When we look outside during the sunny, warm days of spring and summer, toads can often be found hopping through the grass or sitting in damp, shady areas. But have you ever wondered where they go when the sun is at its peak?
If you spend your days searching for toads with no luck, this guide will uncover all their hiding spots and detail exactly where toads go during the day.
If you’re short on time, here’s the quick answer: Toads typically spend their days hiding under rocks, logs, leaves, or buried underground to stay cool and moist.
Toads Seek Shade and Moisture During the Day
Toads are Amphibians That Need to Stay Hydrated
As amphibians, toads have permeable skin that allows them to absorb water and oxygen. However, this also makes them susceptible to drying out in hot, dry conditions. To avoid dehydration, toads need access to moisture throughout the day.
Unlike frogs that have smooth skin, toads have bumpy warty skin that contains glands that secrete toxins. The toxins make them unpalatable to many predators. The warts also help them retain moisture.
If toads get too hot or dry, they can become lethargic and die. Access to shade and damp areas helps them regulate their body temperature and hydration.
Heat and Dryness Can Be Dangerous for Toads
Toads are most active at night when temperatures are cooler and the air more humid. During the day, heat and dryness can pose a real threat.
As ectotherms, toads rely on external environments to regulate their body temperature. If it gets too hot during the day, around 86°F or above, toads can overheat. This can cause dehydration, seizures, paralysis, and even death.
Areas exposed to full sun – like lawns, driveways, or patios – can reach temperatures exceeding 100°F. This extreme heat can literally cook a toad alive.
Dry conditions also put toads at risk of desiccation. Without access to moisture, their permeable skin will cause them to quickly lose water and dry out.
Shady, Damp Spots Keep Toads Cool and Moist
During the day, toads seek out microhabitats that provide shade, cooler temperatures, and moisture.
Areas around gardens and landscaping provide excellent daytime habitat. Bushes, groundcover plants, and mulched beds give shade and retain moisture from irrigation or rain.
Other damp, shaded areas like under decks or porches, in drain pipes, or under logs are also attractive to toads.
Toads may burrow into loose soil or leaf litter to stay cool and moist. These materials insulate them from heat and drying conditions.
Man-made features like potted plant trays or saucers that collect water are readily used by toads as convenient water sources.
Providing moist, shaded areas in your yard creates a more hospitable habitat for toads during hot, dry daytime conditions.
Common Daytime Hiding Spots for Toads
Under Logs, Rocks, and Debris
A favored hiding location for toads during the day is underneath logs, rocks, boards, and other debris found throughout their habitats. These objects provide excellent shelter by blocking out the sun’s light and retaining moisture in the soil underneath.
According to National Wildlife Federation, up to 50 toads at a time may hunker down together under the same log to ride out the hot daylight hours. Their warty skin and coloration allow them to seamlessly blend in with the dark, cool earth as they rest.
At the Base of Plants and Shrubs
Areas of dense ground vegetation like the bases of shrubs, thick garden plants, and brush piles give toads protective covering during the daytime. The stems, leaves, and accumulated organic matter produce shade and moisture for the amphibians.
These locations are especially popular retreats after rains, when the soil remains damp. According to the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web, toads may burrow into the ground under plants, concealing themselves completely.
Buried Underground
One remarkable ability of toads is to tunnel and completely bury their bodies underground to escape the dryness and heat of daylight hours. Using their hind legs and moist skin, they work their way down several inches into the soil where cooler earth shelters them.
Per the Missouri Department of Conservation, this underground environment retains higher humidity, allowing toads to remain hydrated even as surface conditions become harsh. Their slowed breathing and metabolism lets them endure many hours in torpor before emerging again at night.
In Puddles and Mud
On hot days after summer showers, toads often gather in shallow pools and puddles that form in lower areas. These transient bodies of water offer rehydration opportunities as toads soak up moisture through their skin.
As the puddles shrink throughout the day, some toads get trapped in the mud that remains. The thick, cool mud prevents excessive water loss while also blocking out sunlight and heat. Researchers have tracked individual toads remaining in the same drying puddle for multiple days by burrowing into the mud until the next rain comes.
When and Where To Find Active Toads During the Day
Early Morning Activity
Toads tend to be most active in the early morning hours right after sunrise when the ground is still damp with dew. This is when you’re most likely to encounter them hopping around looking for food. As the sun gets higher and temperatures warm up, toads will seek out shady, damp places to rest during the day.
Good places to spot toads in the early morning include near gardens, woodlands, and ponds. Listen for their croaking calls which can help pinpoint where they’re hiding in vegetation. Early morning is an opportune time to observe toads before they become inactive when the midday heat sets in.
Late Afternoon or Evening
Toads often emerge again in the late afternoon or early evening as temperatures start to cool. They become active to hunt for food at dusk and after sunset.Overcast days also encourage toad activity during daytime hours.
Areas to spot toads in the late afternoon/evening include wetlands, marshes, damp woods, and near sources of light that attract insects for them to feed on. Their eyesight isn’t great so they rely more on motion and scent to find food.
You may see them waiting patiently next to porch lights or streetlights where moths and other prey gather.
During and After Rainstorms
Rainfall naturally brings toads out as they thrive in damp conditions. Light to moderate rainfalls during the day cause toads to move about more than usual as they take advantage of the moist environment.
Heavy downpours may initially send toads under shelter. But once the rain stops, it’s prime time to observe increased toad activity as they are stimulated by the wet weather. Places to see them after rains include meadows, woodland edges, ditches, and roadside puddles.
Near Water Sources
Toads require moisture to survive and are never far from a water source. Man-made features like garden ponds, fountains, and birdbaths provide habitat for toads during the day. You may find toads taking refuge under rocks, potted plants, or other humid hideouts in the vicinity.
Natural wetlands like rivers, streams, marshes and ponds have dense toad populations. Search along muddy banks, under logs and foliage where toads tuck themselves away in the shade and humidity. Any sheltered, damp microhabitat can potentially harbor resting toads during the day.
Creating Toad-Friendly Habitats in Your Yard
Provide Shade with Plants and Structures
Toads love damp, shady spots to escape the hot summer sun. Adding native shade plants like ferns, hostas, and flowering shrubs creates the kind of microclimate toads adore. You can also build small toad shelters out of wood, stone, clay plant pots, or other natural materials.
Place your DIY toad house in a shady, secluded corner of the garden near moisture.
Add Water Features Like Ponds
A backyard pond is like a luxury resort for toads! Even a very small water feature of just a couple feet across gives them a place to rehydrate, regulate their temperature, and lay eggs. Add some marginals like cattails and floating plants like frogbit to give your pond natural coverage.
The muddy edges are ideal for burrowing in.
Leave Leaf Litter and Debris
Hold off on the fall yard cleanup if you want to invite toads to stay for winter. Piles of leaves, sticks, and garden trimmings create perfect hibernation spots for toads to snooze away the cold months. Leaving the debris also provides shelter for insects that toads love to munch on. It’s a win-win!
Build Small Toad Houses
Giving toads a cozy place to hunker down is one of the kindest things you can do for these helpful amphibians. Simple shelters made of broken clay pots, stacked bricks, wood, or PVC pipe make excellent toad homes. Place them in shady, protected areas and avoid disturbing them once toads move in.
Conclusion
Toads instinctively seek refuge during the hottest, driest parts of the day to avoid dehydration and overheating. By turning over logs, peeking under leaf litter, and checking near water, you may be lucky enough to spot a toad’s eyes peeking out from its cool, damp hideout.
With a toad-friendly habitat and some strategic searching early and late in the day, you’ll have a much better chance of crossing paths with these charismatic amphibians.
