Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

Riverina farmer's swimming pool infested with frogs after flooding in NSW

A southern New South Wales farmer was staggered when he discovered an infestation of frogs in his swimming pool following unseasonal rain.

Roy Hamilton, who lives between Rand and Urana, posted a video of the proliferation on social media.

He hoped viewers would share ideas on how to keep the amphibians at bay.

"It's frog city — it's incredible," Mr Hamilton said. 

"It's a bit ironic, because two years ago I was doing the same thing with mice and it's been replaced by frogs."

'Explosive breeding'

The Riverina region, where Mr Hamilton's farm is located, has seen extensive rain and flooding in recent months.

Alexandra Knight, an environmental management lecturer at Charles Sturt University, said the inhabitants of his pool were likely spotted marsh frogs.

"They have this capacity to do what we call 'explosive breeding,'" she said.

"There's actually records of, after big rainfall events, spotted marsh frogs breeding within a few days of the rainfall and there being 22 egg masses within a square metre."

Dr Knight said frogs were flourishing in the region after years of wet weather.

"They've been able to respond to these conditions and move into areas where they might not have been for some time," she said.

"The last couple of years have really improved their baseline and now they've been able to explode in numbers and make the most of the wet situation."

Mr Hamilton said he has relocated huge quantities of frogs to nearby creeks and dams due to the wet weather. 

"Basically all of our farm was one big pond," he said.

"We're probably getting 20 or 30 litres of frogs out [of inconvenient places] a day."

Keeping frogs out

Dr Knight said frogs could get stuck in pools when they tried to catch insects or mistook the water for a wetland.

She said they were unlikely to survive if they got stuck because of the chemicals in the water, but there were things people could do to help.

She said turning off pool lights at night to prevent insects becoming attracted to the water of creating a semi-natural exit for the frogs could mitigate the problem.

"It's really great to get the frog out of the pool and put them back in their natural surroundings," Dr Knight said.

"Pool fencing or a temporary fence around the pool to keep frogs out.

"If you've got a cover for your pool, putting the cover on so they can't get in."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.