In praise of toads…

our resident pest predator

It's a good thing--a very good thing--to have one or more of these Eastern American Toads hanging out in your garden. I've accidently stumbled over a couple of them at night in the driveway on my way out to walk the dog. They're nocturnal, but this one was discovered during the day in the dense ground cover on the east side of the house.

Toads are great pest predators, and it's said that in one night, a toad may gobble up as many as 100 cutworms, slugs, earwigs, and destructive caterpillars. This is something you WANT in your garden! They seek daytime shelter, so if you don't have a spot of dense ground cover where they can squat, you could try putting out an overturned pot or some rocks, for shelter from the sun. They'll work the night shift and reward you with a pest-less garden.
If you hear THIS, you've probably got an American Toad nearby…and it's a good thing!