What is a bufo toad? Here are tips on how to keep your pets, and yourself, safe
Most Floridians know to avoid the large, warty, reddish-brown to grayish-brown cane toads that pop up around your house, especially during the wet warmer months of summer.
But if you're new Florida, and aren't familiar with cane toads — which people call bufo toads — there are critical things to know about the critter.
Here are five things to know about the non-native, invasive toad and the dangers it poses to pets:
What do cane toads look like?
Cane toads are reddish-brown to grayish-brown with a light-yellow or beige belly, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They can be uniform in color or have darker markings around their bodies.
Cane toads often can be confused with the native southern toad. However key differences are their size and the shape of their glands. A native southern toad does not grow to more than 3 to 4 inches, while cane toads can range from 6 to 9 inches, according to FWC.
Cane toads have enlarged, triangular glands behind their eyes, which can secrete a milky-white toxin used to ward off predators, including house pets. The native southern toad has oval-shaped glands and ridges, or "crests," on its head that cane toads do not.
Can cane toads kill your pets?
If your pet bites, licks or swallows a cane toad, your pet can become sick and die within 15 minutes without treatment, according to FWC.
Symptoms include brick-red gums, frantic disorientation, seizures and foaming at the mouth.
FWC recommends the following if your pet bites or licks a cane toad:
Wash toxins forward out of its mouth using a hose for 10 minutes, being careful not to direct water down your pet's throat
Wipe the pets gums and/or tongue with a dish towel to remove toxins
Take your pet to a vet
What do cane toads eat?
Cane toads are omnivores, which eat vegetation, insects, small birds, other toads or frogs, lizards, small mammals and snakes. They'll also eat any human or pet food left outside. FWC recommends not leaving any food out to attract them.
Where do cane toads come from?
Cane toads are an invasive, non-native species in Florida, originally found in parts of Central and South America and the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas. They were brought to Florida in the 1930s and 1940s to control pests in sugar cane fields, according to the FWC.
They're commonly found in urban, suburban and agricultural areas. They are found in yards, near canals and ponds, according to FWC. They breed year-round in standing water, streams, canals and ditches.
What should you do if you see a cane toad?
If you touch a cane toad wash your hands. If you're handling them, wear eye and skin protection; also wear latex, rubber or nitrile gloves.
If you capture a cane toad, it cannot by law be relocated and released. If you need help removing a cane toad, call a wildlife trapper.
In Florida, it is legal to humanely kill cane toads if they're on your property. But make sure you correctly identify the cane toad so you don't euthanize a southern toad.
The University of Florida recommends euthanizing cane toads by rubbing or spraying 20 percent benzocaine toothache gel or sunburn spray (not 5 percent lidocaine) on the toad. In a few minutes, it will become unconscious.
After it's unconscious put the toad in a sealed plastic bag in the freezer for 24-48 hours to ensure it is humanely euthanized and then dispose of it.
Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at [email protected], 772-409-1429, or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @gonthescene.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: How to deal with cane toads on the Treasure Coast