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Make Your Garden a More Pleasant Place: Invite a Toad to Move in - Home and Garden
Make your garden a more pleasant place by inviting a toad to move in. Did you know that a toad can eat three times its weight every day or that some of their favorite foods include insects that are considered harmful to your garden? For instance, toads love to swallow grubs, slugs, worms, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths, sow bugs, centipedes, millipedes, crickets, ants and other invertebrates. This makes toads a great addition to your garden, especially since they are not much in favor of eating flowers or vegetables.
Toads are often confused with frogs, and oftentimes thought of as wart producers. Toads normally have dry, bumpy skin, use their short hind legs for hopping, and live on land in damp, shady places, returning to the water only to breed. Frogs, on the other hand, usually have smooth skin, use their long hind legs for leaping, and live their entire lives in lakes, ponds, and water-filled ditches. Toads are also fat-bodied, while frogs are slimmer. Toads do not cause warts and are not associated with witchcraft. In fact, the warts on most toads actually secrete a toxin that is aimed at potential predators. This poison may not be fatal to its predators; however, it does leave a fowl taste in their mouth and may cause runny eyes, but no warts.
There are many different types of toads and the ones in which you attract to the garden will, of course, depend on where you live. Yet, throughout the U.S. the American toad is probably the most common. Entice these young locals to hop into your garden by giving them what they can't resist—moisture, shade, shelter, and food. Toads find composted soil particularly appealing because it is moist and perfect for burrowing into when escaping the sun’s searing heat. Compost also provides toads with some of their favorite insect meals, like earthworms. By placing a small terra-cotta pot or container on its side, an inch or two in the soil, a toad will find comfort within its sheltering walls. Don’t limit your self to only one; put two or three throughout the garden. This is a good way to recycle a slightly cracked or damaged pot as well. For instance, if the lip of the container has been chipped, simply carve out this area until it’s large enough for a toad’s entry, and then place the pot in the garden upside down. Alternatively, you can purchase a toad house. There are many styles to choose from that can easily complement your garden décor; however, choose one that is airy and cooling to the toad. It shouldn’t be a "hot box". Ideally, any shelter should be bottomless so the toads can burrow into the soil beneath. But if yours does have a bottom, you can simply bury the bottom portion into the dirt about an inch or two. You may want to some research beforehand to find out exactly which toads live in your particular area as well as their average adult size. This way you can ensure that whatever type of shelter you provide, it will be large enough to accommodate your toads. Use the saucer from a pot or some other shallow dish to provide a source of water for the toad. Toads like to soak in the water once in awhile. Plant some low-growing, moisture-loving plants around toad shelters and water sanctuaries to provide ready-shade zones for your toad’s enjoyment.
Contrary to popular belief, toads do not damage gardens. A toad in your garden is actually a blessing. Toads can eat thousands of insects from your vegetable garden or flower bed. Don’t fret over the appearance of a toad in the garden, welcome the pest-eating creature instead. If you've created conditions attractive to them, the toads will come and make your garden a more pleasant place.
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