topic Re: Poison Toad in Home

Poison Toad

flickerbulb — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 18:45:54 GMT

Anyone familiar with Bufo toads? They are a non-indigenous toad brought to FL from South America.

Someone once thought it would be a good idea to bring these creatures here and they have no natural enemies, so they thrive and multiply.

They can grow to be as big as a football. They have poisonous glands near their necks. Dogs grab ahold of them and ingest their venom. It will kill them almost immediately.

I have had a resident Bufo toad in one of my plant beds for over a year. I have tried to catch it but it has eluded me time and again.

I have been worried sick because my little dog likes to chase lizards and is always poking her nose everywhere to play with them. I thought it was in the front yard, but worried that it moved.

Today, I saw a plastic plant pot stuck in with some overgrown vines. I moved the pot and the toad must have been inside. It was HUGE! I would say it was as big around as a grapefruit and was as long as my forearm!

I got some spray stuff from inside the house, but that did not slow this thing down! It hopped into the back yard where the dogs go, so I HAD to catch this monster!

It went under a hedge, but I squirted it again and it was on the move. It finally stopped in an open area and I was able to throw a plastic box over it.

You are supposed to catch them and freeze them to dispose of them humanely, but I was not about to put that gross thing in my freezer!

I called Animal Control and she called me back and said they really don't deal with them but she would come anyway.

She put on her gloves and took a big garbage bag and was able to get the nasty thing into the bag. She hauled it away for me.

I have been worried about that toad for so long, and am SOOOO glad it is gone! One of my student's dogs was killed by picking up one that was in their pool. They are very dangerous to humans, too.

I feel triumphant today!!! My doggies don't have to worry about running into that beast! Here is a pic of one. Mine was 5x this size!

Re: Poison Toad

Zhills — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 18:59:35 GMT

The Bufo secretes from the glands on its back can be deadly.

If your pet comes in contact with a Bufo, you need to act immediately. Wash out your pet's mouth with a cloth that supersaturated with water. Don't use a hose, because the pressure can push the poison down your pets throat. Then get to a veterinarian as soon as possible.

If you waste time or ignore the situation, chances are that your pet will start foaming at the mouth, have convulsions, become paralyzed, and die.

Never pick up a Bufo without wearing gloves. The poison can irritate your skin.

TV will talk about the big Bufo, (4-6 inches) chances are you have some smaller Bufos. The smaller ones are just as deadly. Thought we had lost our Jack Russell to one.

NOTE: If you leave on an outside light, the toads will come to catch the bugs around the light. This is how our Russell got one and he was only 2" big.

Get rid of him immediately...any way you can! Save your dog. We lose several in the Tampa Bay area every year.

Re: Poison Toad

homedecor1 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 19:28:31 GMT

Thank you for sharing this info @flickerbulb and @Zhills

I went out to do my laundry (in garage😬) a couple of nites ago almost had a heart attack went to put laundry in washer -- I opened the top & this huge ugly toad jumped out!!!!

i know he's still somewhere in the garage....yikes I'm going to be "on alert" !

and these little green frogs are everywhere!!! we had a 5-7' alligator this morning in our yard (guess he got lost from his pond near us)....I didn't even attempt to go out and take picture...he was moving along which was fine with me!!!!

Re: Poison Toad

phoenixbrd — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 19:26:19 GMT

The Sonoran Desert Toad can also poison a dog. These toads can be very dangerous.

Re: Poison Toad

flickerbulb — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 19:59:15 GMT

@homedecor1

The little green ones that cling to the windows are fine. I have picked those guys up before to relocate them out of harm's way.

If it looks like the picture I posted, he must be captured!

They like dark places, so your washer is a perfect hiding place.

Don't make contact with it or anything it touched because it could have secreted poison on whatever it came in contact with.

Re: Poison Toad

homedecor1 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 20:02:56 GMT

@flickerbulb

oh Lordy....you can be assured I am scared to death of him & wont go anywhere near him!!! I'm hoping he's gone...

and those "palmetto" bugs which are in my opinion "cockroaches" freak me out!!!! I never go in my garage without my can of RAID...I loathe the bugs here in FL!!!

Re: Poison Toad

flickerbulb — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 20:10:55 GMT

@homedecor1

I am telling you, the one I just caught took up residence over ONE year ago and did not move! I also hoped it moved somewhere else, but no such luck.

I fear that toad will take up residence in your garage UNTIL you catch it and get rid of it!

Put a bucket over it and get it into a garbage bag. Gross, but MUST be done for your safety and especially if you have pets.

Re: Poison Toad

Citrine1 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 20:48:39 GMT

Oh my gosh, what a horror story! So glad everything turned out ok for you @flickerbulb. Between the bugs, frogs, lizards, and alligators, I don't know how you Floridians do it!

And if anything ever jumped out of my washer, I'd scream bloody murder!

Re: Poison Toad

Tigriss — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 21:59:04 GMT

THe good news is all the rain from Matthew may have drowned some!

Re: Poison Toad

aubnwa01 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 22:11:32 GMT

@phoenixbrd wrote:
The Sonoran Desert Toad can also poison a dog. These toads can be very dangerous.

AKA Colorado River Toad, too.

Re: Poison Toad

Spurt — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 22:37:43 GMT

@homedecor1 wrote:
@flickerbulb

oh Lordy....you can be assured I am scared to death of him & wont go anywhere near him!!! I'm hoping he's gone...

and those "palmetto" bugs which are in my opinion "cockroaches" freak me out!!!! I never go in my garage without my can of RAID...I loathe the bugs here in FL!!!

@homedecor1

I'm glad you came out of the storm safe!

Oh homedecor....oh those palmetto bugs) are the worst they freak me out...I can't even scoop up a dead one.....ARRRGGGHHH!!! .

I don't mind toads, frogs, lizards.....I think a lot of frogs, toads, and some lizards are poisionous but they are not as deadly but still need to be treated promptly by a vet.... pet owners need to do their due diligence.. One newscast I heard someone say if they get in a dog's water dish or even sometimes sit along the rim of the dish a dog can get poisioned just from that....I know the Texas horned frogs squirt blood from their eyes!!! YUUCCK!!! And scorpions that we have here are posionous and creepy too!!!

But I don't know how the folks in Fl and LA deal with alligators......!!!!

Re: Poison Toad

homedecor1 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 23:39:56 GMT

@Spurt

The frog was captured by my husband the next day. He just told me!

You have no idea - I think since I've moved here I've become "traumatized" by the bugs, geikos, armadillos (who bore all night long), raccoons, snakes, gators & gosh knows what else!!!

when I was looking at this house I was concerned laundry area was in garage --many times I've been greeted in the evening with some little critter😱😬😳

My husband laughs because stand inside the hallway area and turn on the garage light- scan the area and then if coast is clear I'll go out!!!! It's ridiculous!!!

another reason not to come to "paradise"!!!!

Re: Poison Toad

homedecor1 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 23:45:10 GMT

@flickerbulb@Citrine1

my husband told me he caught the frog and out it went!

and Citrine I did scream .... I pray there is never a snake in there!

I am freaked out whenever I open the washer or dryer -- the plumber told me it would be very costly to re-route it into my utility room as the pipes (or whatever) are under poured concrete!

ugh! Why would anyone put it out there when we have a nice utility/storage room in the house????

Re: Poison Toad

Tigriss — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 23:57:38 GMT

I'm in south Georgia. We have mostly concrete foundations and so does Florida. They have to jack hammer up the pipe area, remove the pipe, then jack hammer the area for the new pipes to go down, lay the pipes, and cement them in, plus fill in where the old pipes were. This is life with a high water table or build above ground.

Re: Poison Toad

Zhills — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 00:43:55 GMT

@homedecor1 wrote:
Thank you for sharing this info @flickerbulb and @Zhills

I went out to do my laundry (in garage😬) a couple of nites ago almost had a heart attack went to put laundry in washer -- I opened the top & this huge ugly toad jumped out!!!!

i know he's still somewhere in the garage....yikes I'm going to be "on alert" !

and these little green frogs are everywhere!!! we had a 5-7' alligator this morning in our yard (guess he got lost from his pond near us)....I didn't even attempt to go out and take picture...he was moving along which was fine with me!!!!

Those little green frogs are also foreign. They are Cuban tree frogs and are distroying the Florida native frogs. I kill those also. They upset the eco system. They can be toxic to dogs but they taste bad so dogs don't play with them long enough to really be dangerous to them.

Re: Poison Toad

Spurt — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 00:52:37 GMT

@homedecor1 wrote:
@flickerbulb @Citrine1

my husband told me he caught the frog and out it went!

and Citrine I did scream .... I pray there is never a snake in there!

I am freaked out whenever I open the washer or dryer -- the plumber told me it would be very costly to re-route it into my utility room as the pipes (or whatever) are under poured concrete!

ugh! Why would anyone put it out there when we have a nice utility/storage room in the house????

@homedecor1

Sorry homedecor but you wouldn't necessarily be safe in a utility room either....I have a friend that lives in the country here in Texas....a snake crawled up into her dryer vent and into her utility room.....she wondered why her dryer wasn't working right.......!!!!