The Western Toad
Meet Mo
As an animal ambassador, Mo, our Western Toad introduces the public to a native California species that is often misunderstood. In fact, toads like Mo are a critical part of our ecosystem, and work as pest control in gardens, eating thousands of invertebrates per year including slugs, spiders & ants.
Toads, which are a type of frog, move by mostly walking or crawling or short hops and tend to be slower movers, making them more susceptible on roads and paths where they come into contact with people and cars. Drive slowly on back roads and keep an eye out for them during the rainy season to help keep them safe. Because they are slow moving, Mo, like other toad species, stays safe from predators by producing a toxin in his skin that can make a predator sick if it attempts to eat him. They are harmless to humans, as long as you don’t attempt to eat one!
FAST FACTS
Western toad populations stretch along the west coast from Alaska down through Baja California.
These toads are a large species, with females reaching up to 5 inches in length. Males of the species are smaller, reaching around 3.7 inches in length.
Western toad populations are threatened by loss of habitat, which includes access to clean water habitats for breeding and egg-laying, as well as vehicle activity near breeding sites.
The Western toad's thick, bumpy skin helps them to travel further from water without drying out. Though they may be covered in bumps, toads do not cause warts on humans!
January is the start of their breeding season, where females will lay over 5,000 eggs at a time!
Create a toad home in your outdoor space!
Toads use rodent holes, often ground squirrel burrows, rock chambers, and root system hollows to seek shelter from predators and extreme weather. In gardens, they find shelter under pots, logs and debris.
Whether you have a spacious backyard, a small porch, or a common community space near your home, there are things you can do to create safe and welcoming spaces for our neighborhood reptiles and amphibians. As we increasingly find human habitats growing into the natural spaces needed for our animal neighbors to thrive, creating welcoming spaces in our yards and homes can ensure the continued survival of our Bay Area native species.
Consider building a toad house in your outside space to help our toad neighbors find habitat. You can use flower pots, stones, or many other materials you have lying around the house. This structure provides safe shelter for area toads during the day when they rest and invites toads to live and hunt for insects (great pest control!) around your home. Find step by step instructions on toad home construction here.
If you want to dive deeper into creating habitat for amphibians, check out some additional tips available here.