Westie Dangers

Cane toads produce a very potent, rapidly acting toxin which can cause serious heart irregularities. These may be fatal.

How did it get Here.

Its one of those "Don't we ever learn?" stories. It's Bufo Marinus." More commonly known in Australia as the Cane Toad. A monster toad, almost big enough, ugly enough and nasty enough to play for any old football team.

Originally from Latin America, the cane toad, can grow to more than seven inches and weigh more than three pounds. This amphibian has a face uglier than anything I have ever seen before. With big, puffy eyes and swollen glands running alongside each eye. Its these glands that make him nasty, since they hold a milky-white poison that is secreted when they feel threatened. We're talking about a poison with enough punch to kill a dog in just a few minutes, as many dog owners in Queensland have discovered.

So how did it get to Australia? We humans introduced it and now it can also be found in Hawaii, the Philippines, the Caribbean and the US. In 1935 the cane toads were introduced to control cane beetles in north Queensland. To eat the pests that plagued the sugar-cane crop, thereby increasing sugar-cane production. Well that idea didn't quite work too well. It appears the toad decided it would not stay in the cane fields, preferring to hop-off down the road in favour of richer meals, like dog and cat food that people leave out for their pets. They have spread at the rate of about 15 kilometers a year as far as NSW and the Roper River in the Northern Territory.

The cane toad has no natural enemies in Australia and lives up to 20 years. A female cane toad can lay up to 40,000 eggs (while the native frogs lay only about 1,000). Most native tadpoles can't live in the same water as the poisonous Cane Toad tadpoles. Being such a prolific reproducer, the toad quickly spread and has become a major pest itself, killing dogs and becoming so numerous in Queensland country areas that they are dying in water holes and poisoning the water.

They are carnivorous, poisonous, eco-thugs. Native animals that normally feed on native frogs try to eat the cane toad and die. Even grasping the toad in their mouths is enough to kill. Because they are multiplying so rapidly and because they will eat almost anything that will fit in their mouths they are devastating the native ground dwelling micro-fauna. But worse, there is now evidence that cane toads carry a virus deadly to many native animals. If the toad movement is not stopped, they could spread the virus across Australia.

The 'success story' of the cane toad is due to a combination of factors. Firstly it is particularly hardy, with a strong, muscular body and a tough skin. It's long life span (up to 20 years) and females lay up to 30 000 eggs each year, whereas native species mostly lay less than 1 000.

You can run over them in the car, hit them over the head, shoot them and they may appear dead but often they are not. They have the ability to feign death, then a short time later get up and hop away as if nothing had happened.

They definitely don't do well in the cold and usually hibernate during winter. We have found the most effective way to deal with them is to freeze them. Catch them, pop them in a freezer bag, seal it, then just make room in the family freezer and pop them in.

Now if you cant stomach them hopping around when you open the freezer to get the steak out for dinner then try a little detol. Fill a spray bottle with detol, wait for them to come out and wham... Let em have it. Very effective.

Another way apparently is to use put salt on them. However I haven't had to try this method yet so I'm not sure how effective it really is.

If you live in an area known to have Cane toads there are a few precautions you should take.


1. Dont let them out after dark off lead. Toads come out more at night.
   
   
2. Before letting them out in the morning check the yard thoroughly.
   
   
3. Don't let them out when its raining.
   
   
4. Never leave your dog unattended in the yard if you go out.