well, my goldies must like the toad eggs too as none visable in the pond the next day after I took a pailful out of the pond & I know MANY were still left in the pond. No tiny tadpoles in the pond a few days later either but the pailful was swarming with the little critters! I called rescue organizations & they all laughed (!?) & said to call Fish & Game. Well, Fish & Game said to dump the pail of little ones back in the pond for the goldfish to eat!!! I guess I will just let them develop & then place them in the gardens but Fish & Game said birds will eat them when they are small. Oh, now I wish I had not let the eggs hatch as that would have been the most humane thing to do... but now it is too late! A toad is a live creature & guess I may be silly but.. I can't see not trying now to get them to adult stage since I was responsible for letting them hatch! Since toads lay their eggs in ponds, how do they get out when they develop past tadpole stage... jump out? Don't think they could jump out of the pond though as the lip is rather high.

I think it's cutworms or army worms or some kind of caterpillar. Usually, they go from egg to pupae (right word?) in about 2 weeks, so they may be gone already. Go out tonight after dark with a flash light and see what's eating them. Pull it off and stomp on it. You can also feel around in the soil and maybe find them. They won't be more than an inch deep or so. You can use Dipel dust on the plant or on the soil, but it won't wash off blue hosta. They actually have to eat the stuff, though. Finding it and stomping it is the best option. (I never can find it, except at night with a flashlight.) bk My Sugar and Cream after a cutworm - it was only one worm, too. Here is a link that might be useful: cut worm images This post was edited by bkay2000 on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 22:07

I see a toad in my garden every few days. I did have one get into one of my potted plants and knock it over - it was one for the plant swap tomorrow. Anyway, I've also seen one all scrunched up in the hole of one of our extra bricks where it was hiding. My lab saw something moving in the shrubs once and it turned out to be a toad. You know they do have a slight toxicity in their skin, so when he went to grab the toad, he quickly dropped it and came over to me with the strangest look. He was drooling a lot too. I guess he didn't like the taste of that toad! At least it is past mating season and all is quiet around my pond. I think they're all looking for places to hunker down for the winter. Gotta love those toads!

Just move him to the other side of your house or to a flower bed. After all he was somewhere else before he found your peat moss. Maybe he was in the bag of peat moss for the cold winter and can't get out or it hasn't warmed up enough for him to want to move. I live in Tennessee and the toads have been out a few weeks. My two granddaughter went out last week and caught two or three under the street light ( dead end street) where they like to be since the light attracts bugs. They gather there and in my driveway when the lights are on for the bug/insect buffet. They are nice to have around. During the day they often hide so they don't become the buffet of other critters. Move him and he will probably thank you with his singing some rainy night.