Exotic Animals - Major Pests
Cane Toad
Family: Bufonidae (True Toads)
Order: Anura (aka Salientia)
Class: Amphibia
Scientific names: Rhinella marina
What You Can Do
- Use yellow fluorescent tubes for lighting around your house instead of white fluorescent tubes. Insects, and therefore Cane Toads, are attracted to white light, not yellow light, so this will help to keep toads out of your yard. Also, try and minimise the amount of lights you have on outside your home in the evenings.
- In your yard, regularly check any water holding containers, the pool, ponds, water features etc, for Cane Toad eggs or tadpoles. Empty out pot-plant saucers and other containers of water which are lying around that you are not using.
- Remove any Cane Toad eggs which you may find in your pool, ponds, containers or water features by gently lifting them out of the water. This can be done by using a stick or a rake. Place the eggs in your compost bin, bury them in the garden, put them in a sealable plastic bag and then into the bin, or lay the eggs on the lawn in the sun away from water and allow them to dry out. Wear disposable gloves when handling any Cane Toad eggs.
- Check your load when travelling into parts of Australia where Cane Toads do not yet live. They are excellent ‘hitch-hikers’ and can hide amongst camping gear, in pot plants, in boxes of fruit and in all sorts of places on vehicles and in trailers.
- Collect toads that are in your yard, but make sure the animal you have captured is actually a Cane Toad.
Identify the animal: In the last five years, Wildlife Officers have been called on to identify many suspected Cane Toads sighted within Darwin. In 95% of these cases, the captured animals were identified as the Marbled Frog, Northern Burrowing Frog, Ornate Frog or other native species. Marbled, Northern Burrowing and Ornate frogs are common native species and their warty appearance and large size fools many people.
Despite the names of some native Australian frogs, such as the Holy Cross Toad, there are no true toads that are native to this country. True toads are found on all continents other than Australia and Antarctica.
Use a safe method to collect the toad: Cane toads are toxic. The source of the toxins is a large gland behind the eyes and on the back of the neck. It is only toxic if ingested or rubbed into eyes. The toxin exudes over the toad's skin, although a fine spray of poison can travel a short distance when the toad is handled particularly roughly. When collecting toads, for safety sake it is best to wear some form of eye protection. Put on a pair of gloves or use two plastic shopping bags, or something similar to pick up the toad. Turn the bags inside out and place one bag inside the other. Grab the toad, turn the bags the correct way round again, tie the bags tightly and you'll have safely bagged your toad. Wash you hands thoroughly with soap afterwards to ensure no poison is on them.
Disposing of the toad: We have all heard stories of how people in other places kill Cane Toads. The most humane method of disposing of toads is to place your double-bagged toad in the refrigerator at 4°C for over an hour, allowing the toad to become unconscious. Then, transfer the toad to the freezer for at least 16 hours. You can either bury the toad or put it in the compost heap as they are a good natural fertiliser. Make sure your pets cannot access the compost heap or the buried toad.
The Shoal Bay Recycling Centre Darwin, Archer Dump Palmerston, Berry Springs Primary School and Fred’s Pass all have ‘toad detention-centres’ where you can leave any live toads you have collected.
For further information, relating to reporting sightings of cane toads, capturing toads, taking part in toad musters or for information on trapping:
Phone: FrogWatch on 1800 243 564
Email: toadreport@frogwatch.org.au
Go to: www.frogwatch.org.au
