How to Take Care of Baby Frogs in a Pond
Generally, wild frogs who appear in your backyard pond do not need any help from you to thrive. They are living off the insect life in your pond. It is not advisable, and often not legal, to keep non-native species of frogs in a backyard pond. They may not thrive in your ecosystem, or they may wander away from the pond, reproduce, and endanger native species by competing for the same resources. That being said, if you wish to raise native frogs in your backyard pond, there are a few things you can do to make your pond baby-frog friendly.
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Instructions
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Plant your pond well. Overhanging plants and floating roots provide shade and shelter, while lily pads and leaves on the water provide a place for frogs to escape hungry fish and get some sun. Choose a variety of submerged, emergent and floating species, which are either native or tolerant of your local temperatures. Plants are natural filters which help keep your pond water clean. Some popular pond plants include arrowhead, lilies, duckweed, cattails, water lettuce and water hyacinths. A good rule of thumb is to have half-plants, half open water in a pond.
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Add escape routes. Floating logs and half-submerged terra cotta pots work well.
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Install low light sources around the pond. These will attract insects at night, when many species of frogs prefer to feed, and will encourage mosquitoes to breed in your pond (baby frogs will eat the larvae).
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Tips & Warnings
Allow some leaves and debris to accumulate on the pond's bottom. This provides hiding spaces for frogs.
If you are introducing frogs to your pond, the pond must be free of large predatory fish or the eggs/tadpoles/baby frogs are likely to be fish food.
Do not use pesticides on your lawn. Bugs provide food for frogs, and there is a chance the poison will wash into your pond during rain.
