Someone in South Florida wrote recently with concerns about poisonous toads
around their new pond and their pets. I ran across this article that may
help...

http://petplace.netscape.com/article...tID=2752&cb=ns

Thanks for finding that, Wayne.
Adding it to my links for future queries.

http://petplace.netscape.com/article...tID=2752&cb=ns



k30a
yearly brother website posting
http://www.30acreimaging.com/

You're welcome. Thanks to all of you for your posts, because I have learned
a lot from them.

"K30a" wrote in message
...
Thanks for finding that, Wayne.
Adding it to my links for future queries.

http://petplace.netscape.com/article...tID=2752&cb=ns



k30a
yearly brother website posting
http://www.30acreimaging.com/

Thanks Wayne, I was the one who posted the original question. The danger of
these toads to pets is well known here in S. Florida by most pet owners.

The question I posted (and still don't have any answer to) is whether a pond
will attract these toads or not. In other words, are my chances of seeing
one of these toads in the yard any greater now that I have a pond, or
doesn't it make any difference?

In the 3 1/2 years I've been in this house I've never seen one before (which
doesn't necessarialy mean they haven't been here, of course); perhaps it's
just coincidental that I happened to see one now, shortly after I installed
the pond.

I'm not even sure if the one I saw was the poisonous type or not. It was
fairly small (maybe 3'') and up in the overhang of my house, where I tore
out a bad section of the soffit and hadn't yet replaced it. Not sure how it
even got up there.

Don

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 02:11:13 GMT, "Don"
wrote:

Thanks Wayne, I was the one who posted the original question. The danger of
these toads to pets is well known here in S. Florida by most pet owners.

The question I posted (and still don't have any answer to) is whether a pond
will attract these toads or not. In other words, are my chances of seeing
one of these toads in the yard any greater now that I have a pond, or
doesn't it make any difference?

In the 3 1/2 years I've been in this house I've never seen one before (which
doesn't necessarialy mean they haven't been here, of course); perhaps it's
just coincidental that I happened to see one now, shortly after I installed
the pond.

I'm not even sure if the one I saw was the poisonous type or not. It was
fairly small (maybe 3'') and up in the overhang of my house, where I tore
out a bad section of the soffit and hadn't yet replaced it. Not sure how it
even got up there.

Don



Sounds more like a Grey Tree Frog, rather than a toad up that high.
Bufo Marinus is hard to miss when you see them, large aggressive
critters. If you leave Dog Food out doors you will find out in a hurry
if they are around!

As for the pond attracting them, it depends is there good cover near
by, lots of insects and small critters for them to feed on then yes it
will attract them, but not simply because of the water but the
complete habitat and food resources it provides.

Dave
Dave Fouchey, WA4EMR
http://photos.yahoo.com/davefouchey
Southeastern Lower Michigan
42° 35' 20'' N,
82° 58' 37'' W
GMT Offset: -5
Time Zone: Eastern

Dave:

Thanks for the reply. It may very well have been a tree frog - it was small
and didn't look menacing at all. I think I also read that bufo toads are not
terribly fast, and this little guy was gone in a flash.

I never have dog food outdoors - it would attract bugs and in this heat,
would probably go bad very quickly anyhow. There is a good amount of foliage
near the pond where a toad could find cover. However, there aren't many bugs
around - I spray the yard periodically to prevent fleas and ticks and that
also keeps the ants and other pests under control. No small critters either,
just the occasional squirrel.

I did find a new batch of eggs in the pond on Saturday, so someone is
definitely visiting. My yard is fenced in though, so unless a bufo can jump
or climb over a 6' fence I'm not sure how they would get in. There may be a
few small gaps here and there but there's no large openings for anything too
large to crawl under.

If I find eggs again, is there any easy way to tell if they are from a bufo
or a tree frog (which I assume are harmless). The little tadpoles I found a
week or two ago were chomping on the water lilies, if that's any indication
one way or another.

Thanks.
Don

Check these sites for info on our local amphibeans:

http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/fro...pictorial.htm#

A lot of them have recordings of the calls that they make, too.

Lee
"Don" wrote in message
news:EYnVa.4713$Ho3.1124@sccrnsc03...
Dave:

Thanks for the reply. It may very well have been a tree frog - it was
small
and didn't look menacing at all. I think I also read that bufo toads are
not
terribly fast, and this little guy was gone in a flash.

I never have dog food outdoors - it would attract bugs and in this heat,
would probably go bad very quickly anyhow. There is a good amount of
foliage
near the pond where a toad could find cover. However, there aren't many
bugs
around - I spray the yard periodically to prevent fleas and ticks and that
also keeps the ants and other pests under control. No small critters
either,
just the occasional squirrel.

I did find a new batch of eggs in the pond on Saturday, so someone is
definitely visiting. My yard is fenced in though, so unless a bufo can
jump
or climb over a 6' fence I'm not sure how they would get in. There may be
a
few small gaps here and there but there's no large openings for anything
too
large to crawl under.

If I find eggs again, is there any easy way to tell if they are from a
bufo
or a tree frog (which I assume are harmless). The little tadpoles I found
a
week or two ago were chomping on the water lilies, if that's any
indication
one way or another.

Thanks.
Don

Lee:

Thank you, that was very helpful. I think the creature in my pond most
closely resembles the Florida Gopher Frog, or maybe the Southern Toad. If it
comes back, I'll have to pay more attention to the sound it makes.

I assume that only adult females can lay eggs, so this would be too small to
be a bufo anyhow. I'd say this one was roughly 4" long.

Don

Thanks Wayne, I was the one who posted the original question. The danger of
these toads to pets is well known here in S. Florida by most pet owners.

The question I posted (and still don't have any answer to) is whether a pond
will attract these toads or not. In other words, are my chances of seeing
one of these toads in the yard any greater now that I have a pond, or
doesn't it make any difference?

In the 3 1/2 years I've been in this house I've never seen one before (which
doesn't necessarialy mean they haven't been here, of course); perhaps it's
just coincidental that I happened to see one now, shortly after I installed
the pond.

I'm not even sure if the one I saw was the poisonous type or not. It was
fairly small (maybe 3'') and up in the overhang of my house, where I tore
out a bad section of the soffit and hadn't yet replaced it. Not sure how it
even got up there.

Don

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 02:11:13 GMT, "Don"
wrote:

Thanks Wayne, I was the one who posted the original question. The danger of
these toads to pets is well known here in S. Florida by most pet owners.

The question I posted (and still don't have any answer to) is whether a pond
will attract these toads or not. In other words, are my chances of seeing
one of these toads in the yard any greater now that I have a pond, or
doesn't it make any difference?

In the 3 1/2 years I've been in this house I've never seen one before (which
doesn't necessarialy mean they haven't been here, of course); perhaps it's
just coincidental that I happened to see one now, shortly after I installed
the pond.

I'm not even sure if the one I saw was the poisonous type or not. It was
fairly small (maybe 3'') and up in the overhang of my house, where I tore
out a bad section of the soffit and hadn't yet replaced it. Not sure how it
even got up there.

Don



Sounds more like a Grey Tree Frog, rather than a toad up that high.
Bufo Marinus is hard to miss when you see them, large aggressive
critters. If you leave Dog Food out doors you will find out in a hurry
if they are around!

As for the pond attracting them, it depends is there good cover near
by, lots of insects and small critters for them to feed on then yes it
will attract them, but not simply because of the water but the
complete habitat and food resources it provides.

Dave
Dave Fouchey, WA4EMR
http://photos.yahoo.com/davefouchey
Southeastern Lower Michigan
42° 35' 20'' N,
82° 58' 37'' W
GMT Offset: -5
Time Zone: Eastern

Dave:

Thanks for the reply. It may very well have been a tree frog - it was small
and didn't look menacing at all. I think I also read that bufo toads are not
terribly fast, and this little guy was gone in a flash.

I never have dog food outdoors - it would attract bugs and in this heat,
would probably go bad very quickly anyhow. There is a good amount of foliage
near the pond where a toad could find cover. However, there aren't many bugs
around - I spray the yard periodically to prevent fleas and ticks and that
also keeps the ants and other pests under control. No small critters either,
just the occasional squirrel.

I did find a new batch of eggs in the pond on Saturday, so someone is
definitely visiting. My yard is fenced in though, so unless a bufo can jump
or climb over a 6' fence I'm not sure how they would get in. There may be a
few small gaps here and there but there's no large openings for anything too
large to crawl under.

If I find eggs again, is there any easy way to tell if they are from a bufo
or a tree frog (which I assume are harmless). The little tadpoles I found a
week or two ago were chomping on the water lilies, if that's any indication
one way or another.

Thanks.
Don