Bless your heart for rescuing them instead of just leaving them. I felt like the "frog killer" the other night as I was mowing the lawn. Frogs kept jumping out and I would turn the mower to miss them, but I'm sure I sliced up a few frogs. I hate that!

Weird! . . . one of our window wells is FULL of tiny little frogs . . . looks like dozens of them! We've even had about 6 of them in the pool, which creeps the bejesus out of me - told hubby if one of them ever finds its way into my swimsuit, you're going to hear a scream louder than your ears can process. And if so, he better have the video cam ready, because that would be a certain winner on Funniest Home Videos . . .
I have no idea how they got in the window well (or pool!) and I have no idea how they're going to get out . . .

I cannot even imagine this! We don't have window wells, we don't have toads! We do have millions of spiders, though. Anyway, toads are good critters, so I'm glad you saved them. They should have kissed you!

What is a window well?

Glenda, when you have windows in your basement that are below ground level they leave a hole in the ground around them so that light and air can get in and that is called a window well.
Kittywhiskers

oh, ok, thanks!

Awww, Bless your little toad rescuing heart.

When we live in the country, a baby skunk fell into our window well and couldn't get out. Skunks don't jump. Hubs took a board, tacked a bunch of cross pieces on it, ladder-wise, Slowly, he crawled across the lawn on his belly and lowered the board into the window well, and very quickly scampered backwards, and in a few minutes the little critter climbed out of the window well, and scampered into our unused barn where he lived with his mom and 2 siblings. I was so proud of my soft-hearted Hubs.

There's a solution which works for pool owners, similar to the skunk rescue dot mom posted.

It's called FrogLog...my sister has it and hasn't found any dead animals in her pool since she put 2 of them in. They're inexpensive and save lives.

NAYY...The link's below

Helene

Here is a link that might be useful: Froglog

Dot, we did exactly the same thing when a baby skunk fell into our window well. Only we just put a board down there and in the morning the little guy was gone, no spray at all.

Interesting. By the way, is there a "benefit" to skunks....not that I'd want one killed....just wondered if there is anything GOOD about them? We enjoy our frogs and toads around our backyard pond...love listening to them.

I think I would leave an exit ramp in every window well, from now on, so nothing could starve to death. Good for you for saving the toads! Could you stack some bricks that they could hop up?

We had a mouse in our ductwork so I took out the vent cover, put a sisal covered tube down in it leading up, set up a live trap nearby and covered it all with a box. Within 10 minutes, we caught our mouse and released him outside. No more scurrying sounds from the ducts!

We had window wells in my house growing up. Newver saw a frog in one but they frequently flooded our basement. Still do. My brother lives in that house and has constant water problems. He has a sump pump but it can't handle the frequent overflow.

omg, why didn't I think of putting a board in it?!? (thumping head)
We've had 2 muskrats and countless bunnies in ours, which were easy enough to scoop out with a long fish net. The first time we scooped out a muskrat, DH drove very slowly to the lake a few blocks away, while I sat in the backseat, holding the fish net out the window (they have nasty sharp claws). . . must have been an interesting sight for the neighbors :)
. . . off to get a board . . .

A board and a piece of fabric has worked for a mouse and a chipmunk, but toads don't know how to climb out. The bottom of the window well is about 48" below ground level. It's actually a code-required escape egress for the basement; we have no other window wells. I can't remember how I thought of using the light bulb changer, and I don't know why the toads will climb into the cage end!

The only other 'window well dweller' I recall is the stray cat that gave birth to her litter in the one beside our screened porch when I was a child. It was shallow enough that she could hop in and out. We didn't even know she was there until we heard the kittens mew. "Muffy" stayed on with us for about a year after we found homes for her brood, then one day...went off to find love again, I guess!

hmmmm, they're not interested in climbing the board - or maybe not able, as you said, chisue, and I don't have a long light bulb changer. They just scatter every time I try the fish net, plus even if I was able to catch any, they'd just go right through the holes as the frogs are so tiny . . . frustrating! Ours is a 48" deep egress access also, and not the type you cover . . . I'll have to keep thinking . . .

BTW, the 2nd muskrat dug himself into a corner every time we tried to net him - our city's animal officer tried to get him with his long "grabber" but was unsuccessful as well. The next day the officer came back with a different tool, but little houdini was gone. He had freed himself by digging under the side of the wood and straight UP through 48" of earth . . . the perfect round tunnel was amazing!

We had a hole surrounded by landscaping stones where a dead ash tree had been removed. One time we were outside and I realized we hadn't seen Ruby in a few minutes. Guess where she was lol?

After that I checked it often, just in case something else found it's way down there. One day I looked down to see a poor baby skunk down there, and there was a few inches of water at the bottom as well.

I was talking to it and it was looking up at me and didn't seem scared or threatened by me. Without even thinking, I laid across the stones, reached down, and scooped it up. Cold, wet, pitiful. I rubbed it dry with my sweater, put it down, and it toddled under the fence, across the street, and under the neighbours porch ROFL!

Dances.

Pixistix- I guess you could open the window from the inside and get all the frogs out that way, by letting them into the house. :) Or trap them somehow before they get into the house, but still use the window to access them. Could you fashion some thin screening material to make a screeen for the top of it, to prevent them from doing it again, afterwards?

pixistix -- I've sometimes been able to nudge a toad until it hops into a bucket that I've turned on its side. You have to be fast righting the bucket and pulling it up before the toad hops out again.

Years ago Bill Geist had a feature on Sunday Morning CBS-TV where he showed farmers *vacuuming* prairie dogs out of their fields. They stuck a clear hose down the holes and the little fellers came rocketing up into a holding tank. The animals didn't seem any the worse for wear. We were in hysterics, watching this.

dances -- Do only mature skunks spray, or were you just lucky? You were fortunate to escape the consequences of "No good deed goes unpunished."

chisue, I talked to an extension agent this morning and he suggested leaning a long pine branch (instead of a board) in the area. He also said they might not WANT to leave, as the spot is cool, gets water, has plenty of food and has leaf mixture for shade, saying they could live a good long life down there :)

He was actually surprised to hear we've never seen this before, as it's pretty much the norm for frogs. As they get bigger, he said we'd be better able to scoop them out . . . and that they may even be able to get out on their own because it's a rough wooden enclosure with toe spaces in the boards. This must be another 'feature' of our world's weird weather . . . as we've been experiencing this tropical heat index and we've never seen frogs like this - and never found them in the pool before!

(ps: now every time I go through the bank drive-through, I'll picture prairie dogs hurtling through the clear vacuum tubes :)

Try covering the window wells with 1/4" wire screen/fencing to keep critters out. It won't work for spiders, but should keep others out and still ventilate and light the window well.

Dances In Garden....what a sweet story about your rescued skunk. Baby skunks are born with their scent glands fully loaded and can spray quite soon after birth. Your little baby skunk had to feel intense gratitude to you, for not spraying you, any ways, I would like to think so. It warms my heart to read about people who are so ready to help a critter in trouble. There are some who's first thought is to kill them. I;m proud to 'know' ya-all.

Why not just remove the cover, hop down in the well and grab the toad and gently lift it out...toads will not hurt you