How to make a Toad House

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By glchan0
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Two examples of toad houses.

Toad houses are quickly becoming a garden ornament. And why not? They can be stylish and still hold a very valuable member of your gardening team, a toad. A toad that not only livens up your garden but also eats pesky pests such as mosquitoes.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Bricks (3)
Terra cotta pot
Pools of water
Space
Spade
Creativity

Step 1

First pick a desirable spot, not only for you but the toads as well. Think of something that is shaded, maybe off to one side. Also if your garden has a pool it would be perfect to place the toad house near that. This will keep your toady friends nice and moist. If you have actually went out and bought a toad house then you are fine to just set the house down.
Step 2

If your are using the brick method take the three bricks and place two on the ground with the third on top of these two. Create a little space in between the two lower bricks and use the top brick as a roof. Now take your spade and mound dirt on one side of the entrance creating a room. Congratulations you've just made a quick and dirty toad house.
Step 3

If you want something a little more pleasing to the eye there are two methods. One is to take the terra cotta pot and bury it in the ground till only a little bit of the rim is showing above the ground. Two is to actually knock a hole in the pot.
Step 4

When knocking a hole in a pot be careful, you may want to put a cloth over it to keep chips from flying at you. Also make sure the hole in the pot is large enough for a toad to get into. After you have made a hole in the pot (even if you've cracked a pot, really toads aren't picky) you can decorate it or leave it as it is. All you have to do is put it in your garden to finish.
Step 5

If your garden doesn't already look into adding a pool, or anything with a water source. This will not only help to attract toads (they do need to drink) and other fauna it will also provide breeding areas and more prey for toads to eat. This will increase the likelihood of a toad coming to visit and stay.

Comments

kittykat3 said

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on 4/3/2009 These are excellent tips to help you build a toad house. Nice pics. 5*

baja-vince said

on 4/3/2009 Funny, my son and I were just talking about toad houses for his gardening area to get rid of pests. Thanks, now he'll know what I'm talking about.