The Western Banjo Frog is the largest frog commonly encountered in the home garden. If you hear or see many frogs in an urban area, it means the local environment is healthy.
Threats: Habitat loss and predation by cats and foxes
Will they visit?: Western Banjo Frogs will visit home gardens and reside in large frog ponds
Natural Distribution: Common and widespread through out the South West and Perth region
Western Banjo Frog – (CC.BY.NC) Robert Browne-Cooper. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Banjo Frog – (C) Ry Beaver
Habitat at a Glance
See Habitat Guide for more detail
Shelter: Damplands, leaf litter, logs, rock crevices, and frog hotels
Diet: Invertebrates and small animals (e.g. other frogs)
Water: Large frog ponds
ReWild Benefit: Pest control and an environmental indicator
Habitat Guide - Shelter
Natural Shelter
This is by far the largest frog encountered in home gardens and also known as ‘pobblebonk frogs’ or ‘bullfrogs’. They are large and prefer to stay near the ground. A garden with fallen logs, rockeries, thick mulch, dense shrubs and groundcovers will provide additional habitat around the garden. A dampland will provide escape from warm weather and dry periods as they will burrow underground to escape the heat.
Novel Shelter
Below is a frog hotel template. Ideally, a frog hotel for a Banjo Frog should be located near the ground. Ensure the hotel is inaccessible to resident dogs or cats. Before you build:
Use chlorine free water by using water conditioner or standing a bucket of tap water outdoors for a minimum of 24 hours.
Keep away from treated timber as this can emit fumes toxic to wildlife.
There should be no standing water as this is a breeding site for mosquitos.
Habitat Guide - Food and Water
Providing natural sources of food
Western Banjo Frogs eat invertebrates including insects, spiders, worms, and snails and small animals including other frogs and even mice! A dampland, frog pond, and an array of native shrubs and groundcovers will attract invertebrates to the garden. Solar lights in the garden will also attract flying insects and provide additional foraging habitat for Western Banjo Frogs.
Providing sources of water
Western Banjo Frogs require well vegetated frog ponds with varying depths. They are a large frog and will require a lot more space than other frogs found in the Perth region. Below is a template for a suitable frog pond. Before you build:
Frogs are incredibly noisy, please be courteous of neighbors and peoples bedrooms.
Use chlorine free water by using water conditioner or standing a bucket of tap water outdoors for a minimum of 24 hours.
Include native fish in the pond to control mosquito larvae.
ReWild Benefits
Their calls are similar to a person plucking a banjo or guitar. Frogs and their tadpoles are sensitive critters. Our native frogs are environmental indicators. If you hear or see many frogs in an urban area, it means the local environment is healthy with good ecological function. Frogs also control pest species including mosquitos. If you have frogs in the garden you can record their call via Frog ID to help scientists monitor their population.
