Sounds nice! I didn't imagine toads would lay eggs in summer. They will turn into toadlets in 30-60 days. Good luck!

Wow ~ really? I wasn't sure what time of year they usually did their thing, but I feel pretty sure that's what I have: Small jelly-like blobs rimming various floating leaves ~ sound right? The weather here is daily high averages in the high 90's and very dry, but I keep things well watered and there is lots of shady foliage around the pond. Maybe the little toads decided it was worth the risk to 'walk on the wild side' !

Took this pic today of the floating eggs and as you can see, these little guys sure don't look anything like toad eggs (boy was I misinformed about that!). They look much more like frog eggs, just not in the mass like your picure, but more like a few tiny clumps here and there. We have an urban organic garden with all the right stuff to attract frogs/toads, but to date had only spotted toads. Are you able to tell anything from this pic? Am looking for the photo I took of our visitor (toad, I think) taken a couple of months ago.

Here is a photo taken in May of one of our nightly visitors sitting on a rock in the pond. He was about 2" long with no signs of any green and had a big voice for such a little critter. The backyard is a virtual 'croak fest' every night, so there are many more like him. Someone told me he was a tree frog, someone else said a common toad. What do you think ~ are these frogs or toads in my old Kentucky home?

Sorry, your pics do not show up at my end somehow. Did you make sure of it with preview window? Could you post links to the pics if possible?

DRAT ! Despite following the instructions to direct upload from my computer, no pics. They show up in the 'preview', but apparently don't 'send'. Wonder what's up with that???

Test photo.

Ok, sorry for the photo glitch. Now that you've seen who lives in/around the pond, here is a pic of what I think to be eggs ~ thinking more 'frog' than 'toad' at this point.

I can see the pics now. It must be a frog. Perhaps it's a Cricket frog or Mountain Chorus Frog. Toads do not have a big voice. (They, unlike frogs, do not have the vocal sac.) Also, toads do not sing every night except for breeding season. It's frogs who sing out loud every night in summer.:-)

Good morning ~ Well, you have been a wealth of information ! Based on everything you shared and listening to the different frog sounds on a site I found, I have determined that what we have is a plethora of Eastern Grey Tree Frogs ! It was the only one that sounded exactly like our little guys. Also, when I checked the eggs this morning I found that most had hatched in the last 12 hours and there are now dozens of teeny tiny tadpoles swimming ! Anything I should do to help them along? Thanks so much for all your good info !

I have had both toads and frog laying eggs in my pond.. here is a pic of each. The first is a string of toad eggs.

I was going to post a pic of a frog egg mass, but it looks like you have that covered ;)

I'm not sure wny I was so confused by toad eggs and frog eggs in the beginning because they couldn't be more different looking ! Thanks for the great photo. I'm boiling lettuce right now in hopes of giving the little 'tads' something to eat as I don't have any noticable algae in the pond. Will buy algae wafers tomorrow unless someone can suggest something better. I love that I can always count on my GardenWeb family for good advice ! annie

Yes, quite a dif between toad & frog eggs, eh? Experience is an excellent teacher *grin*. You'll know next time. Now check out that pic you posted of your cute lil after-hours visitor. His feet/toes provide a clue.

RE the comment "Toads do not have a big voice." Apparently, nobody told my toads that, lol. I spend most eveings at my puddle and during spring, I have to move indoors to receive a cell phone call because of the noise. It's a bit annoying then but somehow transforms into a lullaby when bedtime rolls around. Puts me right to sleep.

Have fun watching your poles transform.

blessings,
~digger

"I have determined that what we have is a plethora of Eastern Grey Tree Frogs ! "

Are you sure there are only grey tree frogs in your area? Some species look similar to other species. It's not always easy to ID frogs especially when they are young froglets. Also, some species change their skin colors; sometimes green, sometimes brown, blue, white, etc..

"Apparently, nobody told my toads that, lol. "

Are you sure they are really toads? Some frogs look like toads. In some cases, both even co-exist and lay eggs in the same season.

Here is one of the frog egg mass. I think I have had 4 of these so far this year... plus I have lots of eggs in the frog pond too, there are no plants in there so the eggs just lay on top of the water.

Gardeningannie.. could those be snail eggs?

"Are you sure they are really toads? Some frogs look like toads. In some cases, both even co-exist and lay eggs in the same season."

gardeninhabitant, I am absotively posilutely sure, thanks for askin :) And I have both. My dad taught me to distinguish between the two when I was knee high to a grasshopper. More often than not, that 'frog in my pocket' at the end of the day turned out to be a toad. Still not sure whether it was my mom's horror or my dad's glee that spurred me on but there's no confusion here.

blessings,
~digger

Thanks guys !

Digger: Are you thinking that based on the photo I posted of the little guy's toes/feet that he's a toad and not a frog? Wish I had a better picture. Last night he/she/they were sooo loud and right under my nose and yet I couldn't actually see a single one. Camera shy, I guess !

Pashta: No, I'm, sure they weren't snail eggs, because they hatched and now little tads are every where. Very active little buggers !

Gardeninhabitant: I'm sure there are all kinds of frogs/toads around, but based on the sound of the ones that are up around our little patio pond, they sound dead up like Eastern Grey Tree Frogs.

NaturesFolly: Wow, that's a huge amount of eggs. Is your place 'hopping' or is the survival rate such that only a few make it?

GardeningAnnie, There are fish and very large frogs in that pond so the majority of tads get eaten. This year I have seen three baby frogs sitting on top of the lilypads, I always get such a charge out of that! In the small frog pond I can see the tads come up and gulp some air every now and then. With the toads, not a single one survived even tho there were thousands of them because of the early warmth and then a bitter cold snap. I have placed so many toadlets in the yard tho that one bad year wont even make a dent.

Looks like a treefrog to me, absolutely not snail eggs!

Tadpoles are vegetarians, if you have mosquito larvae get Mosquito Dunks, they will not hurt the froggies or anything else but mosquitoes.

Your post is good timing. I was just checking on my little 'tads' and found some other squigly things in with them that are the same tiny size, but definitely not like tadpoles. I'm betting these are mosquito larva ! So what you're saying is to put Dunks in now ~ won't hurt the 'tads', but will kill the larva, right?

The active ingredient in the dunks is Baccillus Thuringiensis which is lethal to the mosquito larva but harmless to anything else, they can even be put into animal watering troughs.. I put them into my lotus containers on my front porch, my cats drink out of them all the time.

Good to know ~ plan on popping some into the pond tonight. Thanks !

Yes, little squigglers are mosquito larvae and Yes, Mosquito Dunks will kill them and not the tadpoles.

My sixteen year old cat would be dead a long time ago if they harmed pets. :)

They go by surface volume so you may not need more than one. I break them in halves even quarters according to the chart on the package.

You all seem so knowledgeable about toads v frogs, may I ask a question. Do the toad ribbons foul the water? I had a tree frog lay eggs one year, got thousands of tadpoles, and it didnt bother my fish one bit. I have never had frogs again, but twice I have had toads spin their ribbons and within a week, the water became putrid. My fish began to die. I drained the pond but again the toad laid eggs. Luckily, I had not restocked the pond with fish because again the water became a foul, putrid, stinking pit. I dont want to kill these toads that keep showing up. Is there anyway to discourage them from laying eggs? Or am I wrong about cause and effect here?

I have not had a problem with the toad eggs but I did some research and sometimes fish will gulp in the tadpoles or egg and die or it could cause a spike in ammonia if it is a small pond. You can always get a small kiddie pool and put the eggs in there along with some rotting vegetation like spent lily flowers and leaves, but make sure to put a ramp in there so the toadlets can escape.

ShouldIPutTheToadEggSacInThePond

IDontKnowWhyMyWordsWontSpace

TheEggSacIsRightNextToMyPond