Toads on Roads FAQs: Problems

If you suspect any amphibian disease in your toad population, please either take a photo or send a specimen to the Garden Wildlife Health project to determine what it may be. Be sure to clean any gloves, footwear and equipment with sodium hypochlorite (be sure to follow the guidance on the container and to dispose of it safely) after each patrol to prevent spread. Make sure you emphasise how important this practice is to your fellow patrollers.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many vets with the expertise to help injured amphibians. However, you can find a list here of wildlife rescues that may be able to help. If the amphibian you have found seems to be injured, but is otherwise moving as it should and not lethargic or malnourished, then place it in a sheltered spot away from predators if you can. This will give it the best chance to recover on its own.

Moving dead toads isn’t the priority, the aim is to keep as many toads alive as possible by moving them out of harm’s way. However, if it is safe to do so and you have the time, move them from the road as you come across them. It may be easiest to record them and then place the dead animal on the path next to the kerb so that it isn’t counted again.

At the end of the patrol the dead animals can be collected and deposited away from the pond where they will be scavenged without drawing attention to any animals still migrating. Alternatively, if it is safe to do so, pick up the animal with a small trowel, and having recorded it, place it in roadside vegetation where it won’t be double-counted.

Toads are an important part of the food chain and the reproductive strategy of the toads should take occasional predation into account. Usually, a sufficient number of animals will make it to the water to ensure toad spawning takes place, toad tadpoles will survive and toadlets emerge. 

Toads are ‘explosive’ breeders with all animals arriving at ponds at the same time to minimise the risk of predation to any individual- but the risk does occasionally maximise the impact of predation should a predator come across the migration and spawning event!

Animals that seem to be turned inside out, are skinned or have their limbs missing are characteristic of mammalian predation; often a fox or an otter, mink or polecat will come across the migrating toads and catch them and consume the ‘easy’ bits – the back legs, thus avoiding the poison glands. In the process many animals are picked up and bitten but not eaten because of the poison. These animals unfortunately often die from their wounds.

If you come across a mass mortality event that is not obviously linked to predation, gather as much information as you can: what species is involved; how many animals; take some photographs of a range of different individuals from above and below and contact our partners at the Garden Wildlife Health Project. They will be able to advise you on whether they want to investigate further and may ask you to collect some specimens for post-mortem.

We do not conduct patrols during the summer because toadlet migration is a lot more sporadic than the main adult migration and it is difficult to monitor when toadlets will begin to move- they may even start to move during the day! This tends to happen from June onwards depending on where you are in the country.

Because toadlets are so small, it is also difficult to move them without causing injury so it is best to stick to rescuing breeding adults.