If they are a native species I wouldn't worry too much, but I suppose you could gig 'em and have frog legs and hope the wood frogs and peepers do better as a result.

If there is not a significant amount of Bullfrogs they probably won't have a significant impact on the other frog populations, especially if there is a lot of brush and cover for smaller frogs. In an open pond with mowed grass and trimmed weeds Bullfrogs will eventually eradicate all other frog species. But so long as they are a native species and there is not an overbearing amount of them, they shouldn't pose a problem.

What kind of pond do you have? Is it a man made pond, a natural pond, a large pond, small pond? This info would help me better assess your question.

Dave

p.s. Green Frogs have dorsolaterla ridges that run down the entire lenthg of the back whereas Bullfrogs have a smooth back.

Thanks, Dave. Here is some info I posted about my pond on the Wildlife forum:

It may be about 40 feet long by 30 feet wide but I am not a great judge of distances. At the center, it's about 8 feet deep and yes, the pond does drop off quickly.
This area had been just a wet spot that we guessed was at water level and some folks wanted permission to cross this land to get to theirs to do some logging. In return for giving our OK, they agreed to dig us out this little pond and it has proven great for attracting wildlife. We have had 6 types of frogs/toads, one turtle, a heron stopped by, moose, deer, ducks, other birds, butterflies, bats, and more.

As an additional note, there is a lot of clay in and around that pond. There is no flowing stream into it...it's just ground water that stays there, I guess. When they dug the hole, it took it a few days to fill up with water and it has never gone dry even when I have seen lots of little farm ponds go dry some few years ago. The pond was only dug I think four years ago. Cattails have discovered it now though and I don't want them to totally take over, so I may need to pull some up. Lots of tall grasses are along the edges and the frogs like to stay around them.

Joanie D.

Oh, and thanks Keith, too. I took a look at your Page here. Wow, what a lot of snakes you have seen! Did you see them all in Missouri? I am sorry that I don't know much about snakes so I don't know if rattlesnakes and some of the other snakes on your list would be in Missouri.

I think I am glad that Maine has no poisonous snakes. I have seen two snakes in my yard this year so far, both the same type. One was small and one was maybe 18 inches. They were brown! See how much I DON'T know about snakes?! I need to look online so I catch attach a name to these guys. I got to look closely at the face of the little one. He or she was really quite cute.

When I was young, I and my siblings would look for snakes under rocks and places. I haven't done that for a long time.

Joanie D.

Sounds like your pond should do just fine with the Bullfrogs there. Just monitor thier populations and if you see an influx of large adults, simply catch them at night by spotlight (they get blinded like deer and freeeze still) and relaese them in a larger waterway.

The snakes you were finding are probably Brown Snakes (Storeria Dekayi). Expect that eventually you'll be seeing some Garter and Water Snakes showing up around the pond. Both are harmless. Water Snakes can be fairly large and are banded with brown and tan, garter snakes are striped. The only venomous snake in Maine is the Timber Rattler, and you probably don't ahve to worry about them where you live.

The only snakes you have up there are the Eastern Racer (large smooth greyish or bluish above, white or yellow below), Ringneck Snake (small gray snake with bright orange belly and ring around neck), Brown Snake (brown, pink or white belly), Common Garter Snake (striped black snake), Smooth Green Snake (green), Timber Rattlesnake (yes it is venemous, but has a rattle on its tail and is very secretive and rare in human inhabited areas), Northern Water Snake (banded brown snake), Milk Snake (smooth grayish sanke with reddish brown to chocolate blotches down the back and sides, white belly with black markings), Redbelly Snake (small gray or brown with bright red belly), and Eastern Ribbon Snake (like a garter snake, black with yellow stripes but very skinny in appearance).

If you scroll down to the 5th section in the link you can see a poster of Maine Snakes.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Snakes of Maine Poster

Thanks, Dave. I will keep an eye out for the other snakes. I want to get one of those snake posters. I don't think my friends/family will want me mounting it on the wall, though!

Joanie D.

All the species I listed were found in Missouri except

Prairie Rattlesnakes, Great Plains Rat Snakes, Western Plains Garter, Red-Sided Garter, Central Plains Milk and Central Plains/Red Milk Snakes were found in neighboring Kansas.

Some of the other species (Lined Snakes, Ringneck Snakes, Racers) were found in both states.

I think Maine is the least likely state besides Alaska and Hawaii in which to find a venomous snake. Timber Rattlesnakes are confined to the far Southwest corner and according to most information I have read they are believed to be extirpated with the last sighting in Maine occurring many decades ago. Anybody know if any recent sightings have been made in Maine?

If you see a rattlesnake in Maine, you have seen the rarest of rare sights. My guess is you will find a black bear or even a lynx in your yard before a rattlesnake.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}