Do frogs eat strawberries and what should they do?

Summer residents and gardeners grow berry crops because of their attractive taste. But there are quite a few “rivals” who are also eager to enjoy the fruits of human labor.And yet, before you start a fierce pest control, you need to figure out which one of them is to blame.

Often in the gardening forums there are questions about how to deal with frogs that eat strawberries and how to prevent them from destroying the crop. In fact, neither frogs nor toads can eat berries, and they will not do this simply for biological reasons. All amphibians are 100% predators. Their victims are various animals that crawl on the ground or fly low over it.

Frogs and toads actively hunt for:

• spiders;
• caterpillars;
• Zhukov;
• rodents;
• slugs

They can attack small reptiles, rodents, small birds. Amphibian vision is so arranged that they are able to recognize only moving objects. Anything that is motionless for any frog and toad is simply not of interest. If you try to swing a berry clamped in tweezers or wrapped with a thread in front of the animal's mouth, it may try to swallow the prey. But then he will understand the deception, and spit the fruit back.

But what then do the same frogs find toads in the gardens, or, more precisely, in strawberry beds, if they don’t need the plants themselves? Everything is actually very simple: strawberry berries are damaged by the same slugs, ants and other insects. These creatures conduct their evil activities at night. The slug is able to gnaw through a large hole in the berry, which is what gives the impression of a bitten off piece. It is not surprising that insufficiently experienced farmers place the blame on amphibians encountered in the morning on the affected plantation.

So, it is already clear that you should not fight with frogs and toads. On the contrary, you only need to welcome their appearance and try to support. Frogs will feel better if somewhere in the shade a trough or a simple basin is buried. In this miniature reservoir, they will hide in hot weather.

The need for water in toads is not so great. But it is still worth preparing for them asylum. At the same time using old waste boards, pipe trimmings and other materials. Helping the natural enemies of insects, farmers save a large part of their crop. In addition, the need for special treatment with toxic substances is reduced.

To see for yourself personally, you need to conduct a simple experiment. In the evening, as soon as the darkness thickens, you need to take a lantern and go look at the beds. In the electric beam it will be possible to see how slugs and other pests try to eat berries as soon as possible. About aggression slugs say:

• holes penetrating the foliage;
• silver stripes;
• deformed berries, saturated with mucus.

A simple insect trap can be built using a plastic bottle. Beer is a sure bait for insects. Of industrial products, Metaldehyde provides significant benefits.

It is supplied in waterproof granules, which must be applied within 21 days after purchase. Along with the granular form, there is also a powdered type of preparation. From improvised means it is advisable to apply the newly quenched lime and iron vitriol milled to powder.

Another option is the treatment of a mixture of pure chlorine and wood ash (in a ratio of 1: 4). Tobacco scum, which is simply sprinkled on the ridge, helps to increase the efficiency of such processing. To reduce the danger of parasite invasions, it is necessary to get rid of the shaded wet places, it is them that inhabit insects. Additionally, after the end of the season, it is necessary to remove all the remaining garbage and ruthlessly dispose of the remnants of other plants. In the fall, the earth is dug as deep as possible.

Of the biological means of protection from slugs effective birds. Help them have, making birdhouses or feeders.The exception is the herons, they, on the contrary, should be chased away to protect the amphibian assistants. On the ground, hedgehogs hunt for slugs, keeping them on the plot helps to keep the milk in the saucers. Another way - the cultivation of sage, garlic and other burning, fragrant plants.

A few more tips on how to protect strawberries from pests, you will learn from the following video.