Bonjour. Je m’appelle M. Croque

Liz at Highland Heffalump suggested I get a wee pond to possibly attract a frog to eat our plethora of slugs. I thought that was worth a try, so I picked up a small pond from the home improvement store and installed it yesterday. While digging the hole in the garden, I disturbed a frog already in residence! Luckily, it came back. Meet Monsieur Croque!

No, this is not a joke about the French being frogs. I love the French, and French Canadians! I took French for six years in my youth. This is a joke about the dish Croque Monsieur.

Anyway, here’s hoping Monsieur (or Madame) Croque finds the new habitat to its liking. I’m watching for mosquito larvae but hoping those will get eaten as well. If not, I’ll have to clean it regularly, or install a small circulator. I ordered a toad house, and the pond is sheltered in the shade of the Elderberry bush.

I love toads and frogs. I thought I was going to have to go tadpole hunting like I did when I was a kid. I love that M. Croque (to be known simply as Croque going forward) was already enjoying the slug buffet.

I’m not sure what type of frog Croque is. What do you think? Maybe a Cricket Frog?

Posted on Posted in gardening, life, what makes me tickTagged ,

14 thoughts on “Bonjour. Je m’appelle M. Croque”

  2. Bonjour mon ami et M. Croque! How fun to be playing as you once did as a kid! Love that! Depending on how big the pond is, you may be able to add a small fish or two to eat the mosquito larva. My new slug management is to go around the yard each morning and collect everyone I see into a plastic bag. I douse them with some beer in hopes this brings a happy end to them and toss the knotted bags into the garbage. This does seem to be helping lower the number of the gazillion that were feeding on all my new plant starts. I would love to have some ducks as I know the will eat small slugs, but then the ducks might love the young plant starts, too! sigh

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      1. At the start of covid I bought a box of cheap throw away plastic gloves like the ones used for coloring hair. They are so handy for a million other things, like picking up slugs! I feed the birds in the morning and slug patrol is done then, too. It honestly only takes a minute or two. And I am talking 20/30 slugs on most days when I started. Now it is 10 or less. A mental image of a slug devouring my newly planted baby veggies and flowers gets me moving!
        PS Love the veggie Croque idea mentioned in that link!!!

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  8. But does the frog get some beer from the beer traps??!! I love the frogs name! I took French in jr high and high school. It came in handy 17 years ago on a trip to Belgium when we traveled to see Waterloo and no one along the way spoke any English. It is funny what you remember when you have to!
    Great way to control slugs, sort of like adding a cat to be a mouser!

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  9. Oh this is so cute! We had a few frogs living in our retaining wall but I think they have moved since we cleared out the leaves. I’d love to make them a little pond but I am afraid my naughty kitty Jack will catch them. He has already brought one frog into the house which I managed to rescue before any damage was done.

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  10. Whatever kind of frog M. Croque is, it’s sure cute! I love that it was already eating up your slugs. My family has always had good luck with mosquito fish keeping the mosquito larvae (and algae) down in our ponds and horse troughs.

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