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Homeowners Guide toProtecting Frogs Lawn &

Garden CareDi vi si on of Envi r onmental Contam i nant

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Amphi bi ans, such as fr ogs, toads, and

salamanders, are hi ghly suscepti ble to

contam inant s, in cluding fert i l i zers,

weed and pest k i ll ers, and det ergent s,

released in to th eir envir onment. Thi s

i s because amph i bi ans breath e, at

least i n part , and absorb wat er t hr ough

th ei r ski n providi ng an easier way for

contami nants to enter t he animalsbodi es. Amph i bi an eggs and lar vae

(t adpoles) are especial ly suscepti ble to

t hese t oxi c subst ances. E xposur e to

cont ami nant s dur i ng development can

lead to frogs wi th many different t ypes

of malformat i ons in cludi ng frogs

wi thout eyes, wit h extra or mi ssin g

l egs and, i n some cases, t he

mal form ati ons may be deadly.

Cont ami nant s biologists from th e U.S.

F ish and Wi ldl i fe Servi ce are curr entl y

study i ng t he effect s of t hese

cont ami nant s on frogs. They are

conducti ng sur veys across t he Un i ted

Stat es to learn more about th e possi ble

role that contami nants play in

amphibian malformat ions.

Homeowners Guide to Protecting FrogsHomeowners use up to 10 times more

chemical pesticides per acre on their

lawns than farmers use on crops, and they

spend more per acre, on average, to

maintain their law ns than farmers spendper agricultural acre. During a rain, the

pesticides and fer tilizers you put on your

lawn can be carried by runoff and end up

contaminating a stream or wetland dozens

of miles away . Conta minants can also be

carried for long distances through the air

and deposited on land and in water by

ra in or fog. Such examples of pollution

are called non-point source pollution.

You may not t hink that y ou can make a

difference, but caring for your lawn in an

environmentally sensible way can have abigger impact than you might t hink. Your

lawn is only a small piece of land, but all

the lawns a cross the country cover a lot of

ground. That means your lawn car e

activities, along with everyone elses, can

make a difference to the environment. I f

you use pesticides and other chemicals t o

maintain your lawn and g arden, you can

help reduce the amount of pollution

reaching our nations waters and harming

frogs, a s well as other fish and wildlife, by

changing the wa y you care for your yard.

Choose non-chemical weedcontrols whenever possible:Mulching, spading, hoeing and pulling

up weeds ar e good wa ys t o avoid weed

growth rat her than applying weed killer.

Minimize fertilizer use:Over-fertilization is a common problem.Fertilizing more than the recommended

rat e does not help plants g row better and

often harms them. I n add ition, excess

fertilizer will likely wash into streams and

rivers and may lead to amphibian

deformities and deaths. Researchers at

Oregon State University recently

discovered that even low levels of nitrates

(a compound found in fert ilizers) ar e

enough to kill some species of

amphibians. Help prevent pollution from

fertilizer by taking t hese actions:

Leave the grass clippings from

mowing to decompose on your la wn

(feeding your lawn this way is equa

fertilizing it once or twice a year).

Use compost in your garden to

develop healthy soils and reduce th

need for chemical fert ilizers.

H ave your soil test ed to find out

exactly what nutrients it needs in

order to avoid applying unnecessar

fert ilizers. Your County Agr icultur

E xtension Ser vice will test your soi

for a reasonable fee.

U se orga nic fertilizers rat her th

synt hetic ones. Orga nic fert ilizers

release more slowly into the

environment and create healthier so

A healthy adult leopard frog. Photo credit: Corel Corp.

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Apply fer tilizer when the soil is moist

and lightly wa ter. This will help the

fertilizer move into the root zone

instead of blowing or washing away.

However, be sure to check the weather

forecast in order to avoid applying

fertilizers immediately before a heavy

rain which may wash t he fertilizers into

the nearby streams.

Calibrat e your applicator t o makesure you apply the corr ect amount of

fertilizer.

Reduce your dependence onpesticides: Minimize the attraction of pests

such as r at s, therefore reducing t he

need for pesticides, by moving wood

piles away from the house and clearing

away litter and garbage.

Provide good drainage to prevent

standing water that will attract pestssuch as mosquitoes. This will eliminat e

the need to apply bug spra ys.

P lant native grasses, shrubs, and

trees. Nat ive plants are often hardier

tha n non-nat ive plants and less

susceptible to pests a nd disease.

P ut an assortment of plants in your

yard to increase biological diversity

and encourage a variety of beneficial

organisms that provide natural pest

control.

Rotat e the plants in your annual

gar den. Changing the type of plants

you grow each year, makes it harder

for pests dependent on a certain type

of plant t o become established, and

therefore, eliminates the need for

pesticides.

Grow plants that are nat ural insect

repellents, such a s lemon balm, among

your flowers and vegetables to helpkeep unwanted insects away.

If you use bug spray, make sure it

does not contain D E E T, which is

extremely harmful to amphibians.

Many household pr oducts, such a s

kitchen, laundry, and bath disinfectants

and sa nitizers, flea and t ick sprays

and powders, and swimming pool

chemicals, ar e pesticides. Try t o

avoid using these subst ances in excess

or near w ater sources.

Other Suggestions: Keep litter, pet wastes, leaves, and

debris out of street gutt ers and storm

dra ins. These outlets drain directly

into lakes, streams, rivers, and

wetlands. P et wastes contain bacteria

and viruses that can threat en fish,

wildlife, and people.

Avoid dumping oil, antifreeze, or

other household chemicals into stormdrains or sewers, down the dr ain of

your sink, or into the toilet. Conta ct

your local Solid Wast e Mana gement

Office to find out how to dispose of

these materials properly.

You can help keep the environment clean

and t he frogs healthy by following these

simple tips. I f every one does their part

to protect t he environment, all ty pes of

fish and wildlife, including fr ogs, will

enjoy a cleaner, healthier environment.

M any of the methods descr i bed above

ar e part of an I nt egrated Pest

M anagement (I PM ) approach to pest

contr ol. I PM i s a comm on-sense

appr oach that uses good pl ann i ng, pest

moni tori ng, and appropri ate contr ol

methods, i ncludi ng the ju di cious use of

pesti cides when necessar y, to get the best

long-term resul ts wi th t he least

di srupt i on of the envi r onment. To get

more information on I PM , check wi th

your Count y Agri cult ur al Extension

Ser vi ce, the Nati onal Pesti cide

Telecomm un i cati ons N etwork,

envi r onmental or gani zations, or your

publi c li brar y. M any state uni versit ies

have I PM i nformati on that you can

access thr ough the Wor ld W i de Web.

Other lawn and garden care

i nform ati on sources i nclude your states

nat ur al r esour ce agenci es, nat i ve plan t

societi es, local conser vator i es, and

greenhouses.

Surf the World Wide Web:Severalweb sites can t each you more a boutcaring for frogs, your lawn a nd gar debackyard wildlife conservation, andreducing non-point source pollution.Here ar e a few web sites to get youstarted:

The U . S . F ish and Wildlife S ervicE nvironmental ContaminantsProgram: ht tp://contaminants.

fw s.g ov/I ssues/Amphibians.cfm

The U. S. E nvironmental P rotectiAgencys Office of P esticidePrograms: ht tp://ww w.epa.gov/pesticides

The Natural Resource ConservatiServices B ackyard Conservation:ht tp://ww w.nhq .nrcs.usda.g ov/CCBackyard.html

The Nat ional B iological Informa tI nfrastr uctures Fr og Web: ht tp:/

ww w.nbii.g ov/issues/fr ogw eb/index

Nat ional P esticideTelecommunications Network:ht tp: //nptn.ors t.edu1.800.858.7378

U . S. F ish & Wildlife Ser viceDivision of E nvironmenta l Contamina

4401 North F airf ax D r., S uite 320Arlington, Virg inia 22203(703) 358-2148ht tp://conta minants .fw s.g ov

U .S . F ish & Wildlife Ser viceht tp://ww w.fws .gov

J uly 3, 2000

http://contaminants.fws.gov/Issues/Amphibians.cfmhttp://contaminants.fws.gov/Issues/Amphibians.cfmhttp://www.epa.gov/pesticides/http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/CCS/Backyard.htmlhttp://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/CCS/Backyard.htmlhttp://www.nbii.gov/issues/frogweb/index.htmlhttp://www.nbii.gov/issues/frogweb/index.htmlhttp://nptn.orst.edu/http://nptn.orst.edu/http://nptn.orst.edu/http://www.nbii.gov/issues/frogweb/index.htmlhttp://www.nbii.gov/issues/frogweb/index.htmlhttp://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/CCS/Backyard.htmlhttp://www.epa.gov/pesticides/http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/http://contaminants.fws.gov/Issues/Amphibians.cfmhttp://contaminants.fws.gov/Issues/Amphibians.cfm