Why would you want to give your toads a home?
Along with bugs, toads eat slugs that chomp on yourvegetable plantsand flowers.
The best part is they provide this pest control without harming your vegetation themselves.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
It’s quick and easy to build a toad house and making one encourages thisfree form of pest control.
What is a toad?
Before Getting Started
Before you begin, learn what kinds of toads live around you.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
They are unlikely to thrive and reproduce and could even become an invasive menace to native species.
Instead, allow native toads to find your garden naturally.
Alternatively, it’s possible for you to paint your new garden home green so it blends in.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Avoid any area that gets too much direct sunlight, which can make the toad house uncomfortably warm.
The best location will also have a source of water nearby.
Tip
If you lack natural water sources, a saucer of water does the trick.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Sink a saucer into the soil and fill it with water.
Check it every day or so to confirm the container has some water in it.
Toads like to burrow, so it’s important to create a solid, straight dirt floor.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Just be sure to leave enough space for the toads to enter.
Furnish the Home
Grab a handful of leaves and stick them inside the container.
The leaves serve as bedding material and their addition completes the toad house-building process.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Popular picks include wildflowers, ferns,milkweed, and native grasses.
Curious dogs and cats may harass these creatures.
Toads are also subject to natural predators.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
You don’t want your toads to starve or consume bugs that are contaminated with chemicals.
How to Dote on Toads.National Wildlife Federation.
