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Build a Frog Pond
Want to invite a frog over to your place? Here's an easy way to attract amphibians to your own backyard!
Frogs need water. They can drink it right through their skin. And it gives them a place to lay their eggs.
Do you have a yard with a little extra space? If so, get your parents to help you make a pool especially for frogs.
Here's How to Build a Frog Pond:
- Dig a hole. You can make it any size and shape. But give it a deep end (at least one foot), a shallow end, and sloping sides.
- Cover the bottom with sand* (or an old piece of carpet).
- Cover the hole with a sheet of pond liner*. Add a few bricks to hold the liner down at the bottom of the hole.
- Use the dirt you dug out of the hole to cover the liner along the edges. You can also add rocks around the edge of the hole to give it a more natural look.
- Fill the hole with water.
- Add some potted pond plants* such as water lilies. To make it more natural, you may also add some fallen leaves and small branches. And pile some rocks underwater until they come up just above the water's surface. (Or put in an upside-down clay pot*.) That gives frogs a place to sit and wait for some food to "buzz by." Build some rock piles at the edge of the pond too.
- Wait and watch!
*Items available from a garden center.
WARNING!
- Don't start anything until you get your parents' permission . . . and help.
- Have your parents call their power companies before digging. In some places, there are electrical cables or gas lines buried underground. Digging in those places can be very, very dangerous.
- Don't put the pond where a baby or small child could fall into it.
More Tips:
- For a very easy-to-build pond, just dig a hole big enough to hold a large plastic container. No liner needed!
- Some chemicals in tap water--such as chlorine--can kill tadpoles. Rainwater is best to use, if you can collect it. (Hint: Keep a bucket under a downspout.) Or you can treat tap water to get the chemicals out (ask for advice from a garden center or pet shop that sells fish tanks). You could also let some tap water sit in a bucket for a few days before pouring it into your pond. That helps make some of the chemicals disappear.
- Nearby grasses, shrubs, and flowering plants will help attract plenty of frog food (insects). Plant some around the edges of the pond too.
- Don't use pesticides or chemical fertilizers near your frog pond.
- Keep pets away.
- Don't collect frogs and tadpoles to put in your pond. Let them come on their own. The closer you are to other wet areas (a pond or lake or marsh), the sooner you might get some visitors. Don't worry if the wait seems long. Other creatures such as birds and insects will appreciate your pond in the meantime. Besides, it will look beautiful too!
