TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN (Australia) 13 February 07 Toad explosion (Liz McKinnon)

Rupertswood residents are living in fear that millions of cane toads will take over their properties because of a wet season breeding frenzy.

Back yards transformed into swamps during the past fortnight have become new homes for mass piles of slimy tadpoles, which have already grown legs.

And the suburb is not alone, with new reports indicating outlying areas are most at risk this wet season.

Rupertswood resident Geoff Drought said the site was 'disgusting'.

His 0.8ha property was dotted with piles of tadpoles which had increased during the past fortnight when the monsoon downpours began.

"I've never seen it so bad. In most puddles they can be found," Mr Drought said. "Wherever there are puddles outside houses you find them. I can see three (homes) from here affected."

Mr Drought's Brosnan Court property was not flooded by the rain but water collected in easements at the side and rear.

The retirement home manager said he had approached a number of environmental agencies to find how to humanely get rid the pests, but was not able to find a solution.

He called the Thuringowa City Council, CSIRO, Department of Primary Industries, and Department of Natural Resources, and planned to try his luck today with a pest control agency.

Mr Drought said the tadpoles had formed legs in recent days and he hoped the hot weather would dry out puddles before they fully formed and could jump away.

"It won't take long for them to develop and they will go everywhere," Mr Drought said. "I just want someone to tell me how I can safely get rid of them without polluting my property. I could spray kero on them but I would pollute the ground. I want to find out what I can safely do to kill them?"

Townsville-based toad expert Ross Alford said the most humane way to destroy the tadpoles was to let nature take its course.

"It takes one month for (tadpoles) to turn into toads and if the puddle dries up they won't form into toads," Mr Alford said.

He said it was going to be a 'big season', with the outer suburbs being the most common areas for breeding.

Mr Alford urged people to ensure tadpoles were not native species, which took just 10 to 12 days to mature, before attempting to destroy them.

There are about 10 different species breeding in the Townsville area.

Cane toads can best be identified at the tadpole stage if they are completely black during the day and have a diamond body shape.

The eggs are laid in a long string, which appear as a row of small black dots along the length.

Native eggs are laid in clusters which appear as blobs of jelly attached to plant or debris.

Mr Alford said it would be best if people waited until they were mature to destroy them to avoid the risk of killing native species.

"The approved thing to do when toads are developed is to put them in plastic bags in the freezer. It isn't cruel, they just go to sleep," Mr Alford said.

"When they are tadpoles I don't know of any particular humane way to get rid of them."
Toad explosion

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