Ben Barnett is hard at work limiting local cane toads and raising awareness of the dangers and solutions available to property owners dealing with these Queensland pests.
The Thornlands local initiated his project in early February and has since partnered with Watergum Community For Environment Inc, a non-profit organization assisting in disposing of collected toads.
Ben explained that he began considering catching cane toads on a larger scale after dealing with them in his backyard.
“I saw heaps of toads in the backyard… so I decided to pick them up, put them in the freezer… I have also been to the park and emptied the park out as well,” he said.
“There are a lot of people out there who are terrified and scared of the toads, so I just wanted to start going out and helping them. I don’t know why, really, I just did it.”
Ben reached out on a Thornlands Facebook page, offering his volunteer services to his neighbours, accepting only a cold drink as payment. “I’m not a very social person, so this is helping me get out and be more social… I think I’ve done at least three people’s houses so far and am not planning on stopping soon.”
He emphasized the need for property owners to be cautious with their pets, especially during the wet season when cane toads are prevalent. “I actually have a friend whose house I did, because he had dogs,” he said. “Some dogs want to see what’s going on, others will bark, but you need to be careful with them because cane toads are poisonous.”
Watergum assists Ben by providing storage for the cane toads, offering a larger freezer space in exchange for harvesting the bufotoxin, the poison secreted by the toads. The Cane Toad Tadpole Lures, sold by Watergum, repurpose the poison to attract pest tadpoles, naturally drawn to a pheromone component in the bufotoxin also present in cane toad eggs, a common food source.
Expressing gratitude for the support and collaboration with Watergum, Ben highlighted the efficiency of their method in controlling the toad population. “It is very clever, they take the poison and put it into this little box in the water that attracts all the tadpoles and can get rid of them that way,” he said.
Cane Toads pose a significant threat to the environment, particularly to predatory wildlife such as magpies. Each female cane toad can produce up to 35,000 eggs each time she reproduces, and selectively removing tadpoles from each breeding cycle can help reduce the population.
Ben will lead a Toad Hunt on April 5 with Watergum from 5:30 pm at Abbotsleigh Street Park in the Thornlands.
All are welcome to participate and contribute to the preservation of native wildlife. Participants are advised to bring gloves, a torch/headlight, a bucket with a lid or rubbish bag, and wet weather gear.
