Cute, bug-eyed critters with a bounce in their step, Frogs and Toads are always an unexpected, yet welcomed sight in any setting! These creatures of wonder are valued pest control in the garden!
However this 'indicator species' is sadly threatened and outright endangered worldwide. These creatures are susceptible to environmental changes and are threatened by soil, air, and water pollution, chemicals, and loss of habitat!
So how can you help?
About Frogs and Toads
All Toads are in the Frog family, but not all Frogs are considered Toads. Not all Frogs have smooth slimy skin nor do all Toads have bumpy rough skin. So how can you tell the difference?
Formerly all in the Bufo family classification, herpetologists have broken up them into new classifications.
- Over 6,000 strong around the world & 4,000 species of Frogs and Toads
- Of the 230 Amphibian species in the continental US, Frogs and Toads make up 90
- Baby Toads and Frogs are called tadpoles or pollywogs
- When the babies emerge onto land, they are called froglets or toadlets
Toad Facts
- Toads generally have drier skin with warty bumps, no teeth, and shorter hind legs
- Toads hop or crawl more than actually jump
- The Sonoran Desert Toad is the largest US Toad at 8 inches long
- The Oak Toad is the smallest at just over an inch
Frog Facts
- Frogs can have smooth and slimy skin
- Bumpy (sometimes pointed) protrusions that act like teeth
- They jump very well!
- The Little Grass Frog is the smallest, only 11-19 mm (barely 3/4ths of an inch!)
- American Bullfrogs are the largest up to 8 inches in length
- Frogs use their eyeballs to help them swallow!
Attracting Frogs and Toads to Your Garden!
These shy creatures are pretty far down the food chain in nature, so providing a place to hide, and providing a water source is key to attracting and keeping them around your yard!
First things first - they NEED water! High moisture areas and pooled water that isn’t stagnant for all kinds of amphibians (including Newts and Salamanders) are essential for the survival of their egg, their young, and some adults!
Installing a water feature in your yard and garden is certainly the best place to start! Be sure you have either gently flowing water or a means of aeration to prevent stagnation. Once you have this, nature will find its way to your garden - no need to worry about food or lures!
Plants attract their favorite food which is in your garden anyway and often 'bugging' you - insects, mosquitoes, slugs, snails, flies, gnats and so much more! A single American Toad can eat dozens to hundreds of insects a night and they are only 3 inches or so long!
Shelter
A slightly messy garden is their favorite haunt! Leaf litter, sticks, and twigs for cover and food foraging mean less work for you too! Toads burrow into muck, sand, and mud to escape the summer heat and hibernate in the winter, so provide an area underground that is easy for them to reach.
Treefrogs are among those Frogs that don’t live their whole life in water! Pick trees with plenty of bark with deep furrows for them to overwinter like Oak, Shag Bark Hickory, Shag Bark Maples, and Sycamore.
Children's Gardens, shady brooks, Rock Gardens, or a Zen garden with a water feature all work incredibly for adult Toads and Frogs. Gaps in large stones for them to hide, and clay/terra cotta pipes (or even PVC piping) angled into the ground for them to burrow into for the winter.
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Sample Toad Abode |
Sample Frog Pad |
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Keep a messy compost area in the back corner of your property with large rotting logs or a retaining wall with lots of gaps and spaces for them to take shelter in.
Plus piles of leaves and sticks attract their food and give them further areas to hide under. Called a Hibernacula which is like a little log cabin, with small entrances, and covered in leaves or soil.
Water Source
Any permanent water source works! Ensure the water source is not stagnant and non-chlorinated. Install water garden/moisture-loving plants, and a tree or large shrub to provide cover and shade.
Install a River/brook garden, Rain Garden, water feature, or pond of any size for Frogs and Toad tadpoles. Again leave large gaps between the stones and rocks for cover.
Keep a layer of muck, substrate, or sand in the bottom of the pond for them to burrow into for the winter and to lay their eggs in. Ensure it is 2-3 feet in depth for the eggs and Amphibians to overwinter in without freezing.
If you have a chlorinated pond or pool - be sure to provide a ramp for these creatures to climb out once they do get in.
You don’t even need to have a large water feature, even a bird bath that is low to the ground, a shallow tray filled daily with clean chlorine-free water, and an upside-down terra cotta pot with a hole for them to enter. They love nooks and crannies to forage, take shelter, and sleep in.
Both Frogs and Toads like flat rock or floating water plants to sun themselves on. But also shade to hide from the hot summer sun.
Types Of U.S. Frogs
There are over 30 types of Frogs in the US. Including the largest and most widespread species, the American Bullfrog, which has become a bit invasive in some areas. Many have curious names like Crawfish, Pig, River, Mink, Pickerel, Cascades, and Grass Frogs.
- Green Frogs & Bronze Frogs
- Spring Peepers
- Treefrogs - Gray, Green, Barking, Squirrel, Pacific & Canyon
- Coastal Tailed Frogs
- Wood Frogs & Pine Wood Frogs
- Chorus Frogs & Boreal Chorus Frogs
- Cricket Frogs, including Blanchard’s
- Northern Red-legged Frog & Foothill Yellow-legged Frog
- Northern & Southern, Rio Grande & Plains Leopard Frogs
Types of U.S. Toads
Usually terrestrial until after their tadpole stage, Toads are usually named because of where they live - Western, Great Plains, North American Green, Southern, Colorado River, Gulf Coast Toads, and Spadefoot species like Great Basin, Plains, Mexican, and Eastern Spadefoot.
- Fowler’s Toad
- Red-Spotted Toad
- Oak Toad
- Woodhouse’s Toad
- Couch’s Spadefoot
- Hurter’s Spadefoot
- Cane Toads (not the Australian invasive Cane Toad)
Threats For Frogs and Toads
Getting warts from Frogs and Toads is just a myth! But having thin skin that’s in direct contact with water is an amphibian's greatest adaptation - and their greatest weakness.
Requiring water to breathe and lay their eggs and tadpoles, but it’s also their largest drawback, allowing chemicals, pollution, fungus, and disease directly into their systems. Plus, habitat loss, chemical use/overuse, invasive species competition (including exotic pets that escape), pollution, and climate change wreaking havoc on amphibian populations.
Chytrid Fungus
However, there is one problem that is decimating amphibian populations around the world - The Chytrid Fungus.
Chytridiomycosis, or Chytrid, is a fungus that affects the keratin in amphibians' skin and nervous system. It affects their ability to regulate moisture, and causes their skin to dry out - their single essential requirement for survival.
Starting as a localized problem, scientists studying African and South American amphibian species were inadvertently tracking the fungus from site to site on their gear and boots! It’s now a worldwide problem.
How to Help
- Clean fishing gear, boating & water sports gear between sites
- Avoid handling them if possible - Keep hands free of insect repellent, lotions & oils
- Donate to help protect wetlands in your area
- Join a BioBlitz & go amphibian hunting to test for Chytrid Fungus
- Learn how to stop the spread of Chytrid
- Use fewer chemicals on your plants & lawn - or go organic
- Reduce what goes into the water cycle & down sewer drains
- Help control invasive species that compete with native flora & fauna
- Join clean-up events at local watering holes, fishing sites, or other bodies of water
- Spread awareness!
Hopping Garden Visitors!
Carve out a small area of your landscape and you will reap the rewards! Flocks of birds, pollinators, beneficial insects, and amphibians too! Fill your twilight hours with croaks and chirps and also notice fewer pests ‘bugging’ you!
Enjoy seeing these shy creatures with a skip in their step around your landscape! Nature Hills is here to help you draw all the unique wildlife in your area and help you give them a home right in your own backyard!
Happy Planting!
