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Does Bleach Kill Frogs?

My grandparents had frogs on their property and, to my dismay, would use bleach to deter them from coming back. 

I am glad they listened to me after I told them how cruel and inhumane this was. 

Frogs can die due a slow death to bleach exposure and using bleach to deter or repel frogs is inhumane and cruel. Bleach should not be used to keep frogs away, and should never be put directly onto frogs.

Thankfully, my grandparents replaced the bleach with natural products like salt and others that I will discuss in this post.

While contact with salt is more likely to cause discomfort and skin irritation, bleach exposure can cause irreversible physical damage to frogs. 

Join me as I discuss how bleach exposure affects frogs, as well as better, safer alternatives you can use to keep frogs off your property.

Bleach Causes Slow Death in Frogs

Bleach is a strong corrosive that can damage, burn, and corrode a frog’s skin and eyes upon contact. When mixed with certain other chemicals or cleaners, it can produce toxic gasses that can damage your lungs or be deadly. 

In no case should bleach be used around frogs for any reason

It is fairly well-known that bleach can corrode human skin. However, frogs are at higher risk of suffering detrimental effects when exposed to bleach compared to humans. 

Frogs have thin porous skin through which they breathe and drink. Exposing them directly to bleach, even diluted, can burn their skin and cause permanent damage to their ability to survive in the wild.

Exposing frogs to bleach puts them at higher risks of injury, death, or death from their injuries.

Using bleach to deter frogs from your property, or for any other reason, is cruel and inhumane.

Always use caution and care when working with bleach and never use it anywhere near frogs or other animals for that matter.

The bottom line is, do not use bleach around or directly on frogs. It is a cruel and inhumane way to deal with frogs on your property. Deter frogs with natural repellents instead.

Bleach Can Cause Deformities in Frogs

Bleach exposure can detrimentally affect frogs at any stage of metamorphic development and cause deformities or death.

Frogs are most vulnerable to the negative consequences of bleach during the embryo and larval stages. 

Frogs are incredibly sensitive, but they are far more prone to injury, deformation, and harm during early development.

Instead of exposing frogs, their eggs, or tadpoles to bleach if you find them on your property, here are ways to save them and avoid them coming back:

Since frog eggs and tadpoles are often found in bodies of water such as pools or ponds on people’s property, it truly is best to relocate them to a safe natural body of water within 1km from your home for them to develop. 

There’s no reason to expose your pool or pond ecosystem to bleach when it really is not necessary or kind to these creatures that were probably on your property before you were. 

Frogs do not want to lay eggs in a hot, chlorinated, difficult to escape pool.

One of the best things that you can do for the frogs and tadpoles are to relocate them, and then frog-proof your property, and your pool to avoid the problem in the future.

Better Ways to Deal With Frogs

There are much better ways of dealing with frogs on your property than by exposing them to bleach. 

Some of the best homemade, natural frog repellents include salt, coffee grounds, baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice

These can be applied around your property and in areas where frogs often gather to discourage them from roaming your property. 

Never put any of these repellents directly onto frogs, even if they are ā€œnaturalā€

Minor exposure to these repellants can generally cause skin irritation and discomfort in frogs, which is the primary reason why they are better than bleach, pesticides, and other synthetic repellents.

However, none of these ā€œnaturalā€ products are completely safe for frogs overall, and excessive exposure can lead to a wide range of negative outcomes including death

Using these substances and solutions incorrectly can injure or kill frogs, the lawn and other vegetation on your property. 

For example, frogs can die due to salt exposure, depending on the species and the method of contact (CTNF). 

Salt causes dehydration and disrupts their body functions, which can cause illness or death. 

Even tap water can harm frogs since it contains chlorine, ammonia and chloramines, which are extremely toxic to all amphibians. 

Such substances can penetrate a frogā€™s skin and may cause serious health problems including severe damage to their internal organs, or lead to death.

Like the other natural repellents we discussed in the article above, salt can be used in moderation to repel frogs around the home, but should never be put directly onto a frog.

Be sure to read the article we linked in the green box above to learn about better alternatives to bleach when dealing with frogs.

More About Deterring Frogs

The bottom line is, do not use bleach around or directly on frogs. It is a cruel and inhumane way to deal with frogs on your property. 

We have many other posts that can help you get rid of frogs in a safer way for yourself and for the frogs on our blog.

Learn more in these guides on our blog:

Daniella Master Herpetologist

Daniella is a Master Herpetologist and the founder of toadsnfrogs.com, a website dedicated to educating the general population on frogs by meeting them where they are in their online Google Search. Daniella is passionate about frogs and put her digital marketing skills and teaching experience to good use by creating these helpful resources to encourage better education, understanding, and care for frogs.