A simple backyard project for toad houses is to make one out of tufa and decorate it with pond pebbles.

Materials and Tools:

Hypertufa recipe:
1 part Portland cement
1½ parts peat
1½ parts perlite

Plastic containers for molds
Mortar mix
Pond pebbles – available at big box hardware stores in bags
Putty knife or trowel

You can use any plastic container for a mold, just make sure it is large enough after the tufa is in it – tufa ends up making thick walls! For this set of instructions we used a 6.5 qt, 13″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle plastic storage container.

Steps:

1. Mix your hypertufa and press firmly on to the sides of the plastic container, forming a door by hand. Make certain that your door is wide enough to accommodate fat toads!

2. Mix your mortar, making it thick and not runny.

3. With the putty knife, trowel a thick layer of mortar on the outside of the tufa form.

4. Press pond pebbles firmly into the mortar mix on the tufa form, until the entire form is covered in pebbles. If any fall off and leave a gap, you can fill gaps with individual pebbles. Just add a dab of mortar to the pebble and press into the space.

5. Allow to dry, then place your new toad abode in a moist spot in your garden. Under a shrub or among ferns can be a great spot.

Alternative Toad Abode Shape:

The shapes and sizes of toad houses you can make is up to you. Go ahead and make several to create a toad village. Adding a ground level bird bath to a village will help attract toads to your yard.

Another shape example made from a 7″ x 4″ plastic square food storage container:

which ends up looking like this:

If you make one of these, please let us know! And take photos!!!