Froglets in mortal danger from pond edging.

[djackso]

Warning - to anyone building a new pond - be careful which edging you use.

I've just scraped 5 dehydrated froglets from the (small) pieces of artificial stone that form the edging. I've rescued some others, and wrapped the rest of the "stone" in clingfilm, and sprayed the whole area with water.

I feel bad, but I think I caught the problem early. Looks a bit of a mess - but needs must.

Also devised an emergency system of artificial drainage ditches and hidey holes, which I'll have to keep hydrated - in this dry, windy weather at least.

Fingers crossed.

[Gill Catton]

yes its a tricky situation at this time of year, you can try draping a tea towel so that the end is in the water - the capillary action keeps the lower half of the towl damp and provides a good surface for the froglets to move over. - again not pretty but perhaps easier for the froglets to exit along than clingfilm?

[dampflippers]

Or a roll of pond plant hessian draped over the stones.
You can buy a stone and concrete sealant called G4 from garden centres and pond shops. You paint it on and it stops them being porous.
You can also encourage plants to grow over the edge to make them less hot and exposed.

[coasty]

Originally Posted by dampflippers

You can also encourage plants to grow over the edge to make them less hot and exposed.

That is the best solution I think or even just a small branch with plenty of leaves on will provide something for them for now.,,,

[m1.carson]

Hi,

We stopped the pond edging for approx. meter and had a bog-ish area for wet plants, every time we top up, it overflows into the bog plant area, and that was only about a meter in dia. and enough for frog/newts etc.

Max.

[djackso]

Thanks for the great suggestions - so far they haven't stuck to the clingfilm, but that G4 sounds like an excellent idea for the future.

I refrained from the bog/large margin area when I designed "main pond mark 3" because (apart from lack of space in my tiny garden) there was an unbelievable "wick effect" occurring in a previous design that had a ring of vegetation. There was/is a problem with collecting enough rainwater to keep it topped up in the droughts we have here. So I maximised on water volume instead when I built mark 3 this year. There are small islands in the pond instead. Dragonfly perches take the form of shrubs and long grasses near the pond (I'm so excited - I just spotted a dragonfly nymph in the pond). The pond is new so there is still too much bare soil though - I agree vegetation would have helped.

I may try the tea towel and twigs

My smaller pond is designed for frogs etc - much wilder, more shaded, clay lined, no concrete, mass of vegetation surrounding it - and I can use the hose there occasionally too because consequently there is very little blanket weed . I'm hoping amphibians will breed here in future years.

Thanks again.

[dampflippers]

Watch out if you use G4- try to keep it off the water. If it drips it spreads in rainbows over the surface. I found that if you floated a sheet of newspaper on the spills, it was sucked up quite well.

[Capperman]

To keep my ponds topped up during dry weather I buried a 360 gallon tank in the garden. The tank is topped up directly from the house guttering and when full the excess water flows via an underground overflow to a proper soakaway. I have fitted a submersible pump in the bottom of the tank with a hose to the ponds. The system works well. Froglets come and go via grass stems growing into the water.

[Dillibags]

Little did I know when I achieved my first ever pond early this year how much worry it would cause me

Acquired some frog spawn, watched in fascination as it grew blacker and blacker, and then lots of little tadpoles

I started worrying a few weeks ago as the tadpoles did not seem to be progressing as I had read they should and thought maybe due to the chilly summer we've been having. Somebody told me to feed them fish flakes but they didn't seem to take much notice. Then early this week on another forum was told to feed them meat so duly got the cheapest stewing steak I could find (I know, what a cheapskate!), tied string round chunks of it and dangled the meat from the surrounding rocks. WOW, within minutes all the meat was covered in tadpoles, they must have been starving!

But at the same time I suddenly noticed some baby frogs............this is going to sound so stupid, I had no idea they were so tiny! I now have visions of killing them all off every time I visit the pond by unwittingly standing on them

So then I read this thread I have half of my pond edged with paving slabs leading to the lawn (have left grass long here) and the other half edged with rocks leading to a rockery. I have seen some of the teeny weeny frogs getting out by using the marginal plants, but have just rushed out and draped a tea towel there as well.......phew!

Now as far as I'm aware I only had one lot of frogspawn, so is it normal for the tadpoles to be at so many different stages at the same time
Some of them still have no signs of legs.

And last point (honest)...........what sort of plants do you plant around the edge of the pond, outside not in the pond. I was thinking of digging up part of the lawn that abuts onto the paving slabs and putting some plants there, all suggestions gratefully received!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, you can tell I don't know very much, but am sooo keen to learn

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by Dillibags

And last point (honest)...........what sort of plants do you plant around the edge of the pond, outside not in the pond. I was thinking of digging up part of the lawn that abuts onto the paving slabs and putting some plants there, all suggestions gratefully received!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, you can tell I don't know very much, but am sooo keen to learn

One suggestion would be Ivy, trailing over your rockery and paving. Ivy is a good wildlife plant in general, and evergreen so provides cover all year, as well as visually "softening" the hard landscaping. Use one of the small-leaved ornamental varieties - less vigorous, so easier to control.
T2

[southlonder]

Apologies for hijacking but I am hoping to finish my pond soon.
Some sides are safer to come out than others for froglets, can I encourage them to only use these sides (so they do not go into the lawn where they might be trod on)

[Dillibags]

Originally Posted by Tursiops2

One suggestion would be Ivy, trailing over your rockery and paving. Ivy is a good wildlife plant in general, and evergreen so provides cover all year, as well as visually "softening" the hard landscaping. Use one of the small-leaved ornamental varieties - less vigorous, so easier to control.
T2

That is a really good idea, T2, thanks for that. Would look much better than a load of individual plants. I'll do that in the autumn when baby frogs have gone, don't want to start disturbing round the pond just now.

[m1.carson]

Oh dear,

I'm afraid the froglets don't stay around the pond area, they'll spread all over the garden, then you take out the lawn mower. .

But happily, enough will survive to breed again next year .

Max.