Frog help please

Today I tackled the stinking, stagnant soup bowl we like to call our pond (It's just a large planter sunk in the ground in our "woodland area") and found a frog. We call him Carl Gustav after the king of Sweden. He is rather large, so must either have travelled to us only now, or lived there all winter.

Now I have a little problem. I googled that frogs eat also slugs, which is a definite plus (please don't correct me if I'm wrong- I'd like to keep that dream). However, the combination of pond, hostas, slugs and Carl Gustav has an obvious problem- slug pellets.

Are slug pellets harmful to frogs if eaten second hand (i.e inside a perished slug), and do frogs fancy the pellets raw? I have done two applications already and Carl Gustav is still very much alive, but I'm a bit concerned.

After the potential frogicide I committed today (I just realised that the foamy bits may not have been rotten leaves based after all... ) I'd like to do my best to keep Carl Gustav happy.

 

I think Mr Gustav will be fine. I'm pretty sure that the poison in slug pellets is just some kind of salt. Toxic in large measures, or if you're a slug, buy harmless in the kind of doses that Carl will get by scavenging.

 

I thought that was true years ago, but I believe the recipe has changed to be non-toxic now?

 

ARMANDII is correct slug pellets will poison a hedgehog or a bird. I agree that its logical to assume a frog would also suffer the same fate. There have been numerous cases on the Island involving hedgehogs . I had a hog in Oct who's symptoms were typical of poisoning - not sure if it was slug pellet or rat poison. The hog died before I could get to vet, but there was nothing vet could have done except PTS. I try to garden as organically as I can and restrict weedkiller to a minimum.

 

The hedgehog I had in had the same symptoms as seen in dogs. He also began foaming at the mouth . Poison is a horrible death.

 

I believe the organic ones are ferric phosphate based and are not poisonous to pets, hedgehogs and birds.

 

many of you have seen my hosta'sssssss. and said, hey no slugs. My response is I have toads, and frogs and birds. So no would never think of putting down anything to kill the slugs. If anything I would use, would be a dish of beer. But cannot recall when I needed that as I have toads, frogs and birds.

 

I have Hedgehogs and Blackbirds but still a fair few slugs around........ large, fat orange things and even larger green, mottled slugs . I have not seen a Blackbird eat a slug but they are very keen on the leftover Hedgehog biscuits.

 

Spikes Hedgehog biscuits are a slugs favourite meal,i use those and then chuck the slugs in the green bin
I spray my hostas with a garlic solution,seems to keep them away

 

Good news, Carl Gustav is doing very well. It is also possible that he might be a she as some more foamy bits have appeared on the surface of our little pondlet.

Our slug pellets swear on the label that they are safe for dogs and other animals. They are also very popular amongst the slug population but I'm not sure how efficient they actually are since my newly sprouting hostas are already half eaten. Maybe if I use even more it will be more difficult for the slugs to slither their way over the pellet mounds?