Where's Kermit???

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/611874/ :)

Pouting here cause we don't have tree frogs. :'(

Oh - I felt the same way reading that thread - wished I could go out and find frogs in my daylilies...they look so comfy in them!

I can't believe you guys don't have frogs. We have a lot of frogs and toads here. Sometimes they are so loud, you can't hear yourself think. The other night there were three of those little tree frogs talking to each other, all around where I was working. The noise was incredible. The pond frogs pretty much keep the slugs at bay in my hostas.

Editeed for can't even speell forgss before 7am.

This message was edited Jun 12, 2006 10:25 AM

2zeus I now think a daylily's beauty isn't complete without one of them in residence.

LOLOLOL Car's packed and I'll be arriving in Winnipeg shortly echoes.......

OK then, shall I go ask this one if he/she and a few friends might like to move to Moose Jaw, where they will not be so crowded?

echoes, that's a great pic!

Ü Oh echoes he is a cutie!!!!! Ü And just how did Winnipeg get so lucky to have tree frogs??? ;)

I don't think I've seen that species here.........I'd love to get his swimming offspring (better chance they'd stick around my yard once they grow up). I've brought in little wood frogs before (out of 20 I think 2 stuck around). Unfortunately we are far enough away from the natural ponds, rivers, etc. that, other than a garter snake, the amphibians have never made it on their own to my yard.

Hmm....cause I have a natural pond? I've never actually seen this kind around the pond. Wonder how much noise he makes. We get some little knobby brown ones too. Maybe they are toads. And the big ones that live in the pond. I wouldn't mind a few garter snakes, but they would eat the frogs. Well what do I want, slugs or mice. I'll take slugs, cause I stand a better chance fighting them. Do garter snakes eat mice?

This message was edited Jun 13, 2006 7:02 AM

LOLOL cheater!!! ;)

This is what we do have here in Sask....only one province (maritime) has less species than we do.

Spadefoots
Plains Spadefoot Toad -- Crapaud des Plaines -- Spea bombifrons

True Toads
Canadian Toad -- Crapaud du Canada -- Bufo hemiophrys
Great Plains Toad -- Crapaud des Steppes -- Bufo cognatus

Treefrogs
(.I like them but they aren't quite the ones I was refering too ;)
Boreal Chorus Frog -- Rainette Faux-Grillon Boréale -- Pseudacris maculata
http://www.livingunderworld.org/gallery/photos/anura/hylidae/pseudacris/maculata/

True Frogs
Northern Leopard Frog -- Grenouille Léopard -- Rana pipiens
Wood Frog -- Grenouille des Bois -- Rana sylvatica


This message was edited Jun 12, 2006 2:37 PM

Interesting.

so do garter snakes eat mice?

Pretty sure they do..........why?????

Just so I can like them a it more.

Luckily I do have frogs in my front garden. One always comes hopping out for a shower when I have the hose. I say luckily because the little guy eats the slugs in my front garden. My hero.

Wish he would ask his frog pals to move into my backyard -- Most of my marigolds and nicotiana have become food to gross slimey unwanted pests.

Garter snakes. When living in Victoria one of our fave excursions was to watch the helicopters not far away. Snakes would sun themelves on the cement barricades. I used to pay the kids .10 ea for every snake they caught. We would take them back and release in the garden.

Ginny off to see the huge screen at the legislature showing the soccer. Curious, not a soccer fan.

Hi Gang:

I don't mean to crash your thread but I thought that I'd give some info on garter snakes:

Like most small predators, they're opportunists and will eat anything that they can catch and subdue. So, their food will depend mostly on their habitat and also the size of the individual.

They'll take anything from insects to frogs (boo) to minnows to (yes) small mammals.

Releasing predators to control prey populations is not always very effective so I wouldn't expect your mice population to be affected. However, IMHO, the snakes have their own niche and are a welcome addition to any garden just for the diversity that their presence brings (hows that for touchy feely ?).

Cheers and good gardening.

Steve

Steve,

Victoria gardens are full of rats - yes RATS - and mice. So snakes are welcome. Cats often catch rats.
inanda

I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like you need all the predators you can find.

There are a myriad of rat deterrents around - everything from fox granules (i'm not sure if I want to know how they distill that) to devices that mimic the sound of rats in distress. I don't know about the efficacy of these things, though.

I'm not sure if cats/dogs are considered effective at rat population control because the rats breed so quickly. I wonder if there have been studies done using competing rodents like squirrels. I know that the chipmunks and red squirrels at my house are pretty aggressive with each other.

Living in the harsh winters of central canada can have it's advantages, I guess. Rarely do I ever see rats in the wild out here.

Bonne chance !

Steve

It's been confirmed the garters should be accepted into your garden echoes. :) Warfarin has always been my choice re: rats. Had one get into our back porch, neither cats nor our Dalmation (a rat hunting breed), kept that one away. But warfarin and removing the dog food from the porch did.

Noting here we did place the warfarin where only the rat would get it.

One summer, I saw little brown warty frog/toad creatures. Not sure if they were baby toads, or what. Very tiny, very cute. But, then I did have garter snakes in residence, so perhaps they dined on them. I want frogs, toads. Still trying to find a place where I can snag some tadpoles, but, then, am I condemning them to death by Northern Ribbon Snakes? Hard decisions. Why can't they leave a few??? Sad gardener, here. BAM

How many snakes have you seen in your yard Bam?

I'm eyeing some of the swampy areas just off Thunder Creek for hunting tadpoles....I know the Garter Snakes are often seen there so any I catch will have a better chance in my yard (it was a few years ago that I found one snake catching a few rays on my retaining wall).

Lilypon, so far this year, I only saw one Ribbon Snake about a foot long. Last summer, there were several small ones. Or so I thought. Perhaps simply sighting the same one. But, if so, how did one single Ribbon Snake end up here? Still, would love to have frogs and toads. Thought I was too cold for tree frogs, but there are tree frogs in other areas around here. Perhaps just too close to the highway, with all the exhaust emissions, noise, etc. So sad. The tree frogs are my favorites. But, nothing replaces a nice, fat resident toad. But, on the upside, I saw a butterfly in my garden today that is not a usual resident! I think it was an Admiral, but will have to look it up. So far the little orange ones with black spots, and the Tiger Swallowtails. Just praying for more diversity.
NOT of the rodent sort! Hmmm. Big sigh. I just keep trying. Wish me luck. BAM

Here's another kind of little one. These always sit on the trim of the hot tub.

Crossing fingers for you BAM.......you are right about the toads (some years the slugs here would keep a number of toads here very happy and fat!! Sorry such a late reply but DS was doing a number of final papers so my time here was very spotty (and somehow I messed up and this thread was taken off watch).

Your little one seems very well fed echoes........does he ever surprise you *in* the hot tub???