Baby Frogs Dying

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by ymm

Hi all,
Thers's so much good information here, I've learnt loads, so thanks for all that.
The one thing that really surprised me was that Waterboatmen are such a threat. We've got literally hundreds in our pond, (or maybe Backswimmers, I can't really tell the difference). My dilemma now is, do I leave nature to sort itself out or do I remove some of them from the pond to give the tadpoles and frogs a fighting chance? What do you all think?
Thanks, Yvonne

You have to make that decision....I know what I would do..

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by ymm

Hi all,
Thers's so much good information here, I've learnt loads, so thanks for all that.
The one thing that really surprised me was that Waterboatmen are such a threat. We've got literally hundreds in our pond, (or maybe Backswimmers, I can't really tell the difference). My dilemma now is, do I leave nature to sort itself out or do I remove some of them from the pond to give the tadpoles and frogs a fighting chance? What do you all think?
Thanks, Yvonne

lesser waterboatmen swin the right way up and are vegetarian so don't confuse those.

Backswimmers or greater waterboatmen will take tadpoles and baby toads. However. This is one of the many reasons that toads and frogs have so so many tadpoles because almost every omnivorous or carnivorous animal that can eat them, will. Greater waterboamen may not be pretty, but they are pretty fascinating they way they seem to cling to the top of the water and carry air on their backs and are part of the natural aquatic environment. Their offspring will fall prey to other invertebrates or perhaps even to frogs and toads and as they fly the adults are food for bats and birds tooso are part of the whole cycle .

They also won't suceed in eating all the babies. I have seen artificial ponds with no vegetation and seemingly nothing but great crested newts and loads of these greater water boatmen. I did see the greater waterboatmen taking newt tadpole after newt tadpole but there were still almost hundreds of newts in all life stages illustrating their lack of impact.

I hope you leave them, but if you do feel you have to remove them don't handle them as they can give a nasty bite. Not that any have ever bitten me. Infact they use to turn up in mum and dad's old pool from time to time and when I was little I used to follow them around underwater with my goggles on!

[Scubapauly]

Some of this is just survival of the fittest. I fished 3 dead frogs out of my very small pond the other evening. But then saw another 3 alive and kicking. So I put it down to the first 3 being too stupid to find there way out (hey it makes me feel better).