Bringing Toads to Your Abode

This year, to combat an onslaught of creepy, crawling critters, many homeowners will spend a small fortune on toxic chemicals, pheromone lures, and even propane-powered mosquito traps. Interestingly, there’s a simple solution that’s just a short hop (and croak) away.

In the world of natural pest control, one of the brightest players is the humble toad. Toads have a phenomenal appetite for insects and other invertebrates that go squish in the night, especially undesirable and rapacious creatures such as slugs, gypsy moths, and tent caterpillars.

In fact, up to 90 percent of a toad’s diet includes the most common garden pests, such as earwigs, sowbugs (a.k.a. woodlice), millipedes, crickets and a wide assortment of beetles, and otherwise helpful predators like spiders and centipedes. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report actually estimated that one adult toad may consume 10,000 pest insects in a 90-day period.

Admittedly, with the possible exception of Mr. Toad of Toad Hall in Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 classic, The Wind in the Willows, toads fail to gain the respect and appreciation afforded to Kermit the Frog and his amphibious kin – including those strangely popular beer spokes-frogs (mascots).

Fables bring us fair maidens kissing frogs and freeing princes from evil spells; the Japanese consider frogs good luck; the French consider them good eating. But toads are simply shunned for fear of transmitting warts. Something needs to be done about this irrational Bufonophobia (toads belong to the genus Bufo).

There are two species of toads in our area, the most common being the American Toad (Bufo americanus), and Fowler’s Toad (Bufo fowleri). Should you find yourself strolling through a natural area from spring to mid-summer and hear a good deal of melodious trilling, you’re probably listening to the call of the American toad. They actually have a lot to sing about. During the peak reproductive season, from March through July, female toads are briskly busy in shallow pools laying ropy strings and coils containing up to 6,000 individual eggs. Soon after, those eggs will hatch producing ravenous hoards of tadpoles or pollywogs, which will devour mosquito larvae until they emerge onto land as adults.

While not all of the thousands of offspring from thousands of ponds will survive, the numbers of toads moving about our region is truly astonishing. With such a boffo population of bufo available, it is relatively easy to encourage one or more toads to take up residence in your backyard, where they will immediately add your most troublesome pests to their cuisine.

To create your own toad habitat, often called toad abodes, you need only locate a damp location on your property. Sometimes a shady area in the yard, perhaps a natural depression which remains somewhat soggy most of the time, will provide the perfect setting for your toad hall. Alternatively, areas near a downspout or next to the dripping drain from an air conditioning unit will provide a suitably moist environment.

Your toad abode itself allows for plenty of creativity, especially if undertaking this project with children. Personally, I like to recycle old or damaged terracotta pots into habitats. Often, larger clay pots (nine inches or more in diameter) left outdoors during the winter will crack in half. By simply turning each half on its side and slightly burying it in the soil to provide stability, you can create two separate abodes.

Other cracked or chipped pots can be transformed by creating a two-inch high “entrance” at the top edge of the pot. Simply score a semicircular section in the top of the pot and gently tap it out with a hammer. Invert the pot, and toad hall is ready! Children can help with amphibian aesthetics by decorating the finished pot or potshard with colorful non-toxic paints: perhaps depicting windows, flowers, helpful ladybugs, dancing toads, or other fanciful critters.

Be sure to line the inside of the toad abode with a few handfuls of leaf litter or leaf mold from your compost pile. Toads can hunker down under this cool organic blanket during the hottest days of summer, coming out to feast at night.

For bufophiles willing to invest in upscale – or kitschy -- toad housing, there are numerous on-line sources for wooden, terracotta, and plastic resin toad abodes. Some represent toadstools with columned entryways, ruled over by a toad king and queen, while others represent colorful cottages or barns. One of the most expensive actually looks like an inverted clay flowerpot, of all things!

These toad abode options are primarily fair weather affairs, suitable for spring through fall. To encourage larger resident toad populations, you might want to consider developing a winter palace. Because toads hibernate during the winter, they will need a safe environment in which to snooze away until the world warms up and food becomes available.

A toad hibernaculum can be created using clay drainage tile or even standard plastic drain pipe (four-inch diameter). Starting with one 12 to 14 inch section of pipe or tile, dig a shallow hole in your sheltered, damp garden site and bury the pipe on a 30 degree angle, so that only five inches at the top side of the pipe are exposed. The entryway should be about two to three inches high. Fill the bottom half of the winter residence with sand, and fill the rest with leaf mold. The toad will use this habitat like any other abode during three seasons, and will climb down deeper under leaves and sand to sleep through the winter.

You can also cover the surface of the hibernaculum with compost during the winter to provide additional insulation against extremely cold temperatures. Clear the surface by March to allow both toad and abode to warm up in the early spring sun.

One final note: toads, like many of the most beneficial inhabitants of our yards and gardens, are sensitive to pesticides and other synthetic chemicals. Your chances of attracting toads to a property featuring only lawn area, or which is treated with lawn and garden chemicals, are extremely low. If you want to encourage natural pest controls, you will need to abandon the toxic alternatives. The GreenMan thanks you - and Mr. Toad thanks you.

Copyright 2014, Joseph M. Keyser

Inviting Toads to Your Abode

This year, to combat an onslaught of creepy, crawling critters, many homeowners will spend a small fortune on toxic chemicals, pheromone lures, and even propane-powered mosquito traps. Interestingly, there’s a simple solution that’s just a short hop (and croak) away.

In the world of natural pest control, one of the brightest players is the humble toad. Toads have a phenomenal appetite for insects and other invertebrates that go squish in the night, especially undesirable and rapacious creatures such as slugs, gypsy moths, and tent caterpillars.

In fact, up to 90 percent of a toad’s diet includes the most common garden pests, such as earwigs, sowbugs (a.k.a. woodlice), millipedes, crickets and a wide assortment of beetles, and otherwise helpful predators like spiders and centipedes. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report actually estimated that one adult toad may consume 10,000 pest insects in a 90-day period.

Admittedly, with the possible exception of Mr. Toad of Toad Hall in Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 classic, The Wind in the Willows, toads fail to gain the respect and appreciation afforded to Kermit the Frog and his amphibious kin – including those strangely popular beer spokes-frogs (mascots).

Fables bring us fair maidens kissing frogs and freeing princes from evil spells; the Japanese consider frogs good luck; the French consider them good eating. But toads are simply shunned for fear of transmitting warts. Something needs to be done about this irrational Bufonophobia (toads belong to the genus Bufo).

There are two species of toads in our area, the most common being the American Toad (Bufo americanus), and Fowler’s Toad (Bufo fowleri). Should you find yourself strolling through a natural area from spring to mid-summer and hear a good deal of melodious trilling, you’re probably listening to the call of the American toad. They actually have a lot to sing about. During the peak reproductive season, from March through July, female toads are briskly busy in shallow pools laying ropy strings and coils containing up to 6,000 individual eggs. Soon after, those eggs will hatch producing ravenous hoards of tadpoles or pollywogs, which will devour mosquito larvae until they emerge onto land as adults.

While not all of the thousands of offspring from thousands of ponds will survive, the numbers of toads moving about our region is truly astonishing. With such a boffo population of bufo available, it is relatively easy to encourage one or more toads to take up residence in your backyard, where they will immediately add your most troublesome pests to their cuisine.

To create your own toad habitat, often called toad abodes, you need only locate a damp location on your property. Sometimes a shady area in the yard, perhaps a natural depression which remains somewhat soggy most of the time, will provide the perfect setting for your toad hall. Alternatively, areas near a downspout or next to the dripping drain from an air conditioning unit will provide a suitably moist environment.

Your toad abode itself allows for plenty of creativity, especially if undertaking this project with children. Personally, I like to recycle old or damaged terracotta pots into habitats. Often, larger clay pots (nine inches or more in diameter) left outdoors during the winter will crack in half. By simply turning each half on its side and slightly burying it in the soil to provide stability, you can create two separate abodes.

Other cracked or chipped pots can be transformed by creating a two-inch high “entrance” at the top edge of the pot. Simply score a semicircular section in the top of the pot and gently tap it out with a hammer. Invert the pot, and toad hall is ready! Children can help with amphibian aesthetics by decorating the finished pot or potshard with colorful non-toxic paints: perhaps depicting windows, flowers, helpful ladybugs, dancing toads, or other fanciful critters.

Be sure to line the inside of the toad abode with a few handfuls of leaf litter or leaf mold from your compost pile. Toads can hunker down under this cool organic blanket during the hottest days of summer, coming out to feast at night.

For bufophiles willing to invest in upscale – or kitschy -- toad housing, there are numerous on-line sources for wooden, terracotta, and plastic resin toad abodes. Some represent toadstools with columned entryways, ruled over by a toad king and queen, while others represent colorful cottages or barns. One of the most expensive actually looks like an inverted clay flowerpot, of all things!

These toad abode options are primarily fair weather affairs, suitable for spring through fall. To encourage larger resident toad populations, you might want to consider developing a winter palace. Because toads hibernate during the winter, they will need a safe environment in which to snooze away until the world warms up and food becomes available.

A toad hibernaculum can be created using clay drainage tile or even standard plastic drain pipe (four-inch diameter). Starting with one 12 to 14 inch section of pipe or tile, dig a shallow hole in your sheltered, damp garden site and bury the pipe on a 30 degree angle, so that only five inches at the top side of the pipe are exposed. The entryway should be about two to three inches high. Fill the bottom half of the winter residence with sand, and fill the rest with leaf mold. The toad will use this habitat like any other abode during three seasons, and will climb down deeper under leaves and sand to sleep through the winter.

You can also cover the surface of the hibernaculum with compost during the winter to provide additional insulation against extremely cold temperatures. Clear the surface by March to allow both toad and abode to warm up in the early spring sun.

One final note: toads, like many of the most beneficial inhabitants of our yards and gardens, are sensitive to pesticides and other synthetic chemicals. Your chances of attracting toads to a property featuring only lawn area, or which is treated with lawn and garden chemicals, are extremely low. If you want to encourage natural pest controls, you will need to abandon the toxic alternatives. The GreenMan thanks you - and Mr. Toad thanks you.

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser

Luring Bats Into Your Garden

It is easy to encourage the creation of gardens which attract butterflies, hummingbirds, or songbirds. But bats? Rather than appreciate these fascinating night fliers, most people tend to react with a loathing inspired by superstition and misunderstanding. However, inviting bats into your yard and garden is one of the easiest and safest methods for eliminating thousands of pesky insects a night, including the much dreaded mosquito.

In fact, bats are the primary predator of night-flying insects across the globe. There are approximately 1,000 species of bat worldwide, which make up almost one-quarter of all mammal species on Earth, with 10 species found in my old stomping grounds of Maryland alone. The most common bat in the Mid-Atlantic area is the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), followed closely by the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus).

For the most part, our local little brown bat is known to consume hundreds of insects an hour, up to one-third its body-weight every half-hour, from swarms of mosquitoes to gnats, gypsy moths, and a host of beetles. Visitors to marshes and wetlands just after dusk are often greeted by the aerial antics of numerous bats swooping low over the water to gulp down thousands of mosquitos and midges.

Regrettably, rather than recognize these peaceful creatures as partners to residents and farmers in maintaining troublesome insect populations, people continue to perpetuate absurd myths about bats becoming entangled in women’s hair, carrying rabies, and biting children with vampiric zeal. In actuality, bats are among the most gentle mammals on earth. They are not rodents or related to mice at all. And while all mammals can “get” rabies, bats have a much lower incidence rate than raccoons or skunks, and one statistic indicates that there have only been ten confirmed cases of humans contracting rabies from bats in 30 years. Lastly, bats are not blind at all. All bats can see, although they rely on echolocation and smell, more than sight, to identify and capture prey.

Developing a bat garden is actually quite easy, certainly easier than buying a batmobile or fighting criminal masterminds. The goal is to landscape with plants which attract night-time pollinators -- nice juicy bat-treats like many of the moth species -- which will in turn tempt bats to visit and hang out in your yard, perhaps ultimately taking up residence in the area.

Most of the plants needed are commonly found at garden centers and are as much a delight for the human senses as for the fluttering moths. Herb gardens alone attract many nighttime pollinators. Why not put in a small kitchen herb garden using both common and garlic chives, marjoram, oregano, lemon balm, borage (which also attracts swarms of beneficial bees during the day), sage, and some of the fragrant mints, from English pennyroyal to apple and chocolate mint, among others?

Elsewhere in your garden you should consider a number of plants similarly renowned for their evening scent. Welcome your bat comrades while you sweetly perfume the warm summer evening around your home. Desirable choices include jasmine, gardenia, and the outlandish night-blooming cereus, all of which are best grown in containers and taken indoors in winter. In addition, consider standard garden fare such as evening primrose, nicotiana, sweet rocket, night-scented or evening stock, bouncing bet, cream-colored petunias, Franciscan nightshade, dame’s rocket, gas plant, soapwort, and night-blooming gladiolus.

One of the most exquisite and versatile selections, which combines fragrance with large, showy blooms, is moonflower (Ipomoea alba). Related to morning glories and sweet potato vine, moonflower is a fast-growing vine which can reach up to 20 feet, with large six-inch wide blooms which open at night. Moonflower can be trained to a trellis, or simply allowed to sprawl over a rock wall or pile of stones.

Most of the species cited above offer bright white or cream-colored blooms which can readily brighten your garden beds at night, and even add a sensuous, romantic air when visited under moonlight. Of course, you can also plant flowers in a range of colors which will add sparkle to your daytime garden, while still attracting nighttime pollinators. Among the most favored are salvias, phlox, bachelor’s buttons, four o’clocks, silene, and heliotrope.

Beyond simply attracting moths and other flying insects to get a hungry bat’s attention, you can provide some additional habitat elements, and potentially, even a roosting site that will guarantee bat loyalty for years to come.

Building a bat cave might be out of the question, but what about a bat pool? If you have thought about a small pond or water feature for your garden, this might be just the impetus you need. The bat pool can be anything from a plastic tub or whiskey barrel buried in the ground, to an actual pond liner or old bathtub. Make sure that you line the perimeter of the “pool” with flat stones which will allow bat visitors to make their way to the edge of the water and drink. Be sure to either aerate the pond or basin, or at least add a few fish to eliminate potential mosquito larvae.

You might also wish to help create a roost for bats. For example, solitary bats might be interested in nesting in a rock retaining wall constructed with large 10-12 inch wide stones, which include a number of good-sized nooks. Smaller spaces in the wall can be filled with a bit of soil and planted with thyme or other creeping groundcovers.

For the most part, bats tend to live in hollow trees, caves, abandoned buildings, behind loose boards or shingles, and, though not a preferred address, in accessible attics. The attic or belfry option is generally not encouraged.

On the other hand, there are a number of bat houses sold through garden centers, catalogs, and nature-related gift shops. Unfortunately, it is generally believed that most of these bat houses, however well-intentioned, will go untenanted indefinitely. Some naturalists have suggested placing bat guano under a new box to provide, perhaps, a lived-in look, and thereby attract new lodgers. That might be asking a lot of the average gardener.

The best bet might simply be to allow bats to find their own roosts, while ensuring that they will stay in your area by providing some habitat features and a welcome meal ticket. You will find, in time, a special sense of wonder as you watch visiting bats cavort through the night sky overhead, usually starting at or just before nine o’clock, and in between sightings, you can drink in the rich scent and subtle beauty of your new evening garden.

For more information on bats and bat conservation, visit or contact Bat Conservation International, P.O. Box 16203, Austin, TX 78716; www.batcon.org.

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser