Build A Toad Home
What if you could have a cute amphibian neighbor that lives in your garden and eats thousands of slugs, spiders & ants each year?
You can!
Just build a toad home!
Well that, and create an amphibian safe outdoor space. With thoughtful garden management you can support a healthy ecosystem AND have cute neighbors like the California toad.
California toads come in a variety of colors, but most share a light colored stripe that goes along their spine (it is missing when they are freshly metamorphosed toadlets). This toad was spotted in Alameda County.
Meet Mo, our California Toad animal ambassador.
Toads are a type of frog, which move mostly by walking, crawling or by short hops. Because they are slow moving, toads stay safe from predators by producing a toxin on skin that can make a predator sick if it attempts to eat him. Each species of toad creates different toxins, so it’s best not to touch (or eat) toads.
There are two species of toads found in the Bay Area: the California Toad (Anaxyrus boreas halophilus) and the Spadefoot toad (Spea hammondii). California toads are the most commonly seen toad across the Bay Area, as the Spadefoots are found only in east Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara Counties. Spadefoot toads are endemic to California and Baja California Norte.
Create a toad home in your outdoor space!
In natural spaces, toads use ground squirrel burrows, rock chambers, and root system hollows to seek shelter from predators and extreme weather. In gardens, they find shelter under pots, logs and debris.
Whether you have a spacious backyard, a small porch, or a common community space near your home, there are things you can do to create safe and welcoming spaces for our neighborhood toads.
Building a toad home is one of them!
You can use flower pots, stones, or other materials you have lying around to creating hiding space for toads. These structures should be in shaded areas with access to moisture. Leaf litter and low plants around the toad homes help hold in moisture and create habitat for many of the insects that toads eat.
Providing safe shelter for toads invites them to live and hunt for insects around your home. Through thoughtful actions in our yards, we can ensure the continued survival of our Bay Area toads!
Find step by step instructions on toad home construction here.
If you want to dive deeper into creating habitat for amphibians, check out some additional tips available here.
Broken flower pots can make a great shelter for toads.
Slow for Toads!
They tend to be slower mover than some of the other frogs, making them more susceptible to trouble on roads and bike paths. Drive slowly on back roads and keep an eye out for them during the rainy season to help keep them safe.
FAST FACTS about the California Toad
California toad populations stretch along the west coast from Alaska down through Baja California.
These toads are a large species, with females reaching up to 5 inches in length. Males of the species are smaller, reaching around 3.7 inches in length.
California toad populations are threatened by loss of habitat, which includes access to clean water habitats for breeding and egg-laying, as well as vehicle activity near breeding sites.
This toad's thick, bumpy skin helps them to travel further from water without drying out. Though they may be covered in bumps, toads do not cause warts on humans!
January is the start of their breeding season, where females will lay over 5,000 eggs at a time! About 5% will make it to metamorphosis.
California Toad spotted in Sacramento County.