Wet season brings toxic toads that imperil pets
Two years ago, Howard Zusel’s Chihuahua came face to face with a Bufo toad in his backyard. Curious Mini took one lick of the poisonous amphibian and had to be rushed to the emergency room.
Mini survived, but after a hefty vet bill, Zusel said he and his partner, Jennifer Casia, decided to “go froggin’.”
“Jen goes froggin’ at night and then freezes the Bufos to kill them,” said Zusel, who lives in The Acreage. “We probably have about 10 or 12 frogs in our freezer right now,” he said.
Bufo toads, also known as marine or cane toads, are brown-grayish with a creamy yellow belly, and their numbers tend to grow during rainy weather. They have glands along their sides that release a milky-white toxin called bufotoxin. The toxin can cause irritation to humans but can be deadly to small pets, according to research done by the University of Florida.
If a pet bites or swallows a Bufo toad, it can become sick and die within 15 minutes if not treated, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Nathan Nodolski of Palm Beach Gardens is worried about the safety of his dog, a corgi named Doosie.
“The toads are all over the place,” said Nodolski, who recently moved to Gardens. “This is my first time dealing with them. I didn’t even know they were dangerous until I posted pictures of the toads to Facebook.”
Veterinarian Dr. Nathan Lippo said his facility, the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of Palm Beach Gardens, which is open 24/7, gets 50 to 100 dogs a year that have had a run-in with a Bufo.
The hospital recently had two dogs being treated for ingestion of bufotoxin, and the cost can be $150 to $800 depending on severity, Lippo said.
“We see this fairly commonly,” said Lippo. “The dog can get sick from almost any mouth-to-toad contact. So whether the dog licks it, bites it or carries the Bufo in its mouth, the toad will release the toxin pretty quickly.”
If an animal ingests the toxin, Lippo suggests washing its mouth with as much water as possible, but to make sure to do it from the side so the animal doesn’t drown. Also, wipe the pet’s gums and tongue with a towel, and then get your pet to the vet.
Even though Nodolski’s dog hasn’t been hurt by a Bufo, he said the fear is there, especially since he has seen an increase of Bufos hanging out around the lake at his complex and noticed there are now “tiny toads the size of a fingernail.”
None of this surprises Jeannine Tilford of Palm Beach Gardens, who has become a Bufo expert of sorts. She created the business Toad Busters last year to help communities overrun with Bufos.
Tilford said that there has “absolutely” been an increase of toads because of the recent heavy rain.
On Monday night, Tilford strapped on her orange lighted vest and headlamp with nets in tow as she headed to Jupiter to catch some toads. She said she had a slow night because of the rain but still caught 15 at two different houses in Jupiter.
“My biggest problem area in general is Palm Beach County. I catch toads from Jupiter to Boca,” said Tilford, who has started to toadbust in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. “I would say the worst in the county is farther south like Delray Beach and west like Loxahatchee.”
Tilford said she captured 136 toads on a 1-acre property in Delray Beach in one night and 600 from that property alone in a year.
After a hunt, Tilford tries to ship the Bufos to other parts of the country and world for research, but when she has to kill them, she says she does it humanely.
“I spray them with a solution that puts them to sleep, and then I freeze them,” said Tilford. “I don’t like killing them. It’s not their fault they are here.”
The Bufo toad is an invasive species introduced to Florida’s sugar cane fields in 1955 to help control pests. The toads have no predators and are not picky eaters, according to the University of Florida.
“Bufo toads are lazy,” said Tilford. “They sit underneath lights at night and wait for insects to be zapped. When the insect falls to the ground, they eat them.”
Tilford said the Bufos are also drawn to dog poop because the poop attracts insects. Bufos will eat dog or cat food if it’s left outside. Zusel suggests folks “go froggin’.” “We’ve have had more than our share of Bufos,” he said.