Flaviemys purvisi
Very Well-Known Member
By Katrina Beavan
Green tree frogs often show up in the toilet, shower, and accommodation quarters on Top End cattle stations.
(Supplied: Barkly Landcare and Conservation Association)
Finding a frog, or many frogs, in your bathroom is not unusual for many living in northern Australia and beyond, but thanks to 'frog hotels', this could be a thing of the past.
Tree frogs searching for a safe, cool, and moist environment often find themselves in bathrooms where they risk being accidentally flushed down the toilet.
And while the idea of a frog hotel is nothing new, it has received somewhat of a resurgence after a popular social media post from the Barkly Landcare and Conservation Association in the Northern Territory.
Stephani Grove, secretary with Barkly Landcare, tried the design on Alexandria Station after spotting it on the internet, and said it worked wonders.
"I arrived on the station and was confronted by all these little green tree frogs in my shower, in my toilet, hopping and hitching a ride against my leg when I was walking around my corridors," Ms Grove said.
"I thought this has got to stop, so I looked into some frog hotel designs and found one on the Queensland Museum's webpage."
Ms Grove said other people on the station thought she was a bit weird for wanting to build a 'frog hotel' but eventually they all got on board.
Building the hotel
Ms Grove gathered recycled materials from the station to make the hotel, and said it was very straight forward.
Stephani Grove has been putting 'frog hotels' to the test on Alexandria Station with great results.
(ABC Rural: Katrina Beavan)
"I collected some product from around the station, I reused a bucket, and I got some poly piping, and filled the bucket with maybe a third of water," she said.
According to Ms Grove the next step involved relocating the large frog population out of domestic areas.
Simple yet effective: 'Frog hotels' like this one have been very successful in relocating critters on Alexandria Station. (Supplied: Barkly Landcare and Conservation Association)
"I transferred all these frogs from my toilet, from my shower, from everywhere I could find them, and they absolutely love their new home," she said.
She left the frog hotel in the station house to start with before gradually moving it further away and eventually, outside.
"There they could be in their natural environment picking up bugs [and] I haven't had a frog in my house since," Ms Grove said.
Despite obviously enjoying the bathroom, Ms Grove said the frogs appeared just as happy with their new digs and now the whole station is using the hotels, with the accommodation quarters now completely frog-free.
Social media hit
As for how much attention the frog hotel post received on social media, Ms Grove said she was very surprised.
Frogs make themselves at home in their new 'hotel', rather than in the bathroom, on Alexandria Station.
(Supplied: Barkly Landcare and Conservation Association)
"I didn't think it would be something of interest to such an array of people around Australia," she said.
"Some of the people were really excited to contribute their stories and showcase the designs they had in mind."
Ms Grove said many of the comments were from people who said they wished they had seen the idea years ago.
"People have gone so far as to paint their frog hotels green and put little pictures of frogs on them and they really think it works and attract more frogs, I think it's really exciting," she said.
Although the accommodation is designed for frogs, Ms Grove said there is a chance it could attract other critters as well.
"I have seen it attract green tree snakes, where they come along and pick out some of the weak frogs," she said.
