Frogs and toads are wonderful for your garden. They eat lots of insects such as mosquitoes, slugs, and beetles. They’re also super fun for children to observe and touch and bring music to your summer nights. So, let’s help them out a little bit by building some frog habitats in our gardens and yards.
For the most part, frogs and toads just need water, shelter, and lots of insects to live comfortably. For the water source, make sure you use something that the frogs can easily hop into and out of.
The getting into is usually pretty easy, it’s the getting out of part that is often hard. Therefore, choose a container that doesn’t have steep sides and isn’t too deep. You can put some rocks as launching pads in the container to help the frogs get out.
These launching pads will also help any bees that come to get water while pollinating your flowers.
It’s a good idea to put in several watering areas for frogs in your garden, especially if you have a large garden. In fact, small garden ponds are ideal if you have the space. If you set up a frog pond, consider adding aquatic plants to it to increase the biodiversity of the pond.
Frogs and toads will continue to come back to the watering area and if it’s dry they will need to look for water elsewhere, so it would be nice if they didn’t have to travel too far.
This brings us to another thing, try really hard to keep your frog watering stations full of water. Frogs and toads will come back to the same water source again and again and if you have a large enough watering station they might choose to lay eggs in it.
We had this happen one year with a small kiddie pool. So, try not to let the pond go dry, just top it off with fresh water each day.
To make a frog home, look around your garden shed for a few small garden pots that you aren’t using. Turn them on their sides and bury them just a bit. If you’re using a broken pot, make sure that the broken part is buried and that there aren’t any jagged edges that could cut the frog.
Many people use tin cans, just make sure that there aren’t any jagged edges sticking out. Also, add a little dirt and leaves inside the shelter for the frogs to snuggle in.
You can paint the garden pot or cans with acrylic paints or use a hot glue gun and glue “jewels” or tiles to them. This is is a really fun project for a child, so if you have children around let them make frog shelters to their heart’s content. This is a great winter time activity and the shelters will be ready when the snow melts.
Frogs like having a little jungle to play in. So, no need to keep the area around the watering station and shelter super tidy. Plant some herbs or other plants and let them just take over. The plants will also help the areas stay shaded and cool.
There is also no need to clean up dropped leaves. The leaf litter will help give additional moist places for the frogs and toads to hang out. It will also attract insects that the frogs can feed on. Frogs are fantastic at helping keep pests out of the garden. Their common prey are grasshoppers, crickets, ants, beetles and other invertebrates.
If you have cats, dogs or chickens you need to choose the location of your frog habitat carefully. All of these animals will likely chase, “play” with and eat frogs and toads.
Even if it makes them foam at the mouth, dogs will still eat frogs all summer long. So, put your frog and toad habitat in an area that is harder for these animals to get to.
Remember that the skin of frogs and toads is very porous and can easily absorb toxins in its environment. Go easy on the pesticides, even organic ones, in your garden for the safety of your frogs.
[mailerlite_form form_id=4]Lastly, there’s no need to stock your frog habitat with tadpoles from other ponds or from the pet store. Most of the tadpoles you can purchase are bullfrogs which will eat other frogs and toads. Don’t worry, native frogs and toads will naturally find your wildlife habitat if you keep it shaded and moist and give them time.
Do you have frog habitats in your garden?
This is so neat! I would never had thought to do this! What a great idea, thank you!
Pretty cool, right! I love the sound of frogs at night!
So glad you liked it. We have so much fun making safe places on our property for the frogs. My little one really, really likes it!
Hi! I was new to gardening a number of years ago, so when we decided to clear an area of red raspberries to plant my husband’s preferred purple raspberries, I was surprised and delighted to see a toad had taken up residence under the previous bushes. (At least I think it was a toad!) I hated to disturb the little thing, but we hoped after the new bushes were planted and mulched well, that he (or she!) would come back. Are there different provisions for a toad? Thanks!
Toads and frogs pretty much like the same conditions; water, shelter and places to hide. It’s hard when we need to clean up an area and disturb their habitats, but if you add some shelter they should come back.
We have had toads in our window wells in our back yard for about ten years. Sometimes when I’m pulling weeds the toad will be hanging out in the flower bed and scare the snot out of me . Sometimes he just hangs out other times he disappeares. Every spring we check on them and they are still there. They make me happy.
How fun, you should give him a name!
@Shelle Wells, we have a huge bullfrog in the yard next door. Our neighbors have a swampy pool situation. We named him Jeremiah. He honks quite loudly night and day. All the other little frogs and toads hang around in my patio garden and out front. I will be using the extra clay pots to fix up a little habitat. So fun!
This is great — thanks. I’m interested in building Toad Habitats and recently saw a u-tube video about building a habitat for “pet” toads/frogs. The author said it’s necessary to dechlorinate tap water — I guess chorine is toxic to them. Do you use rainwater or dechlorinated water for your habitats or is that not a concern?
Yes, if you have chlorinated water, it’s best to dechlorinate the water. You can dechlorinate water quickly by boiling it for 20 minutes. Just make sure to let it cool off before putting it outside the toads. If you have well water there’s no need to do that.
I’m going to do this. I had a pond in my garden but took it out because I am raising a 3yr old now and was afraid she might fall in. I had toads in it so this will be great to make them a new home.
Thanks!
Lovely article! I have always been scared of toads, but have recently learned that they are good for gardens! I have a phobia for cockroaches so if they can eat those, I will be more than happy to keep them comfortable in my garden! I have a mom and two baby toads living in my flowerbed. I think they are gulf coast toads. They come out in the evening when I water. My sprinkler system keeps things moist as well. After reading your article, I want to make a toad home! Also, did you say kids can touch the toads?
Yes, kids can touch toads, most are harmless. There are a few tropical species that you probably don’t want to touch but most are fine.
@Esli, they will absolutely eat roaches, even the huge ones. I witnessed this exact thing a few nights ago with the toad that lives near my backyard water spout. The toad was still as a rock as the roach crawled over its face and then the roach was just gone. Toads are awesome.
I love this article and will try my hand at making one as I already have most of the supplies. I would love to have this to go along with all my bird feeders and birds baths. Do you think that frog would eat dried mealworms? Please and thank you
Yes, frogs will eat mealworms.
This is neat! I would never had thought to do this ! what a great idea, Thank you
I recently built a waterfall with a creek and two large ponds. I adore frogs as when I was young we used to get many bullfrogs during monsoon season in our yard. They were so amazing and beautiful. I knew I wanted to have a frog habitat when I was older. Here it is many moons later and I was lucky enough to get an absolute metric ton of flagstone for free. I decided I wanted to build a waterfall out of it. I now have everything ready but was unsure as to what I need to begin attracting frogs. Your article has given me some incredible ideas and I am happy to say that I have seen two very young frogs near the pond and I am over the moon. I was a bit worried that the noise from the waterfall was going to scare them away but thankfully it is not that loud. Now I will get to work on hideaway houses for them. Thank you again for all your wonderful ideas.
That sounds wonderful!
Hi I just made a small pond and placed the plants and rocks and an old log that’s kind of hollow. I can’t wait to see if we get company. It’s kind of full sun but I placed a big fern and tall grasses. I’m also going to put a small shrub near the pond to add to shade .