Kat2

only Cubans. How do I get rid of them? Before anyone jumps on me for interfering with the environment know that they, like the pythons in the Everglades, are not native; the little guy pictured in my avatar belongs here. Tonight I found a warty grey one hunkered down in my small DC staring back at me; how I miss the smooth skinned green guys.

I do not have any standing water in my yard nor do my neighbors but our lots back up to extensive woods so that area is beyond my control. I've read about spraying them with citric acid; is that the solution? I have only seen 3 or 4 and I might be seeing the same one each time so may not not have huge infestation yet but I want to encourage the native tree frogs and the Cubans eat them and even each other so I want them gone. I do have a couple of black snakes that patrol my yard; I try very hard not to scare them too much when they surprise me and I shriek a bit. So far, so good. I have a big owl or 2 who visit also but, from what I've read, Cubans really don't appeal to their "taste" which means eradication/control is probably up to me. Or am I missing something?

BTW, I prefer to use the least toxic methods possible but do have a can of "wasp wallop" I take with me when whacking down my jungle. I purchased it after I got stung a few too many times and decided I didn't need 10,000 of them nesting under my eaves and attacking people who just happened to walk nearby.

ETA: I think this belongs in the Tikihut--sorry. And I am not really up for capturing and freezing Cuban frogs in a bag beside my food as recommended by FL authorities. I will but would prefer to just "croak" them outside if possible.

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blownz281

Capture them and keep them in a bucket with a lid and air holes. Then drop them off faraway from home. Even if not native myself I couldn't kill them. You could use them for fish bait.

crazy banana

QI am not familiar with these frogs and I do not like to kill any wildlife either ( not even our rattlesnakes), but I certainly do not like to trap and dump the problem on someone else.
We have a canyon behind the house and even the wildlife rehab center dumps their catches like racoons, opossums and such way too close to my comfort zone.

Kat2

Definitely illegal for me to relocate them. Here's what the authorities recommend I do: Cuban Treefrogs: An Invasive Threat - UF/IFAS Extension: Solutions for Your Life

Humanely Euthanizing Cuban Treefrogs

Remember to use gloves when touching the frog.

After positively identifying a frog as a Cuban treefrog, humanely euthanize by applying benzocaine ointment—a numbing agent used to treat skin pain and itching—to the frog's back. Name brand and generic products are available over-the-counter in tubes or sprays.

After the ointment is applied, place the frog in a sealable plastic bag for 15–20 minutes, so the benzocaine makes the frog unconscious.

Keep the frog in the bag, and place it in the freezer overnight. In the morning, throw it away in the trash. Do not throw live frogs in the trash.

Having fought a rat in my house for the past year (former owner had snakes and I suspect this was "food" that escaped) and having lived on farmettes, I'm not overly squeamish but I can't imagine the average housewife doing what they suggest. Which is probably why there are so many Cuban frogs on the loose in FL.

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merce3

when i am motivated enough, i catch the cubans, bag them and throw them in the freezer. it's supposed to be the humane way of killing them. not sure if they come back to life after they thaw, but i throw them in the trash after they freeze. it's good to depopulate them, because they're invasive and eat the green frogs.

word of caution to the fellas: make sure to let your wife know ahead of time. lol

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Kat2

Will the greenies come back if I freeze the Cubans? If so, I'm willing to share my freezer overnight or a few nights to be sure for the cause. I live alone so nobody will be inconvenienced or accidentally mistake my catch for a gourmet meal.

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merce3

Yeah... The Cubans wont share the environment with them. As they are killed off the green ones will gradually come back. It really depends on how big the problem is. I know I have seen a difference and I had a lot of Cubans. I see the green ones pretty regularly now

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Kat2

Guess I'm going out with a zippie and gloves! Wish me luck.

Darn, they must have heard me coming...next time.

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rottiedog46

I volunteer at The Blue Hole on Big Pine Key. Saw a black racer (snake) catch and eat a Cuban tree frog while I was at the observation platform.

Be sure to wear gloves - the Cuban frogs will pee all over your hand when you catch one!

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Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert A. Heinlein

Kat2

Cool. A volunteer has replied so I'm going to pick your brain if you don't mind.

Are the black snakes that live in my jungle racers or something else? (There is a big one (4') and now at least 1 that's less than 2' so I assume they're happily breeding.)

If I rid my yard of Cubans, can I attract green tree frogs? If so, how?

If they pee on you will you get warts? (My very old widowed babysitter in San Antonio who had many warts told me toads gave them to her thus I've never ever touched a toad or frog, just to be safe, ever, ever. But was that a lie?) If not warts, what else does CF pee do to you?

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rottiedog46

Black racers (actually the Southern Black Racer) and the Rosy Red Rat snake are the snakes I see most often down here. The black racer can be up to 60" in length. The other (slim) possibility up where you live is the Eastern Indigo, which can grow up to 84". All the above are highly desirable vermin eradicators! Do a GIS for a complete description and photo ID.

At least where I live, the Cubans are the only tree frog I see. Even if I managed to wipe out the population in my yard, more would move in (nature abhors a vacuum) from the surrounding area. If you still have a population of greens in your area and are able to create a CF free oasis for them, you may be able to attract them back.

Warts from frog/toad contact is just an "old wives tale" - I handled many frogs and toads when I was a kid with no warts. CF pee on hand is just disgusting and unsanitary! I've caught CF when I was not wearing gloves (I was not expecting to see one) with no ill effects. Of course, I was in my yard and able to wash the pee off immediately.

Good Luck fighting yet another invasive species!

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Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert A. Heinlein

Kat2

I leave my black snakes alone; I guess I need to look closer at them before running and shrieking when I see what looks like what I saw up North. Not the same creature? Darned things get in the most unexpected places--in a tarp I didn't fold up and then slithering towards my east facing back door before deciding to slip south. I'm not girly girl but really hate slithering stuff but I've gotten better about creatures since moving here.

I've never seen a greenie in Brevard County--Canaveral Groves, Sharpes or here.; they were thick in Jacksonville. I've lived here just under a year and only saw/noticed my first Cuban a 2 months ago so they're not taking over my yard--yet. I'd love to shed the few I have but wonder if I can attract greenies if they're already gone from this area. Does FL have any "reintroduction" programs? I'd be thrilled to cooperate with reasonable protocols.

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raygrogan

I've had excellent luck raising polywogs into frogs in both Iowa City (gray tree frogs) and Honolulu (poison dart frogs, not native but very good frogs). All you need to do is learn to recognize the right wogs, and the wrong ones. Then you need a source of algae (their food, almost any water container in the sun for a few days, but best is growing something like taro in water). And finally a way to not grow mosquitoes. Tiny fish may be best. Mosquito Bits (a Bt product) works great as long as you use it like once a week.

Snarkie

We have black snakes and black king snakes here in NC. They can get 25" in diameter and close to seven feet in length.

Question for the snake guy:
Up at the Preserve is a big snake the color of an earthworm. It's over six feet in length and moves like a racer, but I cannot find a pic of any snake that resembles it colorwise. Any suggestions? It moves about 12 mph. It struck at me but I have quick reflexes. Then it was drumming the ground with its tail.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Dangermouse01

Maybe a coachwhip snake?

DM

Snarkie

Maybe. I checked the map and that's not in their NC range but it's possible.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

siege2050

I have a goldfish pond in my yard, and the yard was getting extremely overpopulated with Eastern tree frogs, I mean like hundreds! That would breed in the pond. They had no predators in the yard, and they would shatter your eardrums every time you went outside at night. I live in a very wooded area with not many houses around, so I would capture them, and relocate them to a creek about a mile away that has water all year so they would have places to breed, catch food etc. That was a big mistake, I am totally overloaded with Katydids now that eat all my canna flowers, and eat holes in the leaves of my bananas. I noticed a fresh new batch of baby tree frogs starting to repopulate the jungle in the yard, and more tadpoles in the pond, I will just have to deal with the noise pollution that they make and let them stay lol. Any predator you put in will take out all the tree frogs including the ones you want to keep, and they will have a harder time because they are already being pushed out by the invaders. If you act as the predator and selectively hunt the Cuban tree frogs, you might help the native population to grow because they will have less competition (I read they also eat the greens, and toads, and snakes) , but it would be quite a job as you will have to keep patrolling the area, and it might help to import some of the native tadpoles. You might keep them in a container outside with very small fish, we have Mosquito fish that have naturalized here and survive our cold that do a good job of eating the mosquitoes, I think their mouths are too small for tadpoles. Or raise the natives in an aquarium and release them, its very easy I did it once because I had a tub I had to empty and decided to raise the tadpoles instead of letting them die. They will gladly eat wingless fruit flies that you get in pet shops when they start changing, maybe you could fight the Cuban frogs with a war of superior numbers lol. Just dont wipe out all your frogs without replacements, the tree dwelling insects will go crazy. I am going to go check on my new batch of tadpoles, and future Katydid killers lol.

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Kat2

I suspect my army of lizards and the bluish skink (who really should go back outside) along with the snakes help keep the bad bugs in check. I am very careful to never have standing water and I don't live a creek or stream so mosquitoes don't seem to be in issue. Of course, they could be but I wouldn't know. I'm one of those folks they don't bite unless they're really desperate. And fleas also leave me alone. What's my payback? Bees, yellow jackets and wasps hunt me down.

BTW, I haven't caught a Cuban yet; the one hunkered down in my banana plant apparently didn't appreciate a dose of wasp spray because he/she has gone into seclusion. Gone completely? I don't believe so; something makes quite a racket around dusk daily.

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Kat2

On a not quite opened banana leaf I noticed a shadow. For just a moment I held out hope that a green tree frog had found his/her way to my yard. No. I wasn't looking forward to doing it but I grabbed an empty plastic mayo jar and a lid. I missed on my first attempt to trap it; it hopped to the top of the leaf out of my reach. Let it be? I really felt I needed to pursue the hunt. I knocked the leaf; it jumped onto the yard. I missed again. Those Cubans are quick! It jumped onto the closed French door. It was staring at me with those bulging eyes. These are not very attractive frogs.

On my third attempt I managed to slide the "jar" over thus entrapping it then waited while it jumped around. Finally I edged the lid into place. I set it down; the jar was jumping! My effort to help balance the FL ecosystem is in the freezer.

I don't feel good about killing a creature. (Okay, the huge rat pinkie that grew up in my house and refused to leave despite my gentle coaxing didn't make me sad when, after a year, I poisoned him.) BTW, if this was the frog I saw when I started this thread, he/she has been eating good because he/she has tripled in size. Blech. Fingers crossed there aren't any more...

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blownz281

If you google snakes that pretend to be a rattle snake or other venomious snakes you might find a answer. I remember reading that in NC we have some or atleast one snake that does that. Wanna say the hognose does that or it plays dead I forget