Want to keep that toad in your yard? You will need to hone your skills, and hope it takes the hint to become a permanent residence.
The first thing you want to do is make sure there is plenty of food because if there isn’t much that toad will go elsewhere. A good way to do this is to leave some fruit rinds out for insects to feed upon. Wait until almost nightfall before you do this. Hopefully night birds will not notice these treats.
Any well bugged yard will draw in all sorts of insects and such. Your new toad friend will eventually find them and have a feast.
The second important step is to stay up a little extra to see where the toad has been hiding or coming into your yard from. This will give you an idea if you need to make a new home for your friendly toad. Most toads are not necessarily nocturnal, it may be that the area they live in may keep them from only coming out at night.
There are two best ways to make a toad home.
The first method does not take much time at all, but may cost you a little bit of money if you do not have the materials. This requires a 10 to 14 inch diameter clay pot and a saucer to go with it. At the top opening of the clay pot, notch out a hole just a little larger than the toad. This will allow the toad to enter and hopefully keep out larger prey.
Put the saucer about a foot or two away with water in it. You may want to make an indenture in the ground for it to keep hard rains from moving it about.
The other type of home you can make is so cheap you will love it. Find twigs and broken branches to break down into 12 to 16 inch long sections. Irregular lengths will not draw as much attention to wary prey. Fashion them so that you have sort of a Lincoln log hut with an opening just big enough for the toad.
Slide in a mixture of decaying and fresh leaves. This will make for additional cover and nice bedding for the toad.
An option to these homes will actually improve the environment for the toad and add to its protection. A section of PVC tubing or maybe something else with more grip inside will be an excellent hallway to a lower den area. A five inch diameter PVC about a foot or more longer will suffice.
Dig out a hole into the ground to shove the tubing down. You don’t need to dig the den as the toad can do this for himself. Although it may not hurt to get it started for him.
With the home above in tact, your toad may find this an inviting area. If he doesn’t you may want to grow some grass up around the area so that it knows it will be well hidden. You may want to completely “hide” the area from above so birds will have no idea what it going on.
Gardeners need to be aware that any ladybugs they have attracted may soon be gone. This will be taken care of with ladybug homes. Set about it strategic locations. Toads eat live insects, and burrow in the ground to find them.
Keep the water fresh for the toad since it is not running water. Should you decide instead to setup a pond for the toad, make sure it does have a hidden pathway to the pond. You could even let the toad know its territory by putting up a small rock border. This will let it know when it crosses out into dangerous territory.
SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Toad
http://42explore.com/frogs.htm
http://www.nextag.com/Cracked-Pot-Toad-House-585678508/prices-html
