Cane Toads

[malisa1]

It is approaching summer here in Queensland and I took our puppy Mason out for a wee before he was settled for the night and there were cane toads already out side he grabbed one while on the lead lucky i was quick enough to stop him. It took alot of effort it was a very very small toad and I did not see it straight away. I quickly brought him inside and cleaned his mouth out just in case.

I am sure there must be a more humane way but touching these things can be very dangerous. I have heard of the frezzer method that is fine if you can catch them. In Qld they can be big nasty and quick.

Last summer I disposed of these nasty foul pests with another method given. Please does any one have any better ideas. Our Akitas are in the house from 6pm to 6am daily to avoid this problem. But is there anything else we could do?

Edited September 11, 2005 by malisa1

[Amlovinya]

Put some Dettol in a spray bottle...............and spray the little suckers,(i do have other methods......but you asked for humane lol).

Ours dogs come in at 6pm too...........my boy Huddy just won't leave them alone.

He managed to find one smack bang in the middle of winter too.

Michelle

[SALTWOOD]

Phenyl is cheaper and works just as well as Dettol.......there is no easy answer, that is why they are such a pest and such a threat to dogs and also certain native frogs and fish.

Northern Territory are setting traps for them as they have migrated into there and are having some success but I don't think they will ever totally get rid of them.

[Staffyluv]

When we were kids we used to use golf clubs and cricket bats...

Not exactly humane but we were kids...

What happens if you put them in the freezer?

Jodie

[goldielover]

I tried the Dettol thing too when i lived in Queensland. We were on acreage and there were hundreds outside in the evenings.

Unfortunately i had a golden pup who thought they were great fun. I would worry myself sick over her. She'd carry them around in her mouth if someone let her outside and not once was she poisoned. They would wait at the door for her to come out and play even (not that i let her, but given the chance she always would play with them!). It drove me absolutely nuts as they made their appearance from around 4.30pm until 10pm or so and there is no way you can keep a young dog inside for6 hours every night!

[Christina77]

I've tried to teach my dog to leave them alone , but I wouldn't trust her to do so fully , I don't let my dog out alone after dark, and then she's on a lead .

I'm paranoid about cane toads and snakes

If you catch the toads and place them in the freezer ( in a bag ) they go to sleep and die , then throw out the bag next garbage collection day.

I keep catching mine ( I use an terracota pot and put it over one , then hubbie removes it) and the numbers are down to just the odd one , maybe I'm finally irradicating the whole family

[Leeanne]

Has anyone had success traning their dog to stay away from cane toads by spraying a cane toad with something the dog doesn't like, and therefore putting them off them?

[haven]

How is using a baseball bat a less humane way of killing than spraying it with dettol? Surely the dettol kills them slowly and painfully?

[Nadia]

Actually Dettol or Pine Oil kills them pretty quickly.

Not as much fun as the golf club though :D

Hunting and destroying every single one that appears is the best method.

We have nocturnal toad hunts.

They are a bloody menace.

Some dogs are simply addicted to the venom and are impossible to stop from hunting them, we had a little soul who hunted them for all of her 13 1/2 years.

She could never be left unattended outside after dusk ever. I lost count of how many times she nearly died. Little witch was obsessed with them, she even dug them out of their hidey holes during the day.

[malisa1]

Thanks to everyone who replied!! I do also use the dettol method it does work but with some of the big suckers they dont die easily. On the first night last year we killed 17 and then decreased every night. I was just hoping and praying there might be some new way to dispose of these foul creatures! I also use the bug zapper to attract them on hot nights. Our dogs are hunting dogs so toads seem fun to them. My husbands brother lost a dog to cane toad last year. He was about 3yrs old and they were heartbroken vale buster. They took him to the vet spent about 700 dollars and in the end the toxin had damaged his spinal cord he could not stand and had to be lifted in the yard to go to the toilet. They realised his quality of life was non existent and had him put to sleep.

This is always in the back of my mind. The government should do more about this awful pest not just to domestic animals but to native as well. They are good for nothing people in southern states do not know how lucky they are.Thanks once again. :D

[Animal House]

Cane toads....erk.

When I was a kid on a months holiday in Queensland, we took to them with the slug gun. (dont send hate mail....I was 12 years old, and was told by the people we were staying with that the cane toads poisoned the dogs water..so I had a big hatred for them )

What about a soft muzzle for the doggies that love to hunt them at night time?

[Koza]

I'm sure they like freezer method. Just don't forget to throu them out!

I was wondering, doesn't something like very fine mesh (10-20 cm high) on the bottom of fence help? Or they will climb?

Thanks god, Stella learnt not to touch them, but I don't know about Solly. I only pick up a few very small ones sometimes.

[JackieW]

I have read that toads don't climb and bird wire (very small squares) 18"-24" high will keep them out.

In summer my dogs don't go out at night unless on lead - but of course that doesn't stop them finding the odd toad during the day. They go nuts if they can smell one through the paling fence.

If you do stick with eradicating them on your property, over the years you should find less of them. I've found that at my place (I catch and freeze them) and a friend of mine on acreage has said the same. She goes out hunting every night in summer and used to get 20 or more sometimes.

[Leeanne]

anyone tried a soft muzzle on thier dog? are their better brands than others?

[Amlovinya]

Some dogs are simply addicted to the venom and are impossible to stop from hunting them

YEP...........my Huddy won't leave them alone. He hates to old hose down the gob thing........But still insists on hunting them.

They don't jump very high............so they reckon something like shade cloth around the bottom of the fence line works well. We are gunna try it and see how we go.

Michelle

[hilaryo]

Malisa

I catch them with my hand in a double plastic bag and then freeze them - ugh they freak me out a bit, but its less cruel than detol, etc which I think burns them into a slow painfull death.

Leeanne

You really need some sort of aversion training with a remote E collar - this was recommended by Steve (the trainer) for persistant toad hunters - like mine!

[Leeanne]

What age can you use one of the E collars? I think I would try spraying a cane toad with an offensive spray first, and see how the pups react. This combined with trying to kill every cane toad we see. I hate the idea of those E collars, but am more worried about cane toad toxin. Someone told me that it is possible to train dogs to only take food from thier owners - i just can't see that working with a lab cross!