Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Jeremiah, however, was not a good friend of mine and ended up dying in my freezer.

I hadn’t thought of this unlucky bullfrog for years, but Wednesday’s Mirror article about mysterious squirrel poisoning brought back memories of the gnarly amphibian.

You see, bullfrogs, like the squirrels in the story, are a nasty, dangerous nonnative species.

Bullfrogs were originally introduced to the area in the early 20th century for the gastronomical purpose of providing frog legs to diners. When the frog leg craze faded and the bottom fell out of the bullfrog market (that must have been a market just waiting to drop its bottom), frog farmers everywhere did what new bunny owners do several weeks after Easter: They released their animals. (No, those are not native wetland bunnies at the West Hylebos Wetlands Park.)

Not all nonnative species are problematic when introduced into a new local ecosystem. Some become prey or victim to mightier local species — and that’s that. Many do not, however, and cause damage to local species and their habitats.

Bullfrogs are a prime example of this. The bullfrog has few natural predators here and spreads quickly in urbanized environments (they love the stormwater ponds that are a staple of urban stormwater control). They grow to huge proportions — Jeremiah was like a mini Jabba the Hutt — and are voracious predators. Bullfrogs will eat any other native amphibians, baby birds and smaller bird species, rodents and small children. OK, I’m kidding about the kids, but they will eat anything else.

As a result, bullfrogs have taken Northwest ponds by storm, like an amphibian Jonas Brothers on tour (or for those my age, substitute the Bay City Rollers in 1974 and you get the idea).

Jeremiah had taken over a small pond in the Hylebos Creek Watershed that was owned by a friend. I was assigned the role of exterminator and spent the better part of one summer stalking the big amphibian. As big and bulky as they are, bullfrogs are incredibly quick. When I finally captured the big lug, I was faced with another problem: How to dispatch the frog to its great reward.

I consulted a herpetologist friend of mine who advised me to freeze the frog. Its heart would slow down until it expired, and he advised this as the most humane way to do away with it.

My wife and kids were not entirely happy with a frog in Tupperware inside the freezer, but it wasn’t the first or last time they’ve sacrificed for the greater good of Hylebos Creek.

I’m not going to endorse the apparent vigilante squirrel killings reported in the paper, but the bushy-tailed tree rat is little better than those ugly bullfrogs. While the nonnative eastern gray squirrels don’t go around eating baby ducks, they are every bit as destructive and disruptive as bullfrogs.

Look around Federal Way for the area’s native Douglas squirrel. You won’t find them, except for the thickest urban forests, like that found at the West Hylebos Wetlands. The eastern grays outcompete the smaller native squirrels (who unlike their East Coast cousins, are cute and personable) everywhere else.

In Britain, where they’ve also been introduced, there is something akin to national hysteria over the impact of the eastern grays on the native red squirrel.

A large part of the eastern gray squirrel downside directly affects humans. Anyone with a bird feeder is familiar with their seed-thieving antics and the lengths that are needed to provide birds with safe feeders. They are also known to dig up bulbs from gardens.

And watch out: If a pair of squirrels decides to move into your attic or exterior walls, damage can run into the thousands of dollars.

Any or all of these issues may be driving one of our F-Dubbers to rodenticide. In the past, I’ve sworn to flatten any of the eastern tree rats unwise enough to run in front of my car.

When presented with the opportunity, as I was just last week, I always hit the brakes and swear at the little buggers instead. I’ve also sworn off bullfrog freezings.

The reality is that the problem with nonnative species — whether they be croakers or tree rats — is too big to solve with individual critter killings. Living in Puget Sound’s urban core means the gray squirrels, starlings, bullfrogs, coyotes and other pests are part of the altered urban landscape.

Where we can restore native habitat and sustain healthy forests, as in the West Hylebos Wetlands and similar areas, we can carve out niches where the native species are safe. Anywhere else is eastern gray squirrel heaven.

Chris Carrel is a lifelong Federal Way resident and executive director of the Friends of the Hylebos, a nonprofit conservation organization working to preserve and restore Hylebos Creek and the West Hylebos Wetlands. Contact: chinook@hylebos.org or (253) 874-2005.