How To Keep Frogs Away From Your House

Are croaking frogs (​Anura​) keeping you up at night? The idea of frogs croaking can seem like a romantic one, but the noises can be quite loud. While it's not possible to completely control wildlife, you can make changes to your yard to repel frogs from around your house. Choose humane control methods to cut down on the number of frogs around your house rather than killing the hopping critters.

Frogs and toads (​Bufonidae​) look similar, but are they really the same? Every toad is a type of frog with thicker, drier skin that often has bumps on it, but there are other varieties of frogs that aren't toads. The difference in skin makes toads able to stay away from water for longer than other types of frogs. If you don't have a pond near your home, you might be dealing with toads instead of other types of frogs.

Before you banish your green friends from your garden, consider the benefits they offer. Frogs and toads gobble up all types of insects and slugs that can destroy your garden, but the frogs won't eat the plants themselves, so keeping them in the garden can help. Some areas have invasive frog species, and some can be dangerous, although most are harmless. Some people opt for wildlife gardening to attract frogs and other wildlife for these benefits, but other people prefer a critter-free yard.

When choosing your method for repelling frogs, consider that frog and toad populations have been affected by human activities. The numbers are declining, so avoid using methods that would kill more frogs. In some states, it's illegal to kill certain species of frogs.

If you want to get rid of frogs around the house, knowing what attracts them can help. Explore your property to look for the things that attract frogs so that you can remove or minimize them. These changes can make your yard less appealing to frogs and can reduce the number of froggy visitors you get naturally.

Frogs are attracted to:

• Leaves on the ground.
• Wildflowers and other native plants or grassy areas.
• Ponds or standing water, especially with rocks and vegetation surrounding it.
• Lots of insects.
• Damp, shady, sheltered areas.

If you'd rather keep your yard a frog-free zone, you can make some changes to the environment to make frogs feel less welcome. Keeping your landscape clean and well manicured without long grass is a good start. Clean up leaves and other lawn debris quickly and remove things that could serve as shelter for frogs.

Decreasing garden pests around your home can also help because it eliminates a food source for them. Shutting off exterior lights can help since the lights attract insects that can become a frog's meal. You can also use insect traps and other methods to reduce the number of bugs in your yard. Eliminate standing water in your yard by improving drainage or getting rid of containers that collect water.