Toad Houses

Two Terracotta pots siliconed together.

For my birthday this year Jacob made me these amazing Toad Houses, I was very excited to get them out and in the garden. I asked him to make them like planters, stacking two Terracotta pots together so that I could plant flowers in the top.










My sweet kids painted them up and they are looking great in my garden. We only had them in the garden for about a week before we had our first visitor.  The kids were so excited to discover the first toad. Now we have a permanent resident in the other one as well.

The first little toad to visit our guest house.

So why would I want Toad Houses in my garden? Well, frogs and toads are quite beneficial to gardeners. They eat thousands of insect pests, including  mosquitoes and flies.  I read that a single adult toad can eat as many as 10,000 insects per summer. Plus, they are very fun to have around, especially if you have kids.






One of the  most important things you can do to bring frogs and toads into your garden and yard is to stop spraying poisons to kill pesky insects. Chemicals found in pesticides and fertilizers can poison frogs and toads. Instead choose to go organic and let the frogs and toads help take care of your pests. If you stop using pesticides, other hungry pest eaters will also be more apt to stop by  your garden, this includes birds and "good" bugs like ladybugs and dragonflies. Plus having an organic garden is much healthier for your family.

Toads and frogs also need shelter and camouflage. They need a place to shade up and keep cool and also a place to hide from predators. A toad house is a perfect shelter as the soil stays moist and cool. You can also make shelters by stacking a bunch of rocks or logs together, anything that will provide a cool, safe place to hide on those hot days of summer. Also scattering some leaves or grass clippings into your garden will not only give those toads a bit of camouflage but will also help keep the weeds down.  If you provide shelter for the toads that visit your garden that is where they will want to stay and munch on all of those pesky bugs.