Build a toad abode, keep wild frogs and toads wild and drive carefully near wetlands
MADISON — The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages Wisconsinites to help protect our state’s 19 species of frogs, toads and salamanders during Amphibian Week, May 5-11, and throughout the summer.
Wisconsin’s amphibians provide valuable clues about the health of our ecosystems. Because amphibians like frogs, toads and salamanders absorb water through their skin, they are highly sensitive to environmental contaminants and changes in their habitat. They’re also an important piece of the food chain, acting as predator and prey. Protecting these creatures helps us better understand and maintain healthy natural environments.
Here are some ways that Wisconsinites can help amphibians from now until the weather cools in the fall.
● Avoid using insecticides, herbicides or fungicides in yards. Chemicals can negatively affect both amphibians directly or through their food sources.
● Reduce the amount of mowed lawn in yards by planting native plants and leave a 5 to 10-foot vegetative buffer along shorelines, ditches or other wet areas.
● Create a “toad abode” using brush piles, rocks or repurposed flowerpots for frogs and toads to hide under.
● Add water. Even something as small as a bird bath placed on the ground can provide solace for Wisconsin’s water-loving amphibians.
● Cover window wells or add ramps (for example, short untreated boards) to open window wells to allow salamanders, frogs and toads that may have fallen in a way to escape.
● Drive with caution on roads near wetlands, lakes and rivers, especially during wet and humid evenings and during the final warm days of fall. Slow down and be alert, as amphibians are often found basking on roads.
● Help protect Wisconsin’s amphibians by keeping wild frogs, toads and salamanders in the wild.
For more information on amphibians of Wisconsin, visit the DNR’s Herps of Wisconsin webpage.
To learn more about Amphibian Week, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Amphibian Week webpage.
