Why Do Toads Like Flower Gardens?

Food

• Flower gardens are breeding grounds for a range of wildlife, and insects are particularly drawn to the fragrant pollen of a variety of flowers you may have in your garden. Insects are a toad's main source of food. The abundance of insects in a flower garden attract toads in search of food. Though a small number of insects in your garden are beneficial for pollination, insects can also cause damage to your plants if your flowers become overrun with pests. Toads offer a natural form of pest control and can prevent your flowers from being damaged by unwanted bugs.

Moisture

• Toads, unlike many frogs, do not require significant amounts of water to survive. However, to reproduce, toads lay their eggs in water and spend the first few weeks of life submerged until they complete metamorphosis and move to land. If your flower garden surrounds a natural or man-made pond, it is likely to attract toads interested in reproducing. Moisture is also necessary for regulating a toad's body temperature. Consistent watering of your flower garden creates a moist habitat for toads to cool off during the hot days of summer.

Shade

• Shade is another way that toads regulate their body temperature and keep from overheating when the weather is warm. Dense flower beds provide significant shade from the hot summer sun. You may even find toads slightly burrowed under the first layer of soil in your flower garden as a way to create their own shade cover. Ornamental grasses or ivies that serve as filler in your flower garden are also particularly attractive to toads because they provide ample shade.

Shelter

• Though toads may be fierce predators to insects, they are also edible prey for a range of birds and snakes. The flowers in your garden not only provide shade, but they also provide coverage for toads seeking to evade predators. Many flower beds are lined with simple rock walls as a means of delineating space, but the rock walls also provide crevices for toads to hide inside. If you've decorated your garden with up-turned terra-cotta pots or other vessels, you are likely to discover resting toads inside from time to time.