Melinda's Garden Moment Video
Melinda Myers
Nationally known gardening expert, TV/Radio host, author & columnist with over 30 years of horticulture experience and tons of gardening information to share! www.melindamyers.comMelinda's Garden Moment videos will help you create that beautiful landscape you’ve always wanted. Each week throughout the growing season, a new gardening video will be added right here, so be sure to stop back. You can also watch Melinda’s Garden Moments on your local network TV station affiliate.
Toads make great gardening partners. They eat insects, slugs and snails and ask for very little in return. Help attract these natural predators to your garden.
Create an inviting habitat for these critters. Leave some leaf litter under trees and shrubs and in the garden.
Include a shallow pond or water feature. Even a shallow saucer filled with chlorine-free water is effective. Place rocks in and around the water for added toad appeal.
Reduce, or better yet, eliminate the use of pesticides. These can be harmful to the toads and kill the insects they like to eat.
Purchase a toad abode from a local potter or make your own from a ceramic or clay pot. Place it in a shady location near a garden filled with protein-rich insects. Set it directly on the soil so the toad can dig. Elevate one side with stones or use a cracked or broken pot that provides an entryway for the toad.
A bit more information: Include native plants in your landscape whenever possible. These plants attract more insects and in turn the animals, like toads, that eat them. Add little bluestem, prairie dropseed and other clumping native grasses that provide great daytime hideouts for the toads.