53 toads in my small garden.

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   Hi there, so we have been living in our small house for a year now, and we have always been aware of what we thought were a few toads in our garden, but over the past 6ish months, the 'few' toads have become much more active and obvious. A week ago, it was raining like hell, and the toads looked so happy! Crawling and jumping around everywhere, perfect time to count them. We counted up to 53! And they were only the ones we could see, there are always more in the bushes in the corner that we cant see. 

I think they are common toads, but i have a feeling it may be unusual to have so many toads in such a small space?

They are becoming a bit of a problem. Personally, i think they are great! I love them,  but my housemates are scared of them, and they have started to venture into the house if we leave the back door open, they have made it all the way to the front door before! 

Anyway, it would be great to have a bit more information about them, what is normal, what isn't? Should we move them to a bigger space (there are a lot of great nature parks around here).

Any advice and information would be great.

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gembeb Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List New Member Joined: 20 Aug 2012 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote gembeb Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 53 toads in my small garden. Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 9:33pm
	Hi there, so we have been living in our small house for a year now, and we have always been aware of what we thought were a few toads in our garden, but over the past 6ish months, the 'few' toads have become much more active and obvious. A week ago, it was raining like hell, and the toads looked so happy! Crawling and jumping around everywhere, perfect time to count them. We counted up to 53! And they were only the ones we could see, there are always more in the bushes in the corner that we cant see. I think they are common toads, but i have a feeling it may be unusual to have so many toads in such a small space? They are becoming a bit of a problem. Personally, i think they are great! I love them, but my housemates are scared of them, and they have started to venture into the house if we leave the back door open, they have made it all the way to the front door before! Anyway, it would be great to have a bit more information about them, what is normal, what isn't? Should we move them to a bigger space (there are a lot of great nature parks around here). Any advice and information would be great.

GemmaJF Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359	Post Options Post Reply Quote GemmaJF Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 10:30pm
	I would think many will disperse naturally if there is connectivity to suitable habitat. Assuming it isn't a walled garden or totally fenced in and not in a totally urban situation. These sort of unusually high populations tends to be short lived and generally toads will disperse far and wide in time. If you think there is some reason they cannot disperse on their own, perhaps consider moving some out. I advise this as I have a couple of occasions observed overly large populations of amphibians in sealed courtyards that had become unhealthy due to overcrowding. It would be interesting to hear more and discuss the situation further (and as ever get more opinions from other forum members). Are the toads mostly adult sized or quite small for example? Common Toad ID page here so you are sure that is what they are. http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/common_toad.htm It's unlikely but possible that a previous house owner may have introduced a foreign species and moving these out to the wild would be a very bad idea, so it would be wise to be 100% sure of the species before considering any actions. If you are still not entirely sure, and common toads can be variable in colour, posting a picture up will let us give a positive identification. Edited by GemmaJF - 20 Aug 2012 at 10:32pm

GemmaJF Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359	Post Options Post Reply Quote GemmaJF Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20 Aug 2012 at 10:34pm
	Just read another thread - http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/Forum/toads_topic4344.html I'm assuming it is linked to this one and you do have an enclosed garden?? Edited by GemmaJF - 20 Aug 2012 at 10:35pm