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How To Get Rid Of Frog Eggs

Although amphibian enthusiasts adore frogs in the wild or in captivity, frogs can become a problem when they breed on private property. Since frogs lay hundreds or even thousands of eggs at a time, and finding them around your home, in your pool or pond can be incredibly concerning. 

Frog eggs can be relocated to an appropriate water body within 1km of your home using a mesh net and water-filled bucket. There are risks involved when removing and relocating fragile frog eggs, and certain frog species may need to be handled by a Wildlife Department depending on local laws. 

While it may be frustrating to discover frog eggs on your property, these innocent creatures should not be stripped of their ability to grow and live normal lives.

Before we dive in, consider getting a FrogLog to avoid frogs falling into and spawning in your pool in the future.

FrogLog Escape Ramp for Critters in Pools

  • Save Frogs & Small Animals
  • Easy Setup
  • Simple Design
  • Keep Water Clean

Frogs do not want to lay eggs in an open body of water that is hot and chlorinated and just need a way to get out, like the low-cost, easy-to-install FrogLog provides. They should always be treated with respect, regardless of the approaches used.

Join me as I we discuss how you can get rid of frog eggs without harming them. 

Steps To Get Rid Of Frog Eggs on Your Property

Removing and relocating frog eggs can be fairly straightforward with the right approaches, as they are still immobile during this time.

However, frog eggs are extremely fragile and need to be handled with as much care as possible.

Do not leave the eggs in your pool, or in salty, shallow, or polluted water as these can dehydrate and kill frogs. It is best to remove and relocate the frogs and their eggs if you have young children, pets, or predators on your property.

Turbulence can cause a wide range of issues for their wellbeing or death in some cases.

Be sure to contact local Wildlife Department before going ahead with any frog egg removal processes (phone numbers below).

1. Find Their Original Habitat

Before you start scooping the frog eggs out of your backyard pond, find out where their orignal home is located.

If frogs have found their way to the property to lay eggs, there will likely be a suitable habitat very close to your home.

The location where the frog should have laid their eggs will typically fall within a 1km radius of the water body containing the frog eggs.

Generally it is a natural body of water like a forest pond, bog, fen, marsh or stream.

Open Google Maps and look within a 1km radius around your home to try to locate the frog’s original home.

The water should be composed of non-salty, unpolluted, slow-moving freshwater to prevent the frog eggs from being washed away, dehydrating, or dying.

This is where you should release the frog eggs so they can continue their development.

Of course do so while respecting local laws, especially if you need to release the eggs into someone else’s private pond.

2. Prepare to Scoop Up The Eggs

After an appropriate spot has been identified, one would need to travel to the area and collect enough water to completely submerge the eggs.

This is a critical step, as most easily accessible water sources (such as tap water) can harm or kill frog eggs

  1. Grab a deep pale, large enough to cover all the eggs
  2. Go to the frog’s original location and fill the bucket with water from that source

If it is problematic to make multiple trips, it may be possible to keep the frog eggs in a bucket of the same water as the water body in which they were found.

This is true if they were found in your backyard pond.

However, avoid transferring the frog eggs submerged in pool water into natural bodies of water. This can harm the frogs and surrounding wildlife.

3. Remove The Frog Eggs

Frog eggs that are handled directly with bare hands bear risking injury or death. Remove the eggs using a mesh net.

The mesh net should be tightly woven, with holes approximately 1mm in size.

This size is safest, as frog eggs can get caught or fall through the holes if the spaces are too large. 

Deposit the eggs into the pale or bucket filled with water from their natural source.

Ensure there is enough water to completely submerge the eggs and do not leave the bucket in full sun.

Leaving it in full sun can heat up the water and kill the frog eggs. It may also make the water evaporate, dehydrate, and kill the frogs.

4. Relocate The Frog Eggs

The frog eggs need to be relocated to a shaded bank in a vegetated area. Transport them in the bucket filled with water to the identified location.

Placing the frog eggs around vegetation serves the following purposes as they develop into tadpoles:

  • Vegetation provides natural protection from surrounding predators
  • Eggs attach to vegetation to avoid floating away
  • Ensures that the frog eggs will have sufficient food sources nearby once they develop into tadpoles.
  • Ensures that the frog eggs will be able to swim once they develop into tadpoles.  

Be sure to place the eggs near the bank around vegetation so they can have enough food, water, and shelter to survive the fragile early stages of their lives.

5. Clean The Water Body

Although there is no need for alarm, frogs can host pathogens and bacteria, which can be harmful to other lifeforms on your property (like your pet dog or cat).

Treat the water body if your family or pets regularly interact with it.

For example you should clean your pool if you found frogs and their eggs in that space since it is regularly used by family members. Here is what to do if you found frog eggs in your pool.

6. Prevent The Frogs From Coming Back

You could also consider ensuring the frogs do not come back onto your property at this point.

Here are some guides on our blog with detailed tips on keeping frogs off your property:

But before you dive head first into removing the frog eggs on your property, consider that there are risks involved, not only for the frogs but also for yourself.

Risks of Frog Egg Removal

Even if one is careful in handling, the mere act of relocating frog eggs can still pose numerous risks.

They could die from the transition or potential pathogens, bacteria, and diseases in new water bodies. 

Yet it is much safer to relocate frog eggs to their original body of water than to leave them in your pool. Feel free to keep them in your pond if you do not mind the presence of frogs on your property.

However, some frog species may be endangered or protected under wildlife laws in your area.

Harming these species by any means can result in penalties, fines, or other legal consequences, irrespective of whether or not the damage was intentional or not. 

Contacting your local Wildlife Department before going ahead with frog egg removal will always be a better and more reliable option.

These departments may provide steps and advice specific to your case and can help you understand your responsibility regarding the local wildlife laws and regulations in your locality. 

DepartmentArea Phone Number
U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceUnited States1‑800‑344‑WILD
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & AttractionsAustralia (08) 9219 9000
Canadian Wildlife ServiceCanada 1-800-668-6767
Department for Environment Food & Rural AffairsUnited Kingdom03459 33 55 77

While removing the frog eggs without issue may be possible, some cases may require professional intervention.

Although frog eggs can still be harmed or killed in the process and such services are usually costly, professional assistance may be the only option in some scenarios (CTNF).

Local services may remove the frog eggs on your behalf, but it is important to ensure that these service providers’ approaches are moral, ethical, and humane.

Some services may be classified as pest or animal control services, while others will prioritize the preservation of frog eggs as much as possible. 

Easily Avoid Frogspawn in Your Pool

A very simple way to avoid frogs spawning in your pool in the future is to add a way for them to escape.

Your pool has no vegetation, is probably hot and full of chlorine – all things frogs do not want when they are laying eggs.

Therefore, simply adding a way for them to easily exit the pool can help avoid them laying eggs in it.

All you need is a simple FrogLog:

FrogLog Escape Ramp for Critters in Pools

  • Save Frogs & Small Animals
  • Easy Setup
  • Simple Design
  • Keep Water Clean

See 11 Ways to Keep Frogs Out of Your Pool on our blog

More About Removing Frog Eggs

Learn more about frogs, their eggs, and removing them from your property in the guides on our blog below:

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.