Belly Up: Hundreds of Dead Frogs at Chesterfield Lake

Chesterfield resident Terri Garbo likes to take a stroll each morning through a local park. On Tuesday she walked the path around seven acre lake. It’s a well-maintained park with bridges, a gazebo and a pristine concrete path. So, she didn’t think too much when she saw a maintenance crew in a boat that morning, spraying the pond scum around the shore line.

Her opinion changed on Wednesday morning when she walked around the lake again. This time she found the shore littered with hundreds of dead frogs.

“It bothers me. I enjoy the wildlife,” she told Patch. She was concerned that the city had killed the frogs and wondered if any of the other animals and birds were now in danger.

Patch checked out the lake later than morning and indeed, found hundreds of bloated dead tadpoles. Each belly up tadpole was about four to six inches in length, and had all four legs plus a tail. They would have soon become adult frogs.

There were also a handful of dead fish.

Dozens of grown frogs hopped away from the Patch photographer, so its possible that the frog population may survive the blow. Ducks seemed to be unharmed as yet, and a school of fish still swam alertly under the bridges.

Steve Jarvis, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation, told Patch that workers were treating the lake for algae on Tuesday.  

“This is a standard practice in maintaining the health of the lake, which in turn maintains the health of the wildlife. We take great pride in our efforts as stewards of nature and minimizing any risk,” he said in an email.

Jarvis did not say if the dead frogs were an expected consequence.

The Rachel Carson Council, a non-profit environmental education organization set up by friends of the Silent Spring author, said that tadpoles are more vulnerable than adult frogs:

Nevertheless, toxicity research on frogs and pesticides has been conducted by university scientists. These studies have found that: tadpoles are more sensitive to pesticide hazards than are the adults; pesticide mixtures produce unexpected toxicity; species can differ in their sensitivity to pesticides; pesticides can be transported by wind to contaminate pristine environments and reduce frog populations living there.