By MEGAN MOSELEY
By MEGAN MOSELEY
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Has the state given up trying to battle the issue of coqui frogs on the Big Island? Depends on whom you ask.
“As far as the Big Island, we don’t have any projects going on,” Clayton Nagata of Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture’s Plant Quarantine Branch said. “The problem is too widespread.”
But, according to Deborah Ward, public information specialist for the Department of Land and Natural Resources, that’s not entirely accurate.
“That’s actually not true,” she said. “People haven’t given up on controlling the coqui frogs. They’ve given up on trying to eradicate the coqui frogs because it’s unlikely that they will ever be eradicated from the Big Island.”
Since the 1980’s, these invasive species have essentially taken over certain areas of the Big Island. While the state originally attempted to track their population growth, they have since given up.
Currently, community members, volunteers and members of the Big Island Invasive Species Committee work to control the spread of coqui frogs from the East side of the island to the West side, as well as try to quell their presence in certain neighborhoods by spraying them with citric acid, hand capturing them or by using other low-cost techniques.
And while it’s unlikely things will ever get back to normal in some parts of the island, BIISC manager Springer Kaye assures the state learned a valuable lesson.
“One good thing that has come out of it is a much better understanding of the need to have a ready response,” she said. “Since that time, the island invasive species committee has kept on top of things to prevent their spread to other islands. Coqui frogs were a turning point. We know now that you really have to be ready.”
So, what can people do? Attack them? Capture them? Eat them?
“Well, you could eat them, but they’d be awfully small,” Bill Mautz, professor and chairman of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Biology Department said. “As far as introducing predators, there really aren’t any good ones.
“My main advice for homeowners is that they do as much as they can to remove the understory of plants, shrub and dense vegetation,” he said.
Kaye suggests residents in affected areas work with their neighbors to take preventative measures. According to a pamphlet provided by BIISC, if coqui are heard in areas higher than 2,500 feet, forested areas, or where no other coqui are heard for miles around, call BIISC at 808-961-3299 to report their location.
Email Megan Moseley at mmoseley@hawaiitribune-herald.com.