Coastal and Sandhill residents say they've seen a jump in the frog and toad population since Hurricane Florence.But the frogs that showed up in last month's boom were probably bred during heavy rains earlier this summer, according to Jeff Hall, a herpetologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Hall said some species take advantage of increased long-standing water for an extra round of breeding, so there are more to come.
"Some of the species that bred during the hurricane, and as a result of those rains, are now hopping around the woods," Hall said. "So we have probably more, principally spadefoot toads, but also some other toad species."
Hall said such frog and toad population booms are cyclical; they happen once in a while during wet seasons. He said many of the juvenile frogs will not survive to adulthood. That said, they're not a threat.
"Frogs are a natural part of an ecosystem," he said. "And they're not harmful, in fact, they're extremely beneficial. Frogs eat lots and lots and lots of mosquitoes and biting flies and things like that, which also do really well during hurricanes, by the way."