By Sara Jean Peters Success is implied. Put out a hummingbird feeder, purple martin house, or blue bird box and the particular critter attracted to that structure will appear. Place one in your garden and, one summer morning, you may find an American toad beneath it. Success is not guaranteed, but there are some additional toad-friendly measures that you can take to make your back yard more attractive for visiting toads.
American toads are the most widespread and abundant toad in Ohio.
The easiest way to learn if you are in toad territory is to listen for the spring calls of courting males. If you can hear them, you have a good chance of finding one in your back yard. Visit the source of the chorus of long, musical trills at the peak of the spring breeding season and you will find most of the population of toads for the surrounding area. Although toads breed in temporary pools, ditches, and slow-moving streams, my toad mother lode has always been along a shallow edge of a larger body of water. The scene is pure procreation, with dozens of toads spawning simultaneously.