give frogs a place to breed safely in the springtime. Note: Make sure your pond has gently sloping sides or step rocks (so frogs have an easy exit route) along with native plants to provide oxygen and shelter for tadpoles.
  • Incorporate rock piles, leaves and logs into your landscape. Some species of frogs and toads will choose these as a breeding ground for their young.
  • Create some compost. Known as a frog’s buffet, compost can provide food and much needed warmth and shelter in the wintertime.
  • Avoid pesticides and slug pellets. Pesticides are the number one killer of amphibians. Don’t forget frogs already consume the mosquitos, gnats and many unwanted pests that humans find bothersome.
  • Keep an eye on pets. Cats, especially, are common natural predators of frogs and toads.

Frog Facts: Did You Know?

There are nearly 7,000 species of frogs identified today, with new species still being discovered. In fact, frogs have been found on every continent across the globe except for Antarctica.

These amphibians are essential to preserving vibrant ecosystems. Frogs eat billions of insects each year, making them extremely valuable to the agricultural industry. This intense insect consumption also helps reduce the amount of transmittable viruses occurring from biting insects. Frogs are also an essential part of the food chain, serving as a viable food source for fish, snakes, birds and other animals.

Are Frogs Pollinators?

While frogs help protect and sustain healthy ecosystems, the jury’s still out on whether or not the species can be categorized as pollinators. Studies are being conducted to look at the relationship between frogs in tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems and how their droppings could act as a method of pollination.

It has been documented that certain species of frogs are known to breed and forage for food inside high-canopy flowers. These frogs eat insects that pollinate the flowers, ingesting the pollen from the insects that can then be spread to other flowers through frog waste matter. Frogs also carry pollen on their skin and transport it to flowers they visit while breeding or foraging.

Serving as Environmental Indicators

Frogs – like many amphibians – are considered an indicator species. They are highly affected by environmental degradation caused by pollution, pesticides, habitat loss and changes in climate. Due to the high permeability of their skin by oxygen, the health of frog populations is greatly affected by air and water and is a strong indicator of air and water quality levels.

In recent years, frog populations have significantly dwindled all over the world, causing much alarm for ecologists, biologists and ecotoxicologists. More and more frogs are being found with profound physical deformities, such as extra legs or missing appendages, which has been linked to pesticide use.