Beneficial animals Construction

Toad Exit From Window Well

Always provide some sort of exit for animals from a window well. Ill.: www.menards.com, www.homedepot.com & www.stickpng.com, montage: laidbackgardener.com

Last fall I was horrified to find a desiccated toad in my window well. Obviously, it had fallen in at some point over the summer and hadn’t been able to get out. 

Not wanting to repeat the experience (toads are one of the gardener’s best friends!), I propped up a plank against the well wall at about a 45-degree angle for use as a toad ladder. You could do the same with a log or build a toad staircase of old bricks in one corner. Just be sure to provide something for them—and for other small animals—to escape!

Garden writer and blogger, author of 65 gardening books, lecturer and communicator, the Laidback Gardener, Larry Hodgson, passed away in October 2022. Known for his great generosity, his thoroughness and his sense of humor, he reached several generations of amateur and professional gardeners over his 40-year career. Thanks to his son, Mathieu Hodgson, and a team of contributors, laidbackgardener.blog will continue its mission of demystifying gardening and making it more accessible to all.

3 comments on “Toad Exit From Window Well

  1. Christine Fortune

    Good information…Thank you. I have 5 or 6 toads in every windowell. They are not getting water. Im afraid that if we don’t get them moving on thier way, they will die.

  2. Yes, that is probably better than just leaving the window open for them.

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