digger, the first year or two we had a pond, we were delighted that the toads used it to spawn in. We made a floating,nursery basket to keep the toad tadpoles from being eaten by the fish and we were thrilled to see the little toad-lets eventually take off into their new world, our garden and farther afield, to feed on all the pesky insects that chew up our flowers and plants. What I did not count on was, that the following years those precious little toad-lets, now mature, would return to their Garden of Eden to beget more spawn, from which commeth more toads to beget, prosper and multiply again and again, until the noise from hundreds of them, begetting and singing their praises all night long in the spring, would have awakened the dead. I have transported gallons of spawn, heaps of tadpoles and hundreds of adult toads to a nature area near us. Where they can beget to their little heart's content and sing happily all night without bothering me or my neighbours. Toads are much hardier and are surviving at a better rate, than their cousins the frogs, in to-days poisoned environment. With the upsurge in garden water features and the protection they afford to these amphibians, toads have a greater chance of survival and multiplying. Again, like a number of other pond related subjects, it is up to the individual pond owner to decide what is in or out, what they want or don't want, in their personal little Eden's. For me a couple of toads in and around my pond, is fine, as long as they are both of the same sex. :) I don't want to go through all that noise and transporting again. "Horton"

You won't need rocks actually IN the pond for the toads. They're air breathers, and they will prefer to sit in a sheltered, cool area outside the pond during the day. When you initially fill your pond, go ahead and use tap water. The chlorine will evaporate before the toads and frogs find the new pond. But when you need to "top off" the pond, that is add water after some of it has evaporated, you can "age" the water by putting water in a bucket and allowing it to sit out for 24 hours or so before adding it to the pond. That allows time for the chlorine to evaporate. Yes, you are correct. A liner is a strip of (usually) black rubber, very flexible, and can be shaped to the size you want. Mosquito dunks are donut shaped objects that you place in the water to prevent mosquito larvae from hatching. You can find them at any garden center, but if you have a small pump in your pond to keep the water moving, you won't need them. Mosquitos cannot lay their eggs on water that has a current. If you can get at least two feet wide and 12 inches deep on your pond, I think you'll be okay. Remember, the smaller you go, the bigger the water loss due to evaporation, and that will make it harder to maintain a healthy balance for the tads. You will get algae in the pond. Tadpoles eat algae, so if there is none, you can buy algae wafers at pet stores to feed the little guys.

What a coincidence, I almost started a toad thread too.. :) Last week I walked out on my front sidewalk at night and what looked like a leaf suddenly hopped into the garden bed when I walked by! It was a big fat toad! I was so excited because he is the first toad I've seen in the yard after living here almost 5 years. I even put a large plant saucer down on the ground last year and fill it with water so the toads would access to water. (The birds drink from it sometimes too.) I think he might be living under the bulb and daylily foliage. Of course I had to run and grab the camera -

When I was in my 20s and living in Wash. D.C., I spent a Christmas at a friend's mother's home in Bronxville, N.Y. I brought my cat along with me. Jane and I kept rolling our eyes because it was a very stuffy, proper atmosphere. We ate by candlelight and in the middle of dinner we heard the clatter of dishes. My cat had jumped up on the sideboard to taste the food. Jane and I laughed so hard. We laughed about that for another 15 years until Jane died of cancer.