coqui frog solution

[Brad W]

Did I read that bill summary correctly? Is the State seaking special immunity from liabiliy against claims by folks who are injured trying to combat the frog? Please tell me I'm wrong.

[toucano]

I can't see that much hope for 'eradicating' the coqui frog if the best proposed solution is something that must be topically applied to every coqui frog, no matter how well it works. Too many coquis, too many lots with heavy cover full of hiding places, and too many absentee and/or non-involved land owners. Pushing a rope would probably be easier.

I'm no fan of the coqui. I'm probably lucky that to me personally, their noise isn't like fingernails on a chalkboard. I think real concern (read as funding to find a viable solution - whatever THAT means)is only going to come when the coqui has established itself in the areas of Hawaii where the rich and powerful reside. Is that going to happen? Sooner or later I can just imagine that the little critter will be making their music on Waikiki Beach.

[mella l]

Brad copied that directly from the state site. That's how it sounds to me also and why I posted it.

mella l

Here is the site reference the coqui issue is toward the bottom of the page.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessioncur...14-07_.htm

Edited by - mella l on 02/10/2007 15:09:53

[Nate SC]

It also sounds like the first steps in a RFP(request for proposal) for private companies to use State funds and equipment in the eradication process. I can see the State funding "Coqui death squads" that roll around the Island spraying who knows what with limited liability. There is big money to be made here just like termite spraying, it will soon be common place to have your place "de-coquied". When the State starts handing out 100 grand contracts, every buck-toothed, stoner will be in line to get some easy money.
Also, when thinking of cleaning equipment used for spraying lime, 8% vinegar will remove any lime stuck to metal parts.
The idea of the "perimeter sprayer" made of PVC is excellent too. I wonder how you could "charge" the line though to get a good spray? Maybe a baking soda excellerent but that may neutralize the "acid" in the " frog juice".

[Carey]

To Cindy & ravingpunatic,
1) Cindy, have you tried a block of acoustic foam up against the window? I do know that you can also get noise deadening wall treatments (used alot in recording studios & noise "clean rooms"
2)to rp., love your idea, but was just downunder & talked to some amphi-geeks about their cane toad problems...they had done a trial to see if releasing sterilized males would work on controling the toads (they do this with fruit flies, in fact UH is the leading research facility in the world on this....& supplies flies to Calif.)
From the research, it seems that frogs & toads are not really good candidates for altered males....both because of the life span of the critter & the females choice...the symposium notes are at:
http://www.bio.usyd.edu.au/Shinelab/stud...adSymp.pdf
Aloha, Carey




Edited by - carey on 02/11/2007 22:26:56

[Cindy Blankenship]

Aloha Carey,

I was just thinking about this and there your's message :-) I haven't had much time for anything but work with our move 6 days away, but do you know if I can buy acoustic foam there at Home Depot or some place? The material on the Website I was looking at is
called "closed cell vinyl," and they say it acts as both a sound absorber and barrier, but it is very expensive. I'm hoping I can buy something in Hilo. I haven't found a whole lot I can do with the walls since we're renting and my budget isn't that great yet.
But I thought when we're there we can see how much sound gets through the walls. From what I've read, most of the sound comes through the windows, that is even closed windows, something like 80 percent.
Oh, and of all times for my son to first encounter his new home ....night time lol
We fly out of LAX at 10:30 a.m., but to allow time for the cat's at direct release inspection, we don't arrive in Hilo till after 6 p.m. Guess he's have a nice welcoming chorus. Other than worrying about my son,I'm so excited!

Cindy

Cindy
http://www.CoconutRoads.com

[Carey]

Cindy, Home Depot in Hilo does not have a great selection of insulation choices. True Acoustic insulation is probably not on island. We have some Reflex insulation, if you would like to try it to see (we are doing all of our wall insulation with it) It is not as good as some, but certainly better than just a window. Email me, we are own your way to your new home.
Aloha, Carey

[Kelena]

Part of the solution may be "Frog Abatement Districts". It is known that the frogs can be eradicated in a given area. Kapoho has very few frogs, due mostly to the efforts of the residents in addition to being blessed with a relatively dry climate. In HPP there's a guy in lower HPP who patrols and kills frogs. He has been very successful, they say. I think neighbors should form Frog Abatement Districts, where they "tax" themselves, just as they do to maintain roads. They could higher professionals to abate the frogs as a form of pest management.

I'm gettin' chickens.

[ericlp]

Research on a genetically based control strategy for the coqui frog is being considered. A spray can be developed to make the coqui frog sterile by interfering with its reproductive processes. It would be specific only to the coqui frog and would break down in sunlight after about a week.

In collaboration with the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture, the T-STAR Hawai`i Coqui Frog Invasive Species Project is studying a chytrid fungus that causes a lethal amphibian disease called chytridiomycosis. Because there are no native amphibians here in Hawaii, chytridiomycosis could be an effective option for controlling the coqui frog. There is a strong possibility that the fungus is already present in Hawai’i, but if left to run its natural course, the disease may take years to begin to control the coqui frog population. This research is focused on hastening that process before the frog population irreversibly impacts Hawai`i’s ecosystems. Precautions are being taken to study how the fungus may affect organisms other than the coqui frog.

My Favorite is this fungus.... I would like to get a bunch of the spoors and mix them in with coffee and or citric acid mix spray.

As for Zapper. It would be rather easy to make the the recording of the frog call and put it on a CHEAP chip... You could also program it to be on at certain times at night. Like maybe be on from 4AM to 6AM? Or from 6PM - 10PM? Also, it would be easy to have a small timer so that the call is not a CONSTANT call but maybe calls for 10 minutes then stops for an hour then repeats.

Personally, The noise does not bother me! Tho, had one next to the house once. A Chicken I am sure got it! I heard it go after it and never did hear the frog again.

What the heck eats this frog in its natural environment? I think bats would love to eat these. I know hawaii (big island) does have a bat population. I think importing some bats in that eats frogs and mosquito's would be a real plus for hawaii.



Edited by - ericlp on 02/16/2007 00:04:22

[Lin W]

I'm in HPP, surrounded by coqui, and I simply don't hear them, never did from day one. When I'm on the phone to the mainland at night, I'm always asked what that noise is and I have to consciously sort of tune them in before I realize they're even there. There is a pretty dense population, judging from the number that flee the lawn mower each week. I have a feral cat colony that spends a lot of time in my yard and those cats hunt and eat coqui -- when they're in front of the house, they trigger the motion detector lights and I sit on the lanai and watch the cats pat the grass until the frogs jump then catch them and crunch, crunch, gone. The cats go right up the trees after the frogs also. My own elderly indoor cat has caught several wayward coquis that have made their way inside somehow and she bats them around awhile then she eats them too. The cats may also be considered an invasive species but they seem to be becoming "natural" predators to the coqui.

too soon old, too late smart