People spreading coqui

[John S. Rabi]

quote:

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Well, just remenber the COQUI, are keeping the human poulation down, in Puna, so they are doing one good thing at least, you don't want RE prices to go high and have many Californians moving in and making this place, as bad as California, so the frogs are doing us all a service..

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This idea didn't seem to be working in Puerto Rico. Well, at least we know the RE investors are not guilty of spreading the coqui, right?

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"

[Hotzcatz]

Nope, John, we can't grumble at the RE investors on this one! Heheheh!

The coqui spreading car which someone saw, they had a lot of branches in their car and they were spreading them out along a highway guardrail and touching some of the branches to the nearby foliage. The person who saw them got the license of that one, I think, I didn't see it, but just heard about it from the person who saw it. Had he realized what the guy in the car was doing, he would have done something much more drastic than merely writing down the license plate number, I'd think.

As to why someone would deliberately spread coquis, who knows! I don't know why crazy people do such things. Perhaps they are deaf, perhaps they have never heard more than one or two coquis at a time. If they would just stay one or two, I wouldn't have a problem with coqui at all, it's their combined uproar that makes me kill them when I find them.

There is some hope on the horizon. There are some new sprayers which spray a fog of baking soda. The baking soda kills the females, the eggs, the males, etc. and keeps killing them until the next rain unlike the hydrated lime which quits after a couple hours. The baking soda fog also gets under leaves and in crevices. Someone is bringing in some of these sprayers so hopefully soon we will have a better tool for coqui eradication. Oh, also these sprayers are backpack type and they spray/fog as far as the big County sprayer. Yay! No need to get a truck to haul the sprayer around.

[KeithLee]

Perhaps more coqui means money to someone in some fashion? I have no idea but its another angle.

Stepping slighlty off topic, however since it was mentioned on this thread:

The comment re: local that was made needs to move on down the road.

I have a problem with the way alot of people live and perhaps even the lifestyles they may choose in alot of places so I won't be moving to where the problem is that I don't like.

Don't set yourself up to be miserable here by having a poor attitude about "those other" island residents whether Hawaiian or not. They will still be here after you decide Hawaii may not be the paradise you once dreamed it was.

Just a thought.

[David M]

I first heard of this method about 3 years ago - supposedly how a small colony got started here in Ninole around mm19.

As to why someone would do it - Let's not forget there are a number of people that are pro coqui in a variety of fashions and any spread of the infestation defeats eradication.
This could also just be another form of vandalism, just more profound results

David

Ninole Resident

[JerryCarr]

Coming soon to a theater near you:

"Dr. Froglove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Coquis"

I can see Slim Pickens now, riding an enormous cannister of citric acid down through the clouds around Mauna Kea and hollering, "Yeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaawww . . ."

Cheerfully being a smart-ass,
Jerry

[Kelena]

I stopped dreaming that Hawai'i was a paradise when I closed escrow on a Friday, on Monday an earthquake cracked my deck, on Tuesday a hurricane threatened to send my palapa to Palau, and on Wednesday a lava flow pointed its hot red finger in my general direction. I forgot to mention the 24 inch tsunami, that could have been much larger if it really wanted to.

Despite all that, Hawai'i is a great place to live, partly because of the live and let live attitude. As to coqui, though, I say live and let die.


Edited by - glen on 09/03/2007 08:57:21

[JerryCarr]

Despite the marvelous satire of "Dr. Strangelove," hardly anybody learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. And so it will go with the coquis.

Seriously, there was a lost window of opportunity to eradicate the coquis when they first began to appear. A lot of people believe that if the initial infestation had been anywhere else besides Puna, control efforts would have gotten serious much earlier. I don't know if that is really true, or if the lack of early action is just another example of the underfunded, understaffed quarantine/control division of the State Ag Dept.

Yes, there are misguided people who think that because they are living animals, coquis should not be killed. These same people paradoxically consider themselves to be environmentalists. I have even seen letters to the editor in the newspaper lamenting the "torture and murder" of the poor coquis. Give us a break.

Personally, I think that the spraying efforts only work on a somewhat localized basis. Unless every vacant lot and pasture is sprayed along with ALL the residential lots, you don't get eradication, even on a neighborhood basis. Having said that, I still believe that those who wish to spray (for whatever relief thay can get) should get adequate help from the County and the State. Unfortunately, I just read yesterday in the Hilo paper that the funding for one of the most wide reaching spraying programs on the Big Ishand was cut by the Legislature in the last session. I have to wonder if this money would have been appropriated if the coquis were chirping all night outside million dollar plus homes on Oahu. Ah, there I go again with that Puna chip on my shoulder.

Cheers,
Jerry

[missydog1]

I wonder why North Kohala windward side has lucked out and not gotten frogs? (They did serious eradication on the Kinnersley infestation near the dump).

Hotzcatz, could you please post an update when these new baking soda sprayers are available? I want to buy one. I have given up on spraying with citric and lime, so much spraying and it takes a lot of luck to hit a coqui that is perched under leaf canopy.

[Carey]

Interesting, I am re-reading Rachael Carson's "Silent Spring"... In 1962 she warned of invasive species (along with many other things....
Anyhoo, last February I recieved this copy of an email...Have no idea if it is real, but would certainly point out the "who would do" part
Governor Lingle,
>
> For Immediate Release
>
> Contact: Syd Singer 808-935-5563
> February 15, 2007
>
> Coqui Frog Sanctuary and Nature Preserve
> Opens on the Big Island
>
> (Pahoa, Hawaii) The coqui frogs of Puerto Rico have come to Hawaii,
> creating a new form of commerce for these once unfrogged islands -- coqui
> ecotourism.
>
> On March 1, 2007, the new Hawaiian Coqui Frog Sanctuary and
> Nature Preserve, located near old town Pahoa, will officially open
> to the public.
> Frog lovers and ecotourists who would like to experience the
> romantic, tropical magic
> of a forest of frogs chorusing in the moonlight can now visit this
> 67-acre facility
> offering a petting zoo, miles of nature trails, and acres of
> virgin rainforests graced
> with the sounds of the famous, enchanting coqui frog.
>
> Frog affectionadoes are invited to expereince our special "Sunset
> Serenades". These educational, guided tours of the sanctuary begin
> before dusk,
> as the coquis tune up for thier evening concert. For ecotourists
> interested in an
> overnight "coqui encounter", open-air, rustic accomodations are
> available at the
> Sanctuary, and at nearby B&B's.
>
> Japanese visitors will especially appreciate the tiny coqui, since
> Japanese culture considers the frog a symbol of good fortune. With frog
> populations declining and many species becoming extinct worldwide, coqui
> ecotourism can provide a unique opportunity for Hawaii's tourism
> industry. Good
> fortune, indeed!
>
> The Sanctuary is a project of the Coqui Hawaiian Integration and
> Reeducation Project (CHIRP), which has been promoting coqui acceptance since
> 2001. For more information, see our website at
> www.HawaiianCoqui.org, or contact
> CHIRP at (808) 935-5563.
>
> P.O. Box 1880
> Pahoa, 96778

[JerryCarr]

I just checked out the link Carey provided, and these people seem to be for real. They invested way too much in that website not to be serious. Wow.