My folks in the midwest built a couple of ponds in their back yard a few years back. They had some frogs move in, from parts unknown, before they were even comp

My folks in the midwest built a couple of ponds in their back yard a few years back. They had some frogs move in, from parts unknown, before they were even complete. Their population has remained small and steady and, while they do obviously make some noise, they're not a nuisance. I see worms and snails where I live in SoCal over the winter, spring, and early summer. When the rain stops, the marine layer keeps the grass and oftentimes sidewalks a little wet, which brings them out. They're never around when it starts to get really dry in the mid/late summer and through the fall. It's actually quite challenging to avoid them while walking on the sidewalks when we have rain. I'm not trying to dismiss what you're saying, because I've lived in places in SoCal and the south where I haven't seen these things, as well. I'm only adding my own anecdata to the pile. edit/ I meant to mention... When I lived along the central CA coast, we had a really large cohort of California Tiger Salamanders on our lot. It frightened me the first time that I saw one of them, I was convinced that it was a snake until I was able to relocate it. From then on, they were easy to spot. I'd reckon we had between 1 and 2 dozen of them year-round between the front and the back and our neighbors, that we spoke to, all had them, as well. Additionally, where I live today, we have _a lot_ of lizards and considerable insect life. We're close to the Santa Ana foothills on one side and a nature preserve on the other, and I'm sure that helps.