Attracting Toads

I enjoy attracting hummingbirds and butterflies to my yard by including nectar-rich flowers in my garden. Now I would like to attract toads to my yard to provide organic pest control, but I'm afraid the toads might eat the butterfly eggs or larva. Should I be concerned?

—Linda Mays, Wilmington, North Carolina

Tom: The short answer is no. You may already have some toads in your yard. They like to be around lights or on a post so that they can catch insects at night. They usually won't eat butterfly eggs or caterpillars unless the caterpillars are crawling on the ground.

Toads are drawn to moving objects and get most of their food by catching the insects that buzz around outside lights at night. To attract even more, provide a few large, irregularly shaped rocks around your lights for the toads to hide under during the day.