MAKAWAO -- In fighting the swarms of coqui frogs that can drive reasonable adults mad, one is the most frustrating number.
“It’s all about people power,” said Adam Radford of the Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC), talking about the key to eradicating the thumb-sized frogs with sirens in their throats.“It’s a waste of resources when you work up to a border and you can’t go any farther. We’ll never get on top of this without neighborhoods and personal responsibility.”
In other words, no matter how vigilant the effort of an individual who daily sprays, blasts and vaporizes the frogs on his or her property, peace and quiet can’t be guaranteed until an entire neighborhood joins one way or the other.
That’s what has brought together the residents of a rural enclave outside of Makawao. Because property values can wither if word gets out that frogs come with the house and lot, some of those interviewed don’t want the name of their streets revealed even as the numbers of invading vertebrates have been dwindling through their coordinated attacks.
“This is probably the most organized group on Maui,” said Radford, sitting in the living room of marine biologist Ann Fielding, who is happy to announce that her yard is officially frog-free thanks to her friends and neighbors. “A lot of times, you’ll get one or two people who are really proactive, two or three who will be supportive but not active, and one that’s not necessarily supportive and takes some convincing.”
Fielding said her neighborhood “frog squad” has grown to include about a dozen regulars who show up at the group’s monthly meetings and participate in hunts that take place after dark when the males of this nocturnal species let loose with their torturous calls of “ko-KEE, ko-KEE.”
Not just an outlet to whine about their common problem, the frog fraternity has provided hope to those who feared they would spend the rest of their nights with earplugs and Tylenol.
“Once you hear the frogs and you know you’ve got them, you just think you have to learn to live with them until you realize there’s a whole group that cares,” said Fielding. “You realize there’s support and energy.”
And, already, there have been results.
“We can go out and in just a few nights we can make a big difference,” said Bob Hobdy, who lives next door to Fielding – and no longer has frogs, either. “This really has become a SWAT team.”
The story of the coqui frogs illustrates in horror-movie fashion how an alien species that looks as harmless as a fly can have entire communities in an uproar in less than 10 years. It wasn’t until 1997 that the first ear-splitting screech was heard in Pulehu, such a strange sound that it was thought to be an exotic bird.
Nowadays, the invasion has reached the point that, in January, Big Island Mayor Harry Kim told the state Legislature his county should be declared in a “state of emergency” because of the frogs. Although Maui hasn’t reached that crisis level, Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa has asked the Legislature for $2 million to help get rid of the frogs here while it’s still possible. That’s in addition to $450,000 that the county grants to MISC to attack alien species in general.
A bill to help with the eradication of the frogs remains alive at the Legislature, but no dollar amount will be designated for the item until the final budget is hammered out between the two legislative houses.
However, government, like one individual, can’t stop the shrieking of the frogs on its own.
“The big challenge is for people to care enough to get active themselves and not just say ’Oh, let the government do it all,’ “ said Hobdy.
Members of the Realtors Association of Maui have become so alarmed that they’ve appointed a coqui frog subcommittee.
“There’s already been an effect on some property values,” said Terry Tolman, executive vice president of the association’s board of directors. “If you were buying a piece of property and you didn’t go there at night when you were in the process of buying and the first night you went to bed and heard the frogs, how would you feel? It’s a big issue. There could be a major hit on property values and tourism.”
Realtor Bob Hansen, who has firsthand experience with the frogs, heads up the coqui subcommittee. Hansen became acquainted with the cries because he owns a condo unit across the street from a Kihei nursery infested with frogs. Later, he heard a single coqui in the Wailea neighborhood where he lives and quickly called the president of the homeowners association. The frog was captured – and none has been heard since.
“This is something that’s got to be attacked right away or we’ll be just like the Big Island,” said Hansen.
Tolman said Realtors must make sellers aware that they have a responsibility to let future buyers know if coqui frogs are infesting a property, just as they’re required to disclose other problems.
The effects of the coqui and other invasive species on land values has become such a hot topic that Radford and state wildlife biologist Fern Duvall have been asked to address the Realtors association’s general membership meeting at the end of the month to increase awareness and emphasize the serious crossroads where Maui stands.
Radford, who came to MISC last June, said neighborhood groups are essential at this juncture. Even though the number of frogs has risen slightly in the last few years, he believes that, with enough people power and funding, Maui can avoid the fate of the Big Island.
“Most sites on Maui are accessible,” said Radford. “My goal is to make substantial progress by the end of this summer.”
That’s a pretty ambitious schedule, but Radford said the MISC staff is “really ramping up our efforts this summer” when a crew of four workers will be brought on temporarily to concentrate largely on the frogs.
While neighborhoods-in-action work the best, Radford knows that such enthusiasm for civic duty won’t happen everywhere. He simply wants to get permission from property owners to give him and his colleagues access to the land to capture the frogs by hand or to spray citric acid that kills the coqui on contact.
“Sometimes it takes more than one visit (to convince the homeowner to let him work on the property),” said Radford. “The economic arguments make sense to some people when the environmental ones don’t. When you talk about (declining) property values, a lot of times they say ’OK, come anytime you want.’ “
If you hear frogs in your neighborhood, call Radford at 573-MISC (6472).
Fritz Bathelt, who has been trying diligently to rid his 10-acre Huelo lot of frogs for years, said he hopes homeowners will do more than just allow Radford access.
“I agree that we have a chance to eradicate them if we stay on top of things and get the frogs,” said Bathelt. “But we cannot leave the responsibility to Adam alone. He can’t be everywhere. People need to get the frogs when they first hear them. They need to get involved.”
There might be no homeowner on Maui more dedicated to frog annihilation than Bob Flint, whose storybook house in a gulch that was once used as a stone quarry has gone from nighttime idyllic hideaway to nails-on-a-chalkboard. The amphitheater walls cause the already-shrill cries of the male frogs to echo in stereo, and the steep hillsides blanketed with vegetation forced Flint to learn to rappel up and down cliff faces to help him in his mission to stamp out the frogs.
“This is just a part of my life now,” said Flint as he matter-of-factly filled a plastic backpack fogging machine with a citric acid mixture that’s lethal to frogs. “Almost every night, I’m out here. The good side is the physical exercise. I guess you could say frogs are good for the heart.”
But not for the peace of mind. In his zeal to weed out the frogs, Flint has tried everything known to experts and then some. He’s used fungicides, sprays, a pellet gun and even once considered building a flamethrower. The recent cool, wet winter – which seems to keep the frogs quiet – gave Flint some much-needed time off.
However, with the return of spring and the upcoming dry heat of summer, Flint and the rest of the neighborhood squad know that their evenings will become a lot busier.
“I’ve been enjoying the cold weather,” said Flint. “But the season is upon us, and I’ve got to get back in the mode of doing this every night.”
Flint worries, though, that all his efforts might be for naught if nurseries and independent plant sellers continue to import frog-infested stock and pass them on to unsuspecting customers.
Fielding said she’d like to see nurseries given financial support to get them frog-free. Hobdy suggested that only nurseries that have been inspected and certified as frog-free be allowed to sell plants.
“If they can’t sell plants because they’re not certified, that will get their attention,” he said.
Nancy Snow, nursery manager at Kula True Value Hardware, said she’s careful to do business only with wholesale growers she’s familiar with. One of the nurseries she orders from on the Big Island comes with a bill of sale that states “all plants guaranteed to be coqui-free.”
“People who order should demand that the wholesaler is frog-free or don’t order from them,” advised Snow.
Bob Hansen urges fellow Realtors to boycott all nurseries on the island that carry plants with frogs or frog eggs.
Fighting coqui not only affects property values, it hits the wallet in other ways. Flint said his fogging machine cost him $700 and his monthly tab for citric acid runs about $300.
Wearing a gas mask and headlamp while holding the long spray gun attached to his backpack, Flint looks more like he’s ready to sign up for duty in Iraq than spend an evening flushing out frogs.
“Let’s nuke ’em!” he cries as he cranks up the machine.
With Flint’s heavy artillery available, his neighborhood group has more weapons on hand than just spray bottles of citric acid, but Radford says those little bottles might be all that many residents need if they take action when that first screech is heard.
That’s what Hobdy did.
“We suddenly had two right outside our bedroom window, but we went out and nailed them right away,” said Hobdy. “I haven’t had any action on my property for a few months, but you just can’t let them get going. You have to keep them at bay.”
And you have to get a little help from the neighborhood.
Valerie Monson can be reached at vmonson@mauinews.com.
