Frog or Garden Toad?

Toads are amphibians and closely related to frogs. Unlike aquatic frogs, toads are adapted to live in drier land environments. They have dry skin, rounded bodies, blunt noses and short legs that they walk on as often as hop. Most have tan, brown or gray coloration to blend in with soil, fallen leaves and rocks. Toads also have bumps, not warts, on their skin. These bumps are called parotid glands and they produce toxins that protect toads from predators.

What Do Garden Toads Eat?

Adult frogs and toads are strictly carnivorous. They feed on beetles, slugs, crickets, flies, ants and other invertebrates. Larger toad species even eat small rodents and snakes. All toads will try to eat anything they can pull into their mouths and swallow. They are one of the best natural pest controls for your yard!  A single frog can eat over 10,000 insects during a seasoning of gardening.

How to Attract Toads

Although garden toads don’t rely on plants for food, they do benefit from them. Native plants offer habitats to natural insect populations, which are a toad’s main food source. Plants also provide toads with cover to hide from predators. A bare lawn won’t help attract toads, but natural garden beds filled with native plants will.

The best natural hiding place for toads is a brush or rock pile or leave a layer of fallen leaves  for them. Also, eliminate the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which can kill toads outright and eliminate their prey. A clean water source is also necessary. Toads lay their eggs in shallow ponds, and without water, they can’t produce the next generation. In most cases, a water garden a foot or more deep will suffice. Toads attach strings of their eggs to twigs and branches, and their tadpoles use the vegetation as hiding places. If you don’t have a rock or brush pile, you can build toads a space of their own in a shady spot in your yard near a source of water.  Here are a few suggestions for toad abodes: