How to make a tadpole trap

Tadpoles are the juvenile offspring of frogs and are found in nearly every fresh water body in early spring. They ‘disappear' by late summer to early winter, as they turn into frogs. In natural environments, they do not reach excessive numbers, however when they appear in marron ponds in large numbers, they compete with marron for food (pellets), which are being fed to the marron by farmers. When a large numbers of tadpoles are present, the marron do not receive the amount of food intended for them, because the tadpoles are eating the pellets before they reach the bottom. The marron do not grow as well, and feeding expensive pellets ends up being a waste of time and money for the marron farmer.

Below is a diagram of how to build a tadpole trap which will help to reduce the number of tadpoles in marron ponds. Please note that the trap will not eradicate the tadpoles, it will only assist in reducing their numbers.

How The Trap Works

For the best results, the trap should be set just above the surface of the pond to ensure that the tadpoles do not swim over the top of the trap and escape back into the pond. To attract the tadpoles to the trap, use marron, trout, or chicken pellets as bait.

Tadpoles need to have air to breathe, as they do not have gills. The tadpole swims up the funnel to eat the pellets and then continues up to the surface to get air. After breathing they will try to swim back down into deeper water at an angle and get trapped. The tadpoles can still return to the surface and breathe while in the trap. Once the tadpoles have been trapped they can be removed from the pond therefore allowing the marron to obtain the full benefit of the food they are being fed.