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    Attracting Frogs & Toads

    Although most of Michigan's amphibians are small and secretive, with just a little effort you can create a haven for them in your own yard. Here are a few suggestions:

    • Leave some leaf litter under your trees, shrubs and in the garden.

    • Encourage native ground cover, grasses and wildflowers; a finely manicured lawn is attractive to people but not to most frogs and toads or other wildlife.

    • Find out how to build a burrow for toads to hide in.

    • Build a shallow pond that includes natural pond vegetation and rocks in and around. For more details call the number above.

    • Erect a toad light. A toad light is a light that is set no higher than 3 feet and is placed near a border between a garden or rockery and a lawn area. The light attracts insects on which the toads feed at night.

    • Try to discourage children and others from capturing and caging frogs and toads in your yard and elsewhere.

    • Minimize the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the yard.

    For more information, view the "Frogs, Turtles & Snakes" chapter in Managing Michigan's Wildlife: a landowner's guide.

    Related Content
     •  Forest Foods Deer Eat
     •  Forest/Tree Health & Pests
     •  Backyard Management (from the Landowner's Guide)
     •  The Trees In Your Backyard
     •  Backyard Wildlife Management (NRCS & Michigan DNR)
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