Making A Home for Mr. Toad

In The Wind in the Willows, Mr. Toad loved his home, Toad Hall. At one point Toad Hall is taken over by stoats and weasels, Mr. Toad and his friends undertake an adventure to drive our the intruders! In your backyard, toads love their homes almost as much as the fictional Mr. Toad loves Toad Hall!

Making a toad house is a great activity to learn more about toads and help improve your garden or backyard! Toads eat many common garden pests such as bugs, beetles, caterpillars, cutworms, grasshoppers, grubs, and slugs. Did you know that a single toad can eat over 100 insects in one night?!

Making a toad house is very easy! We recommend using a small clay pot. You can either lay the pot horizontally on the ground and bury the lower half in the soil )making a toad cave) or set the pot upside down on a circle of rocks and make an entryway by removing a couple of rocks.

You should put your new toad house in a shady spot (such as under a shrub or plant with low-hanging leaves) and make sure a source of water is nearby. An easy way to provide water is to sink a small dish or shallow bowl in the soil and fill it with water when you water your plants (make sure that small animals can climb out by putting a small stone in the bowl).

Reading is important for young minds. Reading about nature and animals is important if we want young minds to care about the natural world. For some excellent books such as The Wind in the Willows, Mr. Frog and Mr. Toad, and others, please visit the Panama Rocks Bookshop (sales from the Panama Rocks Bookshop help support Panama Rocks!).
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Visit the Panama Rocks Bookshop!