Frog Removal, Control, Get Rid of Frogs

11.17.2004 - This was certainly one of my more unusual jobs. A lady called me, stating that her swimming pool was full of frogs, and she asked me if I could remove them. Although this was uncharted territory for me, the fact is that many of my jobs are actually uncharted territory, and this didn't sound terribly difficult. I figured that I'd show up, and by hook or by crook, I'd catch those frogs and save the day.

So we scheduled a time and I showed up, but I soon realized that I needed neither hook nor crook, but rather a net. I had some nets, but the size of the pool made the skimmer a fairly handy tool for catching the roving croakers. The lady had carefully observed the frogs over the past few days. She believed that there were 34 frogs in the pool. I found the hole in her screen that allowed them to get in, and I patched it shut. I don't know why they had selected this pool for a mass migration, but there they were, and the lady didn't want them.

I set about catching them, like this: Some I grabbed by hand, some I got with the net. Some I caught on land, and some I caught were wet. Some of the frogs were hopping, some of them were swimming. But I was not stopping and shortly I was winning. They were in the pool no more; the frogs were in my bucket. I could not find all 34, so I just said screw it. But then the lady said, "Check the filter" and I found another three. This brought my total to 36, and so I said, "pay me". The lady said, "A dollar a frog", but I said, "Make it two". So she gave me 68 smackers and then I bid adieu. The end.

Do it yourself: Visit my How To Get Rid of Frogs page for tips and advice.
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Here's an email exchange about a frog issue:

Hello, I'm hoping you can give me some advice on this situation. We just moved into a home that has a small waterfall pond. We have a married couple that has complained twice about a croaking frog in the pond. The frog isn't ours, however, when the couple asked us (two times now) if they could have them disposed of or removed, we said "absolutely not because they are a part of nature & we love nature". Frogs don't croak continuously & I believe they only do this when they're mating. We have no problem with it, nor do any of the other neighbors, do you have any advice on this situation? Are frogs protected in any way? The way this neighbor sounded when she left last night was like they were going to have something done, period. She even asked if we could "bring the frog into our house so it wouldn't disturb their sleep"............... Thanks for any help you can give & have a great day! Monika

(ME) Interesting! It sounds like the neighbor is very distressed. Some people are picky about sleep. I personally like frogs and like having them around, and I even like their croaking. But if I were bothering a neighbor's sleep, I would catch the frog and relocate it to another pond. Or I'd ask the neighbor to do so, since they're the one with the complaint. I know that your neighbors sound picky and fussy, but I've dealt with noise problems before (a neighbor's barking dog) and it frustrated me very much for a long time. A good night's sleep is important!

We like the frog(s) & don't really find it necessary to relocate it since it's only one set of neighbors with the problem. The thing is, we have a large creek that extends the back of our houses & all the way down to the next road, so even if the frog was relocated, I would assume others would take it's place?...Then that would be a never-ending saga of relocating frogs. A barking dog is a completely different story, as that is someone's pet, but this is nature & I like to leave things as they are unless they're trying to come into our home, etc. Thanks for your response & suggestion, I appreciate it. Have a great day! Monika

(ME) Well then, leave the frog be.

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Frogs can be an annoying amphibian to have hopping around your house even though they kill insects and are usually harmless. The first, and possibly most important step in frog removal is identifying the frog. Once you identify what type of frog it is, whether or not it's endangered, and whether or not it's poisonous you can begin considering what method you want to use to humanely remove the frog.

How to Remove Frogs Humanely

After the frog has been identified, and you're certain that they're not endangered, consider trying to remove frogs humanely before using harmful chemicals. To remove frogs simply sprinkle used coffee grounds into your garden and around where they like to relax. The nitrates from the coffee grounds will help the majority of your plants grow while causing discomfort for the frog. Note, though, that coffee grounds are quite acidic so depending on the plant you sprinkle them on, it will sometimes assist the plant's growth and other times cripple it. You can do the same thing with saltwater if you don't have a garden (it's best on concrete or asphalt).

If the aforementioned methods don't produce any results in about a week, consider removing what is attracting the frog. To do this, remove the frog's food source (insects) by putting repellents in your garden and leaving your garden lights off, regularly maintain your garden by removing shady areas as often as possible, and remove any standing water. If you must have a water feature make sure that the water is moving.

How to Remove Frogs with Chemicals

Chemicals should be a last resort for removing frogs because it doesn't work a whole lot better and can scar the frog in a variety of ways for the rest of their life. For example, many brands of herbicides are extremely effective in frog removal but they will make male frogs sterile, effecting their future reproduction and the local population. You can also use pesticides to limit a frog's food source but the frogs are likely to end up ingesting the insects that have come in contact with it, effectively poisoning them. The most humane chemical you can use is a snake repellant. Strangely, snake repellent also repels frogs and doesn't seem to hurt them.

The Fridge/Freezer Method

If none of these methods work or the chemical method seems too inhumane, consider the fridge/freezer method. Many frogs hibernate, so after trapping the frog in some Tupperware with air holes you can simply put the frog in your fridge and they'll go to sleep rather quickly. Check on them in less than 48 hours and they should be hibernating. From there you can either put the frog in your freezer and euthanize them after 24 hours or bring them to a nearby pond or lake so that they can be free. Simply set the container down by a lake, open the lid, and they'll wake up pretty soon after that. Or, you can always call an exterminator if these methods seem too tiresome for you. Remember, you can always request that an exterminator use humane tactics when they're either killing or relocating the frogs.