Giant toxic toads come out in South Florida as heavy rains set the perfect mood for breeding

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article243089741.html



BY ADRIANA BRASILEIRO
JUNE 03, 2020 06:00 AM , UPDATED 29 MINUTES AGO

Who can I call to get rid of these monsters??? I’m dying over here and I have 3 dogs!”

The distressed plea for help was posted late last month by Ohilda Gilbert, a real estate agent, on a Facebook group of South Florida moms. A photo of a fat, warty cane toad next to a pool pump illustrated her post and fired up a conversation with over 200 comments about the dreaded amphibians.

The yellowish brown cane toads, also known as bufo, marine or giant toads, are making an appearance in South Florida after the recent heavy rains stirred them up from their burrows and gave them plenty of water to breed in. If summer turns out to be wetter than normal, as forecasts are predicting, tadpoles will have better chances of survival, potentially creating a population boom for the largest toad found in Florida — a big concern for many dog owners.

“As long as there is water for them to breed in, the cane toads will thrive,” said William Kern, an associate professor at the University of Florida who specializes in urban pest management. “They will be out above the surface, foraging and breeding. People are probably seeing more of them now.”

</snip>

"...and the last thing he heard was a guttural 'ribbet'." 🐸

[Shell_Seas]

1. Why not? It's 2020.

[lagomorph777]

4. We still have a few more plagues to go before November:

1. Water to Blood: Ex. 7:14–24 (Check: turkeys-lake-meke-dries-up-water-turns-red)
2. Frogs: Ex. 7:25–8:15 (Check)
3. Lice or gnats: Ex. 8:16-19 (Check: gnats in Baton Rouge)
4. Wild animals or flies: Ex. 8:20-32 (Murder Hornets)
5. Pestilence of livestock: Ex. 9:1–7
6. Boils: Ex. 9:8–12 (Bill "Boils" Barr)
7. Thunderstorm of hail and fire: Ex. 9:13–35 (Australian fires, also hurricane season is predicted to be bad)
8. Locusts: Ex. 10:1–20 (Check: https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51618188)
9. Darkness for three days: Ex. 10:21–29 (It's been 1200 days so far)
10. Death of firstborn: Ex. 11:1–12:36 (Donald Jr?)

https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1282131/bible-locust-coronavirus-covid19-plague-egypt-end-times-book-exodus-jesus-christ-god-spt

[gratuitous]

7. Do the murder hornets qualify as "Wild animals or flies"?

As for boils, I believe William Barr might qualify.

[lagomorph777]

8. Yes to both!!

Edited to fix.

[Shell_Seas]

11. Already happened....

2. Frogs (Yes, I know you said check)
7. Locusts https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51618188

[lagomorph777]

12. Wow that's pretty damned literal!

Edited to add!

[Shell_Seas]

14. I thought there was one about fire;

Was that 7?

So, Australian fires don't count?

[lagomorph777]

15. Edited to add!

[DBoon]

20. California fire season will start soon

[2naSalit]

22. Yeah, we're about to burn down this year too.

[Shell_Seas]

17. I hate to be the barer of bad news, but....

Does this count for #1?

https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/turkeys-lake-meke-dries-up-water-turns-red

[lagomorph777]

18. Oh shit. We are fucked.

[Shell_Seas]

19. #3, too

https://www.wbrz.com/news/outbreak-of-biting-gnats-black-flies-in-baton-rouge/#:~:text=BATON%20ROUGE%2D%20The%20East%20Baton,biting%20gnats%20or%20black%20flies.&text=Black%20flies%20are%20terrible%20right,biters%20particularly%20in%20late%20morning.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

23. Is there a Biblical parallel to the plague of Republicans around our Nation?

Some would contend that's the worst one and it probably sickens or kills more people than all others.

KY........

[lagomorph777]

25. Boils.

Republicans are boils on the anuses of humanity.

[dawg]

2. Of course they do.

[Lars39]

3. Add 'em to the list of fresh hells

[Celerity]

5. ...

[riversedge]

6. Giant cane toads can kill pets. Learn how to identify them..........

ugly toads IMHO



Giant cane toads can kill pets. Learn how to identify them



https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article243206016.html

[JHB]

9. So he's visiting Mar-a-Lago again?

[Initech]

10. Toxic toads, murder hornets, blood monkeys... what else can we expect?

And yes I am aware that these would all make awesome band names!

[marmar]

13. This is next.

[fleur-de-lisa]

16. So what number is "toxic toads" in the TrumPlague countdown?

We've already had:

1-Coronavirus
2-Murder Hornets

So is this number 3? Did I forget any?

Remember, there were 10 plagues before Pharaoh finally let God’s people go:

1-Blood
2-Frogs
3-Lice or Gnats
4-Flies
5-Death of Livestock
6-Boils
7-Hail
8-Locusts
9-Darkness
10-Death of every firstborn son

How many more TrumPlagues until we will be free of Dumpus?

[soothsayer]

21. Oh I thought this meant the GOP convention

...will be held there.

[SideStep]

27. I believe it will be.

I think Trump was having the convention show-down now because very few Governors would be willing to give free reign, at this point in time. DeSantis has been vary loyal to Trump and is one of the few people Trump seems to like. I believe all of this is simply Trump trying to get the convention to Florida to pay DeSantis back for his loyalty.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

24. Toxic politicians from Florida are far worse for man and beast.

Money draws them out of the swamps.

KY..........

[eShirl]

26. aren't those the ones people lick to get high?

[SideStep]

28. It's just Trump and Rush coming out from a lunch date. NT

[Hekate]

29. I remember the bufo toads from my childhood on Oahu. The roads were lined with flattened...

...dried out bufos that didn’t have the brains to figure out traffic. But there were always more, trilling in the night. Millions more. Mom had a little koi pond, and periodically would strain out the toad eggs and tadpoles.

And yes they certainly are toxic to pets and wildlife that eat them.

I was amused that a member of the species had a roadside cameo in Lilo and Stitch.