Garden Amphibians: American Toads and Eastern Spadefoots

by Carol Entin

We all revel in our first chance to loosen the soil in our garden beds, breathe in the scent of damp earth, and burrow our hands into the soil. You are not alone! Have you noticed that you sometimes share your beds with toads?

In April, American Toads will be on the move from their upland burrows, such as your yard, to wet meadows, cattail and sedge marshes, as well as shallow ditches from deep tire ruts that hold water long enough for egg deposition, development of tadpoles, and eventually tiny toadlets that move onto the land. The males will trill in the afternoon and evening to attract females over a period of a few weeks. Females lay long strips of fertilized eggs after mating.

Eastern Spadefoots, a threatened species in Massachusetts, also live in Rehoboth. We would love your help in identifying more locations where they live. So far, we know of 3 breeding pools, but there could be others especially where soils are sandy loams where they can easily burrow about 21” down. It doesn’t take long for Spadefoot to disappear into the sand.

Unlike American Toads, breeding is a short one- or two-night noisy affair for Eastern Spadefoot. When the conditions are just right, such as a warm heavy rain when temperatures are 50 degrees and above, males will migrate from upland burrows and head to pools or shallow depressions that hold water in the spring but then dry up. These could be as simple as low areas in a lawn or field, a storm drainage basin, or a sedge marsh. Like American Toads, the males’ throat sacs inflate as they make a sound like a young crow to attract females. Eggs are deposited in multiple small masses on twigs, plant stems, and leaves.

Both Spadefoot and American Toads will return to their same burrows in the uplands after breeding. However, if they encounter your garden beds, they might decide the soft soil is the perfect new summer home. At night, these carnivores will emerge and eat slugs, snails, worms, and insects — your perfect pest control buddy! Look for their oval shaped holes with a loose plug of soil. Oblong pellets of their body waste are deposited above ground and sometimes contain visible insect legs and wings.

How do you tell them apart? It’s quite easy. American Toads have large, high-profile warts scattered on their skin. Eastern Spadefoot have low-profile warts and a vertical pupil like a cat. In addition, their backs have lyre-shaped markings in yellow and brown. If you find or hear Eastern Spadefoot, contact me immediately, any time of day or night, as timing is critical, at president@rehobothlandtrust.net or (508) 415-6065. If you find one, mark the location so you can find the spot again, take photos from above and both sides and release it before you contact me. Do not detain it on its way to a breeding event.