Keep an Open Mind! :-)

Toads eat slugs, and mosquitoes, insects and insect larvae, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and snails. They also do occasionally eat beneficial insects like ladybugs, ground beetles and earthworms. The average toad will eat 50-100 insects every night - that's 10,000 to 20,000 insects throughout a gardening season! Put a small light in your garden and they will munch all night!

Given a suitable environment toads can live up to 15 years! They are active nocturnally and hide during the daytime. They like a little water to sit in . They don't drink it ... they absorb it through their skin.  You may find them in an old drain pipe.

Toads hibernate in the winter. They burrow down into soft ground as far as three feet. Those that can't get below the frost line may die in winter so if you provide a pit for them you will help them survive. It has a Latin name but I forget it. Dig it 3x3x3 ft and fill it with PLAY sand from the store. Cover it with dead  leaves and forget about it. They'll find it! The closer to your garden the better. (I know! It's a "labor of love!")

Toad Houses

For the warm seasons provide a cool shady spot during the daytime to let them escape from the harmful sun. A flower pot will do. Chip a door out of the top edge and flip it over, placing it in the shade of your plants. Alternatively, you can dig a hole about 8x8x8 inches and put some PLAY sand on the floor and then line it with flat rocks or slate: |_|/. Run a short piece of 1 1/2 to 2 inch plastic pipe from the floor of the whole to ground level. Don't worry about water. It will keep the sand moist - they like it. Cover the toad house with a piece of slate or small flagstone. He will go down the pipe into his house every morning!

If you don't want to go through all that we carry toad houses that look cool! They are brass, and weather nicely to complement your garden or patio. They make a great gift too - for that friend who has everything! Just remember to put it in a shady spot in your garden!