Cane Toads (eek!)

[Banjucy]

Hi everyone

My partner, myself and our two kelpie x's have just moved from SA to QLD. Because we don't have cane toads in SA (yet), we have no idea on the best way to minimise the risk to our pups.

We know they are poisonous so we have been patrolling the yard for them, but what do you do with them when you find them (i.e how do you kill them)? I should add that we are both massive pacifists and HATE killing things. Is there any kind of wussy way to humanely kill them? Are there any other prevention techniques other than purely patrol and kill?

Also on the topic of QLD-specific dog issues, we have been told that we need to get them tick control, but someone else told us we only need to get this from October - April. Is this correct or were they misinformed?

I am a bit anxious about it all

Edited August 18, 2010 by Banjucy

[Catahoula]

Hi Bajucy - Toads - well they are here in full force now (NT). I've been lucky & never had a drama with my dogs wanting to chase, chew or eat them....Young pups show some interest but a quick "UT" or "NO" seems to do the trick...Obviously not that exciting to my (most dogs)......But only way to get rid of them is kill by dettol or golf club... or the "wussy" way is pick them up & put them in the freezer..they go to sleep, then you have to find a collection depot or burn them etc while they are asleep.....

With ticks - I would be treating year round so they don't get onto of you, like they can if you get complacent.

I treat (inject) all my dogs monthly with a product called "Dectomax" (the product vets use up here for tick shots) It also treat intestinal worms, heart worm & mange...DOES NOT TREAT TAPEWORM...

It is expensive ($300 per 500ml) to do yourself unless you have a yard full of dogs..so most vets will treat monthly for around $25.....

[Catahoula]

"double post"

Edited August 18, 2010 by Catahoula

[minxy]

A good whack with a shovel

[baykinz]

The most humane way to kill cane toads is to catch them, put them in a container with air holes in the fridge overnight (this makes them go all coma-y) and then kill them by putting them in the freezer, but Dettol spray seems to be the most common method (probably because catching cane toads and putting them in your fridge/freezer is terrifying and feels kind of gross). If you have a pond or other water on your property you can patrol for the eggs and dispose of them by burying them or drying them out in the sun. If you don't have still water on your land (and they therefore aren't breeding within your yard) you can try to keep them out by running a mesh screen all the way around your fence to eliminate any gaps for them to squeeze through. You would need to bury it and I think it needs to stand quite high.

Tick control can depend upon your exact location. Certain places can be more tick-prone than others, and the prevalence of ticks varies with the weather, too. At my current home we back directly onto a park with a small amount of bush, and tick control plus checking the animals for ticks is very necessary all year long. We have found ticks on the animals well outside the October-April period. At my last house, however, we generally only needed to use control during the peak season, although you should still be checking for ticks regularly throughout the year even if you feel like you're in a low-tick area or if it's been cold (better to waste time fruitlessly checking than to miss one!).

[noisymina]

Spray bottle with Dettol. 40-50%

Regular patrols.

If dog chews in toad, get hose and wash out the mouth for as long as you can. From the side so most of the water goes back out, not down the poor dogs throat. Mine knows she's in for a hosing if she picks on toads, so that is a bit of a deterrant in itsalf.

You can tell if they've been toad playing by the large amount of thickish saliva dripping from their mouth.

As for ticks, it depends whether or not you are in a tick area and if so, what sort of ticks are around.

A local vet should be able to give you information on your locality.

[FranVT]

I'd strongly recommend Comfortis for fleas too. It's great stuff. I'm further north than you but I can't imagine it'd be terribly different.

[baifra]

Using dettol is incredibly cruel. It is a neuro toxin and would be the most painful death for the toads.

I know they are a pest but they are still animals and don't deserve to die that way.

The fridge then freezer method seems to be the most humane way to go.

When we lived in Cairns we used fortnightly Advantix on the dogs and never found a single tick on them. Pretty expensive but money I was fully prepared to spend.

Edited August 18, 2010 by baifra

[t-time]

Toads are generally nocturnal as well which kind-of helps as you can have a night time pen/area (if they are outside dogs).

We have toads and we've sectioned off a large yard, lining the fence with AVIARY WIRE - tiny little squares and it's also greatly reduced the toads and the SNAKES in the 2 years we've had it erected.

I'm a killer - early evening patrol with a torch - my partner has developed a toad whacker out of an old pool cue - heavy end, one whack and they are dead.

Talk to your local vet about ticks - there are tick-free areas but if you're anywhere near the coast, you'll have ticks for sure.

Edited August 18, 2010 by t-time

[Monah]

Frdige and freezer! NOT DETTOL. It is cruel AND they would go away to die, so there is NO guarantee that your pets would not eat them then.

when we moved from SA to QLD, I used to get up to 60 toads a night, I use a plastic bag on one hand to pick them up, then stuff them into another bag. They are transferred to the fridge overnight, then into the freezer where they have to be for at least 16 hours otherwise they may only be in hibernation.

I now rarely get more than a couple during the warmer months (we have a couple of acres) and we have a lovely influx of green tree frogs and other creatures that we did not have several years ago.

My two girls help me hunt, they 'find and point' and get all excited when the plastic bags come out

They do not touch them as they have a leave command and if I am not 'hunting' they ignoore them.

It's not the toads' fault, in their own habitat they are ok, bloody humans!

Mine have never had ticks, but there are many products available. I'd ask your local vet as the number of ticks etc. varies greatly from area to area. We rarely get them where I am, but only a couple of ks away they have millions! Always physically check your dog, even if the dog is treated. Remember too that ticks can get anywhere, including in the mouth and up the nose! so if you do see symptoms, but cannot find a tick, still go to the vet straight away.

Catahoula, been checking out your website, stunning dogs,, wish I'd known about your kennels when I was in NT, would have loved to see them!

[Scarlet]

Catahoula, been checking out your website, stunning dogs,, wish I'd known about your kennels when I was in NT, would have loved to see them!

Monah it was a Catahoula that was found after 8 months stranded on an island up your way.

But the family live in Gympie.

[felix]

It's not the toads' fault, in their own habitat they are ok, bloody humans!

Well, their own habitat is in South America. I am quite happy to leave them alone there.

In Australia they are responsible for bringing many native animals to the brink of extinction. No sympathy for them from me.

And I just shovel them. That would kill them immediately.

[Asalei]

We put toads in a plastic bag and put them straight into the freezer.

We are lucky that our two older girls don't care about toads, but our puppy is most fascinated. They usually seem to disappear through the colder months, but as we've had a warmish summer this year, they were out the other day when it was raining and our puppy thought it was great fun. I let her chase after one so I could correct her behaviour, and we then went around and picked them all up.

I just have no idea how they get into our yard! our fences go from under the ground to 6ft high.. How the hell do they get in!! Not just big bastards, but baby ones too. We patrol every night in summer, so I really don't think they could live in our yards until they became big bastards.

[Little Gifts]

The Buddhist in me turns feral whenever I hear the word 'toad'. Yes they are one of the earth's creatures but I just can't stand them! They are so destructive!

In summer I always keep huge bowls of water and face clothes near the back door. If one of the dogs gets spit I immediately use the cloth and water to wipe the poison from their mouths. I found this much quicker than a hose because the poison is slimy and sticks to the tongue. I have had to do a vet visit only once.

As for toad disposal I put a plastic bag in each hand and go around in the dark with the torch (dogs inside of course). I use the plastic bag on one hand to pick up the toads and I put it straight into the other bag. This is so they can't spit on me while I'm chasing them. After doing the rounds of the yard I then tie the hand bag inside the toad bag and hang it on the clothes line overnight. Next day the whole lot goes in the bin and usually the poison inside the bag has killed the toads. Yes I know it is awful but my hate of toads is so deep that I refuse to put them in my freezer!

If you have ponds or dams there is also a need to catch them in the tadpole stage. Fingers crossed my memory is correct here but toads lay eggs in long strings whereas frogs lay them in like lumps of froth. If you put a toad tadpole into a white cup or bowl you will also notice its body is all round, Frogs are indented - they have a waist. Toad tadpoles will kill the frog tadpoles.

With little toads it is sometimes hard to tell if they are frogs or not as there is a brown frog very similar that just never gets very big. I must admit to erring on the side of caution and leaving those just in case but generally a frog will look wetter and less gnarly than a toad.

Toad spit is also dangerous for children and don't go catching them and rub near your eyes - not good either. Oh and after it has rained don't try and run over what you think may be toads on the road as they can often be huge green frogs and we want to keep those!

Having said all that I do know numerous dogs who have been poisoned by toads but none that have died or who have had long term health issues.

[Remarkabull]

This is all facinating and relevant to me as we will be moving to Darwin in the near future.

There is no way I will be putting them in my fridge or freezer! We will definately be 'killers', most likely with a shovel or something. I must admit I am really nervous about them as my JRT bitch is a very keen hunter of anything smaller than a cat. Not sure how we will get her to leave them alone.

No doubt it is going to be an 'interesting' learning period for us all!

[felix]

This is all facinating and relevant to me as we will be moving to Darwin in the near future.

For the last 4 years since we moved to Darwin I had to kill 5 cane toads that came in our backyard. So, it's not overwhelming. And if you get your property fenced with chicken wire you should be fine.

Our dog loves to play with green tree frogs that we have around the place and I was afraid that he may try the same with cane toads, but for some reason he stays away from them. However, you need to be vigilant.

[Little Gifts]

If you think a shovel is going to kill a toad then think again! You could drop a boulder on one, see its insides come out of its mouth and then later, while you're not looking it will suck those insides back in and hop off! They are very hard to bash to death. Even driving over one with your car is no guarantee. And I am not condoning this, but there are people who hook shot them over the neighbours fences with their golf clubs, but that just means they'll end up back in your yard at some stage.

[Hairy Maclary]

When we lived in FNQ I used the fridge/freezer method as well. If you regularly patrol your yard for toads you'll find less and less - best way to get a lot at once is to do it when it's raining as there are more about, or use a light source to attract them.

It was a bit scary having a couple of terriers, including one who loved to hunt but the worst thing was the stink of a dog who's rolled in cane toad poo

[Stitch]

We HATE toads here. The only good toad is a DEAD toad!!!

They do untold damage to our wildlife plus they can kill a dog within 30minutes.

Some dogs will leave them alone but any dog with a tendency to chase things runs the risk of poisoning.

We have avian wire around all our kennels & exercise yards BUT if there are baby toads in the dam and it coincides with a rainy period, very small toads can more easily move from place to place and fit between the wires.

We look for egg strings in the dam and remove them. We spray any emerging small toads with Phenyl - it kills within seconds. Then we go spotlighting toads late at night several times a week with a landing net and bucket to put the dead ones in.

Best method of killing toads is anything that kills them quickly, our preferred method is multiple strikes with a hoe - dettol etc. works very slowly on larger toads and I think really is quite cruel, even though I hate toads!!!

They are well and truely dead by the time we have finished with them.

[ravenau1]

~shudders~ I've never even seen a real live one! Thank goodness we don't have them here, well, yet anyway!