If your noticing higher than usual numbers of cane toads, you’re not alone. The wet weather has provided ideal mating conditions, bringing them all out searching for a mate. Controlling cane toad population is crucial in the protection of our native wildlife, and for keeping our pets safe in their back yards. The poison secreted on a cane toads back can cause rapid heartbeat, convulsions and paralysis when ingested by animals.
Keep your pets and wildlife safe with these top 5 cane toad reducing measures
Planting Natural Barriers
Cane toads can’t climb very well or jump very high so they need a clear pathway to make their way into your back yard. Planting hedges, dense shrubs and thick grasses can act as excellent natural barriers to these unwanted visitors. Rocks and logs also provide great barriers. Be sure to check for any holes or gaps close to the ground in your planting or edging so pesky toads can’t hop on through.
Fencing
Most modern urban homes feature solid timber or colourbond fencing around the back yard as standard. If this is your home, you’re in luck and have a ready made cane toad barrier in place. Make sure your fencing is tight to the ground with no gaps to prevent any invasions. For those of us with open style fencing consider dense planting around the boarder of your fence to enforce a natural barrier.
Egg Removal
If you have a nearby body of water, you may notice long jelly like strands of black eggs floating in the water. These are the eggs of a cane toad and should be scooped out, along with any developing tadpoles and disposed of. Cane toads can lay thousands of eggs per season, intervention early in the life-cycle can have a dramatic effect on local population numbers. If you’re hesitant to dispose of eggs in the bin, eggs can be dried out in the sun first.
Cane Toad Catching
Once the cane toads are in the yard there’s nothing left to do but do an old fashioned cane toad collection. Set off with a rubbish bag and pair of gloves to see who can get the biggest, ugliest or most cane toads in their collection. Queensland family entertainment at it’s best. Once your done dispose of your cane toads humanly. For up to date information on humane disposal of cane toads refer to the RSPCA guidelines
Cane Toad Traps
Pest management companies and even your local Bunnings offer various cane toad traps that humanly trap toads. The traps do all the hard work for you, attracting the toads in and holding them in the trap for removal. If cane toads are causing an issue around your home and you don’t have the time for a family cane toad hunt (or would rather avoid touching them) a trap may be the solution for you.
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