Howlong residents not happy by frog invasion across the town

They say the only positive side is the amphibians, which began setting-up camp late last year in the midst of substantial spring rainfall, have kept mosquito numbers down.

Corowa District Landcare project officer Judy Kirk said the spotted marsh frogs were seen on property close to the Murray River, with surrounding wetlands especially accommodating for tadpoles.

People have been trying to keep the frogs at bay but numbers have reached plague proportions.

Riverina Highway resident Amanda Telford said it had all "gone a bit crazy".

"The flooding and rain had obviously made it a good breeding year," she said. "It's becoming a chore having to clean them out of the pool and, unfortunately, they don't survive the salt."

Mrs Telford said occasionally frogs had managed to make their way into her house.

"We are getting a few hundred daily, but after it rains the numbers increase," she said.

Although cleaning frogs out of her pool was a frustrating chore, she said a drop in mosquito numbers was a plus.

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Clarke Street resident Lynette Smith said the frog invasion had become "extremely tiresome". "For some reason frogs have decided to move into Howlong and want the people to move out," she said.

"They aren't restricting themselves to just outside; they're causing problems blocking filters, being inside people's houses and indoor pools.

"I'm cleaning my pool area morning and night. And in all the rain I've seen over time I've never seen anything like this before.

"We are very much over cleaning every morning. But they need to be taken out, otherwise the filter will get wrecked.

"It's easier to scoop them from the top than the dead ones off the bottom.

"With all the water behind us from the flooding of the river, there is plenty of breeding ground for them."

Mrs Smith said they wouldn't be swimming in the pool until all the frogs had cleared.

She said the frog population might have exploded after heavy rains during spring and summer.

Although frogs were everywhere, she said as it got warmer everything would dry out and numbers would reduce.

"Corowa District Landcare recommends protecting the frogs and keeping pets away from them," Mrs Kirk said.

"We ask that people download the app Frog ID so that our scientists can collect data and analyse frog species.

"We want people to become aware of the different frog species in our regions."

Mrs Smith has done her bit by putting pool noodles into the water.

The frogs clambered aboard the noodles, she said, so they did not die and "it's easier to get them out alive than dead".

Mrs Smith said she stopped doing a daily frog count when numbers reached the hundreds.

"I'm filling the skimmer bucket twice if not more daily," she said. "It's an awful lot of frogs.

"What's concerning is the animals don't even want to eat them, so that has me thinking, are they a health risk?

"I hope it dies off soon. It's causing so much added work for everyone and I really don't want to deal with it.

"It's getting hard to control and it's annoying. There are many questions raised and no professionals have addressed it."

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