While a wildlife encounter can be startling, some little visitors in your backyard can mean that you’re doing something right.
A Reddit user learned in r/gardening that the frog in their garden was, as one commenter put it, “a good sign of a healthy ecosystem.”
Photo Credit: iStock
“Are frogs good or bad for gardens?? Any advice? I have lots of pests and I don’t want to hurt him,” the original poster wrote in the title.
An eagle-eyed commenter identified the frog’s species: “The defined white stripe on the upper lip extending down the side of the body is a defining characteristic of the green tree frog.”
Luckily for the OP, green tree frogs could help with backyard pests.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, green tree frogs are native to the general southeastern U.S. Their native environment goes as far west as Texas and north as Delaware. In places where they’ve been introduced, such as Massachusetts, they haven’t been destructive either.
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These frogs eat insects, snails, and spiders, which means that they’re a natural kind of pest control. Letting them live allows them to hop around happily and could reduce how much you spend on pesticides.
Green tree frogs will hide in any crevices, logs, branches, leaves, or other small spaces they can find. Leaving the leaves in your backyard on the ground instead of raking will give them more space. Allowing leaves to cover the ground can benefit other tiny but mighty parts of our ecosystems as well.
Rewilding or planting a native lawn are other routes you can take to support native wildlife.
These methods of outdoor management often use less water and require less maintenance. They can benefit you and be especially helpful for pollinators, who keep our food supply chains intact.
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Even changing up a portion of your outdoor space can have a huge impact. Every additional flower or small crevice could help one more bee or frog thrive in our ecosystems.
Commenters were delighted to learn about the OP’s garden visitor.
One person wrote: “Frogs and toads are bug-eating machines. Treasure their presence!”
“Frogs are our garden friends! They eat harmful bugs are I consider them to be my plants bodyguards. Always make sure there are a couple little water dishes for your new friend,” another Reddit user said.
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