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Cane Toads
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Posted by trancegemini_WA Aust (My Page) on Thu, Sep 15, 05 at 1:47
| this is a bit off topic, but I figured the people here are usually interested in our wildlife aswell as our natives so this may be the most appropriate place to post this.
WA up until now has been cane toad free, but theyve now made their way across the top end to within a few hundred kms of our border, as well as a few stowaways making their way in by hitching a ride into the state with bananas from QLD.
I have to admit, I dont know that much about them, but it does seem as though the problem is just getting worse and worse. In my own mind I like to come up with little scenarios that might work, (Ive heard they can be hard to kill-and I dont think I would have the stomach for it either if I was in that situation), but couldnt we have a mass of traps set up over affected areas, say a trap in each backyard in the cities and suburbs affected, and then be able to drop the traps off at local councils, where they are taken to a place where they could be killed quickly by dropping them in acid or freeze drying them or something? (if that sounds gross, it cant be any worse than using a golf club which I hear is common)?
Ive heard kakadu has lost 7 species of animals to the toad, could a mass trapping be carried out there? maybe Im being naive and these things would only make a small difference, but are we really doing enough about them??
any other ideas about how we could cull the numbers? or has the horse already bolted long ago? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Cane Toads
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| Yes it has there are just too many of them now. Plenty of us females up here have killed them, terrible as it may seem when you see them headed for Grand-Child or your family pet and a brick is the nearest thing well so be it. There is always the salt and the dettol for the squeamish, or the golf club we use a mattock handle. Seeing my knight in shining armour is home 24/7 its his job now, but if I had to help again I would. I think that if everyone took care of their own back yard there would be a lot less about, but so many just dont care or put it into the too hard basket. There have been lots of threads on the forum about it, I know one was taken off. I do hope that they never get to where you live...Cheers...MM. |
RE: Cane Toads
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| yep well out of hand as nothing is being done to control them and the only control method comes down to mr & mrs average gardener/citizen. the only safe and humane way to kill them is by freezing them even a good frosty morning will do the trick. can't see that traps would work as you would need traps in every likely breeding spot that's if an effective trap can be designed not like you can set and bait a trap as you would for a wild animal such as a dog, fox or ferel pet cat. pay people a bounty to catch them and deliver them to collection points, learn what the toadpoles look like and scoop them from the water with an aquarium net give them their day in the sun hi & dry. didn't know that a post on this subject had been pulled? mm. len mail len lens garden page |
RE: Cane Toads
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| O yes Len it started off in the Garden Exchange some guy from down south had gone to Cairns for a holiday and was after the seeds of something saying he seen plenty then went on to say he did not see any toads while up there, well thats started off something that grew and grew, ok it was not the right forum to be discussing it so thats probably why it was pulled off. Cheers..MM. |
RE: Cane Toads
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| thanks for your comments, and len you did answer my next question about what is being done by the authorities in places like qld where they are a problem. so i started googling, and came across one article which said federal funding had even been withdrawn from canetoad research. Its all bit disheartening that the govt isnt doing a thing by the looks of it, and I think it's a real tragedy that theyre theyre in kakadu. but I love your idea of a bounty, maybe we should have national cane toad day like we do with clean up australia day. and mm, youre right, If a child or pet was in danger I would overcome my squeamishness pretty quickly. just curious but what do you do with the dettol and salt? I also came across some info that you can drown them quickly in a bucket of water with a lid which was surprising. the north west and the perth region are expected to be future problem areas for them, and I want to be ready! theyre wont be any freeloading in my garden for these things! |
RE: Cane Toads
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| Yes, spring has arrived and they are getting active here, nestling into pot plants etc. I use the overnight freezer method, anything wrapt in thick newspaper is NOT to be inspected for edibility. Some would say the carcasses then make excellent OM/ fertiliser buried in sandy soils. I don't think they drown fast. Boiling water said to be quick but personally find that "off". Some of our birds learned to flip the CTs over and go for the abdominal organs, I wonder how long it takes the crows etc in a new spot to figure that out. I do think every small action helps and maybe private individuals have to show the EPAs what to do. |
RE: Cane Toads
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Hi TG have a read of this link below.
Interesting what one finds on the Pest and Diseases Forum. It wont fix the Toad problems but you sure get a good laugh out of it...Cheers....MM. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Nasty Toads
RE: Cane Toads
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| I think I have a phobia about toads. I can't stand the thought of picking them up even with a plastic bag, and putting them in the freezer - not in mine!!! Give me snakes and spiders any day. Speaking of snakes, I've been told the Keelback snake (non-venomous) is the only snake that can safely eat a cane toad. Unfortunately, Keelbacks look very similar to the Rough-Scale Snake (highly venomous), so apparently are often killed by mistake. I have used Dettol to kill toads and find it kills them very quickly. A quick squirt and the toad gives one or two hops and dies. I don't dilute the Dettol, though I have heard some people do. The other method I use is to chop in half with a long handled spade. The better half loves his golf game and thinks toads are good for practice:) At my kid's school after the holidays, we are organising a competition to design a safe cane toad trap. We have just set up a pond as a frog habitat and want to keep toads away so thought this was a good idea to raise kids awareness of toads. To keep toads out of water features, they need to be 12 to 18 inches high without anything that could be used as steps as toads cannot jump high but are good climbers. Cheers G. |
RE: Cane Toads
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| g'day goldhills, yes i've also heard that about the keelback snake as well but they also look a lot like the tiger snake and a common name i was told by someone involved in land for animals says they are quiet often called the swamp tiger. we get them in our dam. also given the right toad they can from a standing start jump out of a 20 litre bucket you know those tall usually white buckets. len mail len lens garden page |
RE: Cane Toads
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Apparently there is little science can do about the toad short of some sort of expensive high tech genetic modification. All you and I can do is carry out our own versions of genetic modification with an appropriate golf club, dettol or whatever.
The harmless Keelback snake erronously called a Swamp Tiger as there is no such snake. It is said the Keelback while tolerating the toad venom learns to leave the toads alone as they are not good eating and the Keelback actually makes little if any impact on the toad populations. Next the steel belt radial the crow probably kills more toads.
For those concerned about confusing a Keelback to a Rough Scale the chances of seeing both in the same area would be unusual as the Keelback prefers water and wet areas and the Rough Scale prefers dry hilly open forest. Doug. |
RE: Cane Toads
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The cane toad is so insidious it will spread to other parts of the country b4 2050 maybe in 10 yrs time They have reached the outlining parts of kakadu but there is nt much we can do.
qld gov started the problem and now the csiro is trying very hard to fix it
there is a fungal/bacteria that attacks the toad in its home range in south america taht doesnt affect our native species but they are some way off in developing a way to introduce it and then eradicate it to stop further damage
It is very sad but many other things that go on are just as bad like koalas getting chlymidia and the tassie devil getting herpes (it is true)and it all comes down to the growth of humans and their effect on the eco systems in our fragile country |
RE: Cane Toads
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| At the risk of sounding like a heretic, there does not seem to be nearly as many toads around my area (the southside of Brisbane) as there used to be. It could be due to rampant development or the fact that the local waterways are now so polluted that even the toads can't breed in them. Back in the "old days" (20 years ago), an air rifle tended to be one of the most effective toad culling devices. It also worked wonders on feral cats as well. Ian |
RE: Cane Toads
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| I suspect that a balance will form, and local predators will learn to deal with the toad. I remember hearing that toads haven't turned out as bad as initially feared. To me far greater concern should be given to the ruthless spread of Homo sapiens, which is expanding into virgin land at a phemonomenal rate and leaving a trail of destruction that few plants or animals can survive. |
RE: Cane Toads
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RE: Cane Toads
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This might help: A community-based cane toad eradication program started by FrogWatch (North), has been launched in Darwin and Palmerston. They won a gvt grant of $422,000 to conduct research, raise community awareness, and set traps. Frog Watch coordinator Graeme Sawyer says that there are now simple traps with a solar light that attracts moths and the toads. Smaller native frogs tend to be able to get back out of the cage.
Cane Toads can’t survive longer than a few days so they need to be near a pond. The traps are set there and clean them out very quickly. Waterholes that are not permanent helps to eradicate them from that area. See www.frogwatch.org.au or NT WWF/TSN office Level 1, 82 Smith St, Darwin. (Ref: ‘The Web’, National Newsletter for the Threatened Species Network, Autumn 2005, p. 7) |
RE: Cane Toads
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| Wow another interesting if not frightening read. Bravo to "mistymorn" and all the other golfers, lol, lets hope this problem is solved b4 2050!!, Marie. |
RE: Cane Toads
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| naturesmagic, that sounds like an interesting program, I wish they had more info at the website about the traps though because they sounded really effective. It will be good to hear how it turns out after a couple of years but it's really encouraging that someone is trying to do something positive up there. |
RE: Cane Toads
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| apparently the crows and ibis near cairns have figured out that if they flip the toads over they can eat them without being poisoned. I think I heard it on triple jjj - doctor Karl - so it should be true the crows picked up the idea from the ibis - and are spreading the technique - and anyone who has tried to deal with queensland crows know how smart they can be as for the gardener - get a good torch and a thwacking stick thanx to the simpsons ;-) and do an evening patrol. One or two toads a day will help to keep them under some sort of control you can canetoad proof your backyard by putting in a 600mm barrier - the toad can't climb up too well - and then have a couple of serious nights thwacking |
RE: Cane Toads
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| There was a guy on The New Inventors (last week I think) who invented a cane toad trap. I didn't see the whole article but I think it was something to do with a competition in Darwin which he won. The idea was very simple and successful. |
RE: Cane Toads
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- Posted by moreton Bris. Qld. Aust (My Page) on
Thu, Oct 27, 05 at 19:22
Hi All,
this is the way to go, we can start collecting, make plenty of fertiliser from them.Lets get started? Peter r |
Here is a link that might be useful: inventors
RE: Cane Toads
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| goldhills, I did hear a promo for the show but I missed it on the night. thanks for the link moreton, what a great little contraption! one little thing it should have is a little collection bag inside so you dont have to touch the little buggers when you empty it ;) |
RE: Cane Toads
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A cheap and effective way to zapp these things may well be the same as we used in the UK some years ago for rats, a three foot square of steel plate and another about 18 inch square placed in the middle and above the large one supported by plastic supports, connect a car battery to the plates and juicy bait in the middle of the top one.
Toad goes for the bait with back legs on the lower plate and top legs on the upper plate and fries, crispy roast toad anyone?.. |
RE: Cane Toads
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| unfortunately you have a number of problems: there are a lot of toads; how do you prevent it killing good wildlife; who pays for it (and how much does it cost per dead toad)?; who cleans up the remains?; how are the batteries charged; how many would we need to clear up the perhaps 10 billion toads? Those are off the top of my heat. I'm also doubtful that 12V would kill a rat. |
RE: Cane Toads
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| where rodents will go for a stationary bait say as in cheese or pumpkin seed, they do so by smell, being the attraction. toads on the other hand would not generally go for a stationary bait, as they prefer to catch things that actually move. i have heard of them eating dog food but never seen that happen even when they have been around our dog food dishes. they are a hunter by nature, just like the frogs who form the main part of their diet are hunters, so if their prey doens't move it won't get eaten. len |
Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
RE: Cane Toads
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| Here's a reasonably cheap toad trap that may do the job: http://www.toadtrap.com.au |
Here is a link that might be useful: backyard toad trap
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