Humans aren't the only creatures that use backyard swimming pools — frogs have been known to take the occasional dip. Unlike their human counterparts, getting out of the pool is no easy feat, and it often doesn't end well for the frog.
"It never occurred to me that these pools are basically a trap for lots of backyard wildlife," says Rich Mason, a wildlife biologist and inventor of FrogLog, a product designed to assist frogs and other small animals in exiting pools.
While frogs are particularly susceptible to pool chemistry — as amphibians, their permeable skin means chlorine goes directly into their bloodstream — other backyard critters can also take advantage of FrogLog.
"You're getting not only frogs and salamanders and chipmunks, but lots of our beneficial insects like bees," Mason says. "Some of them are going to make it and crawl up on the FrogLog and fly away."
Its inspiration came when a friend of Mason's kept finding dead frogs in their skimmer basket. That's when Mason realized there wasn't a lot of information about dead animals in the pool, or even how to rescue small animals when they get stuck in the water. He took it on himself to solve this problem.
Saving animals is what it's all about.
"Customers are extremely grateful that they found a pretty simple solution to an ongoing problem they have," Mason says. "Especially for those pool owners that have some compassion for the living things in their yard."
