Toad Patrol

What are you usually up to around 8 p.m.? Finishing homework? Reading a book? Getting ready for bed? 

For 10-year-old Aspen Cara, that’s prime time for catching cane toads. He grabs his flashlight and a pair of gloves and heads out into his Jupiter, Florida, neighborhood. 

Cane toads are an invasive species in Florida. Invasive species are animals or plants that are brought into an area and harm the species that already live there. 

In Aspen’s neighborhood, cane toads are causing big problems. For one, the extra-large toads compete with local animals for food. They also release poison that can sicken or even kill other creatures, including pets.

Aspen learned about the problem a few years ago. He’s been working with his parents to remove the troublesome toads ever since. 

“If I can help, why not?” Aspen says.

Cane toads are native to Mexico, Central and South America, and southern Texas. Their population began to explode in Florida in the 1950s. People were bringing cane toads into the state to sell as pets. But some of the toads escaped into the wild. Others may have been released on purpose. Since then, the number of cane toads in Florida has continued to increase.

Cane toads feast on snakes as well as smaller toads and frogs. They also gobble up insects that other animals depend on for food.

Plus, cane toads release poison from glands behind their eyes. When an animal bites or licks a cane toad, poison can squirt into the animal’s mouth. Without treatment, the animal can die in as little as 15 minutes. Aspen’s dog, Soca, recently got sick after licking a cane toad. Thankfully, she survived.

Cane toads aren’t the only species causing trouble in Florida. In fact, the state is home to more than 500 nonnative species—more than any other state. Many of them are invasive. Florida’s hot, moist  climate  creates the ideal environment for many invasive species.

Some of these invaders, like Burmese pythons, are so harmful to the  ecosystem  that local officials work hard to remove them. For others, including cane toads, it’s up to citizens like Aspen to keep them under control.

Cane toads tend to come out after dark, so that’s when Aspen goes looking for them. He searches about three to five times a week. Once he caught 63 in a single night!

Aspen and his parents plan to keep catching cane toads in their neighborhood.

“I do think we’re making a difference,” he says.