Building A Frog House - A Ribbiting tale

As autumn has moved towards us it is time to harvest the last allotment produce of the year and turnover the plot ready for a fresh year of growing. Whilst Louise and I were doing just this we decided to dig out the strawberry section we had, but in doing so - and so fervently - it ended with the heartbreaking murder of a little frog with my fork.

I found it all a bit sad so decided to giveback to the frog community by giving them somewhere they can live which is not between the vegetables.

I had a quick look online and it appears frogs like dark, damp places to hide over the winter. The obvious benefits being that they will eat the slugs and keep the population down. Having seen some examples I drew and showed Louise some options.

House 1: Plant Pot Vertical House 2: Wood Planks  House 3: Plant Pot Horizontal House 4: Stone, brick and logs

In the end I chose option 2 as we already had a bit of wood in the spare room. Some 2"x3" hardwood and plank like thin wood. I cut the wood into strips of 15cm. 4 of the 2x3 pieces per home and 3 plank pieces per home.

I then attached the 2"x3" pieces using a metal mending plate to hold them rigid together.

At the back, I screwed the plank piece at the back showing an even amount of space between top and bottom before tacking the remaining two pieces to the top. At this point it does not need to be even or smooth. Just roughly assembled.

 

At this point we could have left them as they were but Louise and I love a little competition so we decided to give them a paint and see whose was the best.

Louise's - Hop On Inn

 

Aiden's - Lily's Pad

Finally we put them out on the allotment with a hole at the centre and some dead leaves and grass for the frogs to hide in.

Now just to wait and see if we get any residents!