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11 months ago
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A plague of cane toads has descended on a small town, with terrified locals calling for help to eradicate the invasive pests.
One horrified man took to social media to share a confronting picture of the toxic creatures, which had inundated streets in the Gold Coast suburb of Tugun.
'These baby cane toads are about three weeks away from overrunning Tugun,' the man, Jonathan, captioned his post on Reddit.
'This is right where we were walking our small dog every day (lake next to our complex). It's at my freakin house.'
A man from Tugun on the Gold Coast shared a horrifying picture of a plague of baby cane toads near his house
Reddit users flocked to the comments section to share in the poster's shock and disgust a the swarm of the amphibians.
'I know they're invasive but I wouldn't be able to go outside for fear of stepping on them!' one person said.
Another wrote: 'Crikey! Something must be done! Buy some cane toad spray from Bunnings. It's apparently humane on the feral critters.'
'That is really sad to see, such a destructive and prolific pest,' a third added.
One local described their attempts to stave off '1000s of em' from entering their home.
'Got a spray bottle of detol and went to town at my front door, still hundreds this morning,' they said.
Cane toads are considered invasive pests in Australia and the public is urged to assist with their extermination
Jonathan also said the baby toads had started jumping at his back door.
'Tonight they started coming under the garage door. It sucks,' he wrote.
Invasive Species expert Nikki Tomsett said the outbreak of juvenile cane toads in Tugun is the direct result of a 'a massive cane toad breeding event.'
'This has happened due to the weather – hot, humid weather with rainfall is ideal for cane toad breeding activity. A female cane toad can lay up to 35,000 eggs each time she breeds,' Ms Tomsett told news.com.au.
'After three days the eggs mature into tadpoles, and within roughly 3 weeks the tadpoles will mature into metamorph cane toads and leave the water en mass, like we are seeing in the images from Tugun.
'Unfortunately this stage of cane toads can be tricky to control due to their numbers.'
Ms Tomsett said learning how to identify cane toad eggs and tadpoles was a worthwhile skill as they are easier to eradicate in their younger form.
An expert said learning how to identify the toads as tadpoles could make their eradication easier
Cane toads are considered invasive pests in Australia and the public is urged to assist with their extermination.
The 'cool and then freeze' method is considered to be the most humane way to euthanise the toad, as well as the use of chemical sprays.
The animals were introduced to Australia in 1935 in an effort to curb the native grey-backed cane beetle from ravaging sugar canes, but the decision led to the toads exploding in numbers with 200million of them now in the country.
Cane toads are poisonous and the poison can, if swallowed by a human, affect a persons heart function, blood pressure and ability to breathe.
While no person has died from cane toad poisoning in Australia the toxin can be fatal for pets.
What are cane toads and why are they a problem?
Cane toads are large heavily-built amphibians with dry warty skin. They have a bony head and over their eyes are bony ridges that meet above the nose.
They sit upright and move in short rapid hops. They may be grey, yellowish, olive-brown or reddish-brown.
Cane toads were deliberately introduced from Hawaii to Australia in 1935 to control scarab beetles that were pests of sugar cane.
Since then, the range of cane toads has expanded through Australia's northern landscape and they are now moving westward at an estimated 40 to 60 km per year.
In February 2009, cane toads crossed the Western Australian border with the Northern Territory (over 2000 km from the site they were released 74 years before).
To the south, cane toads were introduced to Byron Bay in 1965 and then spread to Yamba and Port Macquarie on the north coast of NSW in 2003.
Cane toads are considered a pest in Australia because they:
- poison pets and injure humans with their toxins
- poison many native animals whose diet includes frogs, tadpoles and frogs' eggs
- eat large numbers of honey bees, creating a management problem for bee-keepers
- prey on native fauna
- compete for food with vertebrate insectivores such as small skinks
- may carry diseases that are can be transmitted to native frogs and fishes.
Cane toads can be accidentally transported to new locations, for example in pot plants or loads of timber.
Source: NSW Government
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