In the context I am thinking, I would essentially be mixing the droppings into the topsoil in a plant bed.
How much would be too much? How much would be too little to make a difference?
Nutrient breakdown?
Is Salmonella a risk?
7
-
related: gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/14249/… and gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/14438/…– PhilipNov 18, 2014 at 18:04
-
1Are you sure you don't mean toad droppings? Toads are normally what you find on dry land where you're likely to see droppings. A lot of people call them frogs, though, for whatever reason. We have lots of toads. I put several of their droppings in a raised bed this year. I don't know the disease risk. Good question. If they were iguanas I would definitely be concerned. I don't know if toads carry salmonella. Toad droppings are rather dry. I don't know if that makes a difference. Whatever the case, they eat pill bugs. So, they're nice to have around, but they will eat ladybugs, too.– BrōtsyorfuzthrāxNov 19, 2014 at 18:20
-
2I was originally thinking of tree frog droppings but toads are also a candidate.– EnigmaNov 19, 2014 at 18:47
-
How many droppings do you have? If you compost them first, it should kill the salmonella, due to the heat (as they say happens with eggshells). ask.extension.org/questions/129152#.VG0BH2Dn9oM I'm not sure about adding them directly to soil.– BrōtsyorfuzthrāxNov 19, 2014 at 20:50
-
1@DavidRicherby I know. :) Technically, there is a difference biologically, but it's arbitrary as to which species are frogs and which ones are toads. There is a difference in that specific species are still frogs and specific ones are still toads, but it's not calculable by the genus or anything like that. I mean, it's still not technically correct to call a toad a frog or vice versa, but how they officially determine which species are which doesn't seem to be an exact science (so, appearance counts, like you said, but it's not left up to just anyone to decide which ones look like frogs).– BrōtsyorfuzthrāxNov 20, 2014 at 1:16
|
Show 2 more comments
1 Answer
Frogs and toads may have salmonella in their feces, I discovered. Therefore, because chickens may also, it stands to reason that you should treat the frog or toad droppings like chicken droppings (meaning, you should compost them in a manner where the compost gets hot enough to kill the bacteria). Adding it directly to the soil is probably risky.
I know I've had eggshells added directly to soil before, and I didn't get salmonella from the tomatoes that grew in it the same year. Maybe I was just lucky, though.
I don't suppose it would be easy to determine how much uncomposted frog/toad manure would be safe. Generally, you should compost any manure well before adding it to your garden, no matter what animal it comes from. I'm curious about grasshopper manure, though. It's kind of there anyway. :) Arguably, so is toad manure (but not in raised beds).
The fact that toad droppings are dry isn't a consolation, as I was hoping, seeing as dry pet foods can be contaminated with salmonella. Freezing doesn't kill salmonella, either.
I'm guessing toad manure (not sure about frog) would add more calcium to your soil, due to all the bug exoskeletons. Other than that, I'm not sure.
As a side-note, blue and UV/black lights attract bugs, and because of that toads can like the lights. So, if you want to keep your toads well-fed, and don't mind lots of moths, that's a consideration.
answered Nov 19, 2014 at 21:16
