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How to Keep Frogs Away

There were frogs on your property and you want to get rid of them and keep them away. They may have been in your backyard, garden or even in your swimming pool. Good news, this guide is for you.

You can keep frogs off your property by eliminating anything that attracts them including water features and fountains. Turn off your lights at night which attract bugs and the frogs that eat them. You should also frog proof your pool, pond, window wells, and yard following appropriate measures.

Let’s have a look at each of these steps in much more detail with information on how you can implement these tips to keep frogs off your property for good. If you still have frogs on your property, read our complete guide on how to get rid of frogs first.

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Get Rid of Any Water Features That Attract Frogs

To keep frogs off your property, eliminate any water features including ponds, fountains, bird baths and pools of water that may be attracting them. Frogs need water to live and are attracted to humid locations so eliminating these elements on your property to keep them away.

If you really want to get rid of frogs in your hard, at your door or around your home, you may want to consider getting rid of any ponds, fountains or water features that may be attracting them. This is another possible reason the frogs might be around your home or door.

Fountains or man-made ponds increase the humidity in their immediate vicinity significantly. Some fountains also have a small shallow pool at the bottom, which could serve as a good place for the frogs to lay their eggs. If you cannot get rid of a water feature in your yard have a look at our guide on how to frog-proof your pool.

Frog-Proof Your Swimming Pool

Some frogs may think a swimming pool is a great place to reproduce and spawn. If you wake up in the morning and find their pool full of frog eggs or tadpoles you should not swim with them and need to take action. If that happens, be sure to call your local animal control department since there are location specific laws to follow when moving frog spawn.

Here are some ways to keep frogs out of your swimming pool:

  • Install a tight pool fence so the frogs cannot fit through it
  • Maintain the grass around the pool: keep it short
  • Use a pool cover when the pool is not in use
  • Keep the pool warm or heat it
  • Ensure the water keeps moving using a pool pump

Frogs do not like moving water so you can help keep them out of your pool and pond by adding a stronger pump. If you donā€™t mind having frogs in your yard but donā€™t want them in your pool, you could create a better place for them to live in another area of your yard. Consider creating a frog-friendly pond or making another habitat for them to gravitate towards. 

Get Rid of Standing Water That Attracts Frogs

Frogs need water to drink, breathe, reproduce and lay eggs. Therefore, they need to have a sufficient amount of moisture in the air around them at any given time to avoid drying out, which can be deadly for them. Because of this, frogs tend to vastly prefer places where there is either a body of standing water or high humidity.

Get rid of any of the following that can attract frogs to your home:

  • Tarps that retain water and moisture
  • Planters placed on grass
  • Pooling water like puddles
  • Garbage bags placed on grass
  • Piles of leaves
  • Pet water bowls

Planters may also be attracting frogs serving two purposes for them, as they can act as hiding places as well as making their surroundings more comfortable. This means that having bushes, large flowers, or trees near your door might be contributing to the Frog situation.

Do Not Water Your Lawn Often: It Can Attract Frogs

Generally, a lawn that is humid or often wet and close to an area with frogs may attract them. Therefore, watering your lawn often may be attracting frogs to your yard. To keep frogs away, reduce the frequency at which you water your lawn to once or twice a week.

A great example of how watering a lawn can attract frogs this comes from my life growing up in Western Washington. In Washington, itā€™s harder to keep frogs out of your lawn, especially in the rainier parts of the state. Frogs will live pretty much anywhere that they can find bugs and water.

In the Summer when it starts to get dry, frogs tend to migrate to the lawns of people who water them daily. This leads to those people having tons of frogs living in their front yards, which I thought was fantastic (and kind of still do) but which many of my neighbours were a little less happy about it. So avoid watering your lawn every day in the Summer, it may be attracting frogs.

Fix Your Leaky Garden Hose

Most ordinary garden hoses do not create a perfect seal between the hose and the faucet, which means that thereā€™s a really good chance that every time your garden hose turns on, the faucet is leaking a bunch of tiny water droplets into the air around it.

In my parentsā€™ old house, the grass would always grow twice as fast next to the hose faucet because of this. Itā€™s safe to say that this could also significantly increase humidity that would attract frogs. If you have a garden hose near your front door, this could certainly attract frogs or toads to the area.

Be sure to fix any leaks including garden hoses that can attract frogs. If a water main is leaking on your property, be sure to tend to it quickly as it can cause structural issues to your home and attract pests like frogs (CTNF).

Turn Off Your Lights At Night

Bright lights at night attract bugs which attracts frogs. If you have frogs on your property at night, be sure to turn off the lights which will deter bugs and frogs from being present near your home.

You may think that having a light on in your back yard is practical, and it certainly is if you are out there at night. But if your light is on and lighting the way for bugs to congregate, without any other purpose for humans, you are doing more harm than good.

Lights at night attract bugs with attract their predators including frogs. If you are not in your yard or garden, be sure to turn off any lights that are not in use. This will help keep bugs and frogs away from your property.

Cut Your Grass to Keep Frogs Away

Tall grass may attract frogs to your yard since tall grass and weeds retain moisture and harvest the bugs and rodents that frogs eat. Try to keep your grass under 3 inches tall to protect your lawn and avoid attracting frogs.

Frogs like to hide in bushes and vegetation. If you eliminate their favourite places to hide, you will eliminate the chances of having frogs in your yard. Be sure to cut your grass at least bi-weekly in the Summer or regularly depending on your climate.

An ideal grass hight to avoid attracting frogs is 2 1/2 inches. Try to keep your grass under 3 inches long to make it less attractive to frogs and other rodents and reptiles like mice and snakes. Also avoid watering it too often since the moisture can attract frogs.

Deconstruct Any Potential Frog Shelters

Frogs generally like to hide in vegetation and small grass, but also under rocks, logs leaves, and moist structures. To keep frogs out of your yard, be sure to deconstruct any potential structures that could shelter them.

If your garden is contoured by piled rocks, or if you have a pile of leaves in your yard, or some planters on the grass, you have some ideal places for frogs to hide. It’s important to deconstruct anything that could shelter frogs if you are down to your last options to eliminate them.

To keep your yard tidy, you could deter frogs from nesting in rock structures by filling in any holes or “cave-like” areas that they could hide in. You could place planters on cement or concrete instead of grass to avoid creating humid places they can burrow. Be sure to pickup any piles of leaves and take down any potential shelters including fallen branches and logs.

Get Rid of Decomposing Foods

Food, decomposing food such as compost or fallen fruit, and fresh dog or cat food can attract frogs and toads to a back yard since food attracts bugs which frogs feed on. Get rid of any foods in your yard to avoid attracting frogs.

If you have fruit-bearing trees or bushes such as raspberry bushes or apple trees and if you do not pick up fallen fruit, you may be inadvertently attracting frogs. Although frogs do not eat fruit, decomposing fruits attract bugs which can attract frogs and toads.

The same goes for your compost, garbage bags, or pet food. They may be attracting frogs since decomposing food, garbage and pet food attract bugs. Take the garbage to the curb or keep it in a sealed bin. Get rid of your compost if you truly do not want to be attracting frogs and try to keep your pet’s food indoors.

Put Up a Tight, Deep Fence to Keep Frogs Out

You can stop frogs from entering your backyard or garden by putting up tight, smooth, solid fencing around your yard that is at least 50cm (20 inches) above and below ground since they cannot climb that high and should not dig further than 50cm.

Stop Cane Toads in Your Yard!

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Watch the video above that contains a demonstration of the type of fencing you could put up to keep toads and frogs off your property. It’s important to run the fence deep since toads can dig.

Try Natural Frog Repellants to Keep Frogs Away

If you are determined to keep frogs out of your backyard and garden altogether, here are a few other ethical solutions that should leave both you and the frogs alive and well.

Check out our complete natural frog repellant guide for more

  • Spread Salt: Frogs need humidity and saltwater dehydrates them. Sprinkle some salt in areas where you find them.
  • Spread Coffee Grounds: Like salt, coffee grinds aggravate a frog’s skin so it can be good to spread some around the area where they are coming into your yard or where you have found them in the past.
  • Sprinkle Baking Soda: Like salt and coffee grinds, baking soda irritates frogs skin. You could try sprinkling some around where the frogs were located to keep them from coming back.
  • Spray Vinegar: Vinegar causes a burning sensation on the feet of the frogs, which they find unpleasant enough that they will be discouraged from hanging around that area. Youā€™ll need to keep doing this in case new frogs show up or the old ones forget.
  • Spray Lemon Juice: Similar to vinegar, lemon juice causes a burning sensation on frogs feet and will deter them from coming to areas where it was sprayed.
  • Place a Fake Predator in Your Yard: You could try placing a plastic snake or another fake frog predator in your yard to deter frogs. This may or may not work.

No matter which method you decide to use, do not spray or put salt, coffee, vinegar or lemon juice directly on frogs, this is cruel and inhumane behaviour that could damage or kill the frog. Be careful using these methods around plants you like since this could kill them.

Consult A Pest Control Service

Hopefully this is your last resort solution. If you have tried everything and still cannot get rid of frogs, or if you noticed structural issues that are leading frogs into your home, you may need to consult or hire a pest control service so they can further locate the source of the problem and provide you with more personalized solutions.

You are probably wondering why there is a frog (or multiple frogs) inside your house in the first place. It could very well have slipped in through the open door by mistake, especially if you live in a high frog-populated area. If you happen to find them in your house during the Summer, they were probably just trying to find an escape from the heat of the season. Just follow our guide on how to get rid of frogs without killing them.

If you are finding frogs inside your house constantly and even during the Winter, you may have a bigger problem. They may be living in your pipes, in your basement, or coming through cracks in the walls or floors. Consulting a qualified pest control professional may be a must in this case.

More Ways to Keep Frogs Off Your Property

Here are some more things you can do to get rid of frogs and keep them off your property depending on where you found them:

Keep in mind that frogs need water. If you have tried everything on this list and there are still frogs still on your property, they are attracted to some sort of water source or humid area. Start by eliminating or frog-proofing that area to keep them away.

Related Questions About Frogs on Property

How do You Keep Frogs Out of Your Yard? You can keep frogs off your property by eliminating anything that attracts them including water features and fountains. Turn off your lights at night which attract bugs and the frogs that eat them. You could also frog proof your pool, pond, and window wells using a cover, and fence in your yard.

Why Are Frogs Attracted to My Car? Generally, frogs are attracted to cars because of the presence of humidity created by condensation, pooling water, damp wheels, a wet pickup truck bed, or wet floor mats. Frogs may be attracted to your car if it is parked near a pond, bog, or marsh so park it in a different location to avoid frogs.

What is a Natural Way to Repel Frogs? You can repel frogs without harming them by spreading salt, coffee grounds, baking soda, vinegar, or lemon juice. Do not place any of these things directly on the frog since this can harm or kill them and is inhumane. You could also use a fake predator to deter them.

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.