Considering frogs and toads very much like mosquitos and mosquito larvae as a food source, what most likely happened in Kathy Durrum's situtaion is that by introducing mosquito dunks and killing the larvae they removed the food source for the frogs which caused a large number of them to starve to death. Removing the dunks allowed the mosquito population to proliferate which then also allowed the predators of mosquitos, frogs and toads, to also proliferate. Any time you remove or reduce the amount of an animal from an environment that is a small ecosystem you're doing damage to that entire system, not just the one specific animal in it.

Wishing I had toads and or frogs in my pond Bought this house three years ago has a pond but I now do not use a pump to circulate the water. But do have lots of lily pond lily, and pickerel week with it's nice blue flower as well some day type lilies that bloom in the water in spring It is a good sized back yard pond and seems to be doing well without the use of a pump to circulate the water. Leaves and whatever settle to the bottom and there now is maybe three or four inches of dirt or mud in the bottom Maybe more than that Goldfish have been there now two years and have become a decent size Dragon flies etc. land on and around the water I have some sticks around the pond for things to land on Large and small rocks and gravel and places that frogs or toads could hide in or under to keep cool Alas not a frog or toad to be seen The past two years in the late summer one or two come around but in spring do not see them, again Perhaps they die in the pond and I wonder where to they ever come from in the first place as we live in an older subdivision and about half a mile from the lake. But not really ponds and bushes etc. around. I wondered about catching some to keep around but would be better done in spring. Did put some tadpoles in this spring but of course the goldfish ate them all. Not a one escaped.

I've read these forums off and on for several years now. It's amazing how many searches for gardening info bring up Garden Web forums! I bought my first house last fall and decided this week it was time to register and join in here. So many wonderfully talented and knowledgeable gardeners here! And, then, I find a forum specifically for Okies! One of the things I liked best about the house when I first looked at it was the backyard. There are just all kinds of plants. I have to wait to see what many of them are, although my neighbor next door has clued me in on some. The neighbors have a landscape pond in their backyard. One of the things I expected to miss about my last apartment (lived there for over 10 years) was the landscaping, complete with ponds, a stream and lots of wildlife including frogs and toads. I was thrilled to find out that the neighbors pond has frogs in it as I love listening to them. They were worried that the new owner (me) might object to having to hear frogs croak. I think we both got lucky! The backyard slopes severely and has some sort of evergreen planted all around it. Over the years many of lower branches have been trimmed off due to disease, according to the neighbor. Now they are very tall with foliage only at the top. Quite a few of them suffered a good deal during last winter's ice storm. There's still at least one sizeable branch that is broken and needs to be cut off. A couple in the back aren't broken but are badly bent over. I'm sort of hoping that the bent ones somehow magically recover as the birds and squirrels seem quite fond of them. I have already counted at least 15 different species of birds in my new backyard, and that doesn't include mockingbirds which I have seen in the front yard. I also saw a tiny mouse near the back fence a couple of weeks ago when I watering a spot that has some irises and a crepe myrtle. Last Monday evening I saw a baby rabbit in the neighbor's yard by my garage. Some of the plants (many of these I can't verify yet, just going by what the neighbor tells me) include crepe myrtle (3 in the back), a Rose of Sharon, irises, hardy hibiscus (looks like 4 of those), daylilies and some other lily the neighbor wasn't sure of the type, clematis out front, what appears to be a lilac someone tried to chop down that is coming back but is probably too close to the house for good air flow, and some boxwoods up next to the front of the house. The boxwoods look nice but stink so I am going to try to relocate them farther from the house in the front yard and create a flower bed with them as a back drop. To replace the stinky bushes up close to the house I have already acquired two blue hollies, four mini roses, a peony, azalea, hydrangea, blue lilac, and a romantica rose. I'm probably going overboard, but my gardening for the past 20 years has been limited to pots and whisky barrels on an apartment patio, and I'm just so excited to have a house with lots of room for gardens now! My biggest problem is that a large part of the backyard is heavily shaded due to the evergreens, and, especially around the perimeter, there isn't even much in the way of grass. Lots of weeds in the areas where there is grass. I'm looking forward to finding out all the creative gardening things I can do with my new house! I've probably rambled on long enough now. Going to leave work early today to have lunch at the Arts Festival then home to plant and transplant! Debra

Maybe someone on the Reptiles and Amphibians forum will know. I will put the direct link to it below. Good luck! Joanie D. Here is a link that might be useful: Reptiles and Amphibians Forum