It is not the toads that are eating your mums. There are probably bugs eating your mums and the toads are there eating the bugs. We should be thanking the toads for doing their job. Sure, they may have jumped onto the plant and broken a stem or two trying to get a bug, but the stems will grow back. I love having toads in my yard even if they do keep us up at night with their croaking during mating season.

My toads like to bury themselves in the potting soil. It really gives me a start when I'm watering to see the soil start moving, then a large toad jump out! I am almost 100% positive that they are only insect eaters and I agree with Denise's theory.

Pam

Now why didn't I think of that! The poor thing is looking for a cool place to snack in and we have nice juicy mosquitoes & spiders. I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing -- burying the pieces that root in no time. I like toads, too, that's why I was looking to scare them off - dumb me. Thanks for the sensible comments.

If you are going to start cuttings from your mums or other plants make sure they can't get in those pots last year just about every cutting I tried to root was uprooted and didn't take because of the lil boogers wanting to bed in the potting soil, lol
jolana

We have a toad family this year, it's not the first time we've had toads but it is the frist time I've let them stay due to having a pool they jump in and drown or die from chems. So I always took them down to the creek.
This year they have stayed away from the pool but have not gotten into the pots thank goodness. I think y'all would hear me scream all the way from here.

One year we had one in our fountain in the early spring, when I went to clean it out the fountain I seen something move and the two eyes looking up at me. It scared the $&^$% out of me thinking it was a snake. Bet he or she was as scared as me LOL

Ha! I didn't realize toads were so amusing. You are all so right -- I placed the cuttings on the patio in the backyard in some soil and darn if there wasn't the biggest fattest toad right in their midst this morning smiling at me. The front yard is his sibling's territory, I guess.

Corona, you are lucky! Surely in some country or tradition toads are lucky? :)

Uh huh. OK. If these were frogs, I could fix froglegs, I suppose. But then, I could use some luck so I'll tolerate my guests and keep buying mums or anything that they like to relax in.

I see a toad in my garden every few days. I did have one get into one of my potted plants and knock it over - it was one for the plant swap tomorrow. Anyway, I've also seen one all scrunched up in the hole of one of our extra bricks where it was hiding.

My lab saw something moving in the shrubs once and it turned out to be a toad. You know they do have a slight toxicity in their skin, so when he went to grab the toad, he quickly dropped it and came over to me with the strangest look. He was drooling a lot too. I guess he didn't like the taste of that toad!

At least it is past mating season and all is quiet around my pond. I think they're all looking for places to hunker down for the winter.

Gotta love those toads!