How Do You Keep Cane Toads Out Of Your Workshop ?

**RoyG** · 5th February 2016, 12:52 PM

Greetings.

I may have selected the wrong thread for this post. If that's the case, then I'm sure that one of the mods will let me know.

Attention all Queenslanders, and probably those in the Top End as well.

Has anyone worked out a reliable deterrent that will stop Cane Toads from invading your workshop ?

My workshop is a converted double garage. It's a 50 year old building, and it's not vermin proof. There's gaps for toads etc to get in all over the place, and short of re-building it, or building a new vermin proof shed, I can't yet see how to keep the vermin out. Most mornings during Summer, I come out to the workshop and find cane toad s##t on the floor, and if I'm 'lucky', I'll squash a toad or two when I move one of the machines that is on wheels, 'cause they love to hide in the dark spaces under the machines.

I had to stay out of the workshop for most of January while I was recovering from some back surgery, and went into the workshop today for the first time in nearly five weeks. I counted five cane toads, and squashed two more when I rolled the sliding garage door open. There's toad s##t everywhere, and the place stinks of stale cane toad .

I've also found out that cane toad , as well as smelling far worse than cat's , really accelerates corrosion on cast iron and steel something awful. I bought an old power hacksaw a few months ago, and had stored it on the floor, covered in oil and grease, and under a tarp. The cane toads have invaded that lovely dark place, and their has caused some nasty corrosion on areas of cast iron that were well greased. I guess the has enough ammonia like chemicals in it to dissolve the grease and oil leaving the cast iron and steel unprotected - instant rust.

A friend up at Noosa swears that those ultrasonic snake repellent devices that send vibrations into the soil to chase snakes away, also deter cane toads. Well, I've got four of those devices around the house, and the Brown Snakes and Red Belly Black Snakes that used to be sighted almost daily around the house in summer, have been absent since the snake repellent devices were installed two years ago. But the cane toads are still there, and may have increased in volume with no snakes preying on them.

So, the big question ...... has anyone come up with an effective cane toad deterrent ?

Thanks,

RoyG

**artme** · 5th February 2016, 02:15 PM

I know how to keep thrips out of the shed - you put u pa thrip wire~~

**mark david** · 5th February 2016, 05:01 PM

You could put some sugar cane plants in your workshop,they'll think it's 1935 all over again and hop a mile

**Avery** · 5th February 2016, 05:30 PM

Maybe the snakes are gone because the cane toads killed them...

**RoyG** · 5th February 2016, 06:21 PM

Anyone looked at the links in "Similar Threads" at the bottom of this page ? The links are not much use in answering the question I posed in this thread, but they do offer a giggle.

RoyG

**Mobyturns** · 5th February 2016, 10:15 PM

Get a white tailed rat.

**bsrlee** · 6th February 2016, 03:29 AM

A couple of suggestions from someone who is too far south to have many cane toad worries.

Get a roll of small gauge pest wire, roll it out and cut strips about 30-45cm wide, go around the shed and bury on edge into the ground and bend the top edge out away from the shed. That should stop hoppers and jumpers.

Reduce the general population: Get a few solar powered lights, and a few deep buckets or garbage bins. Dig holes and put two bins in, one inside the other, back fill to level. Suspend the solar light over the bin. Putting something nasty in the bottom of the bin is optional, toads will eventually either eat each other or starve (I believe they are NOT immune to their own toxin). when bin is partly full pull out the inner and dispose of it thoughtfully as compost or sewerage ( or local politician's mail box). Some one used to make flip tops for the bins so the top layers could not hop or crawl out when the bin started to fill up.

Now to figure out a way to get rid of the possum/s that have taken up residence on top of my wood rack.

**Robson Valley** · 6th February 2016, 10:29 AM

Thanks for this thread, entertaining and a headache at the same time.
How high can they jump?
I'll got with the suggestion to fence them out.
We have the usual chicken wire, of course. I've seen rolls of what's called "partridge wire," the mesh holes might be 15-20mm.
Then there's the "hardware mesh" with 6-8mm square holes but almighty expensive.

I use stucco wire mesh for fencing to keep the deer out of my garden.
A fluttering strip of flagging tape at the top and they can't judge the top to jump it.

**Bobpol2** · 6th February 2016, 10:57 AM

I have toads in the yard around the shed but none in the shed.
i also have a couple of red bellied blacks in the shed.
conclusion............

Now how how do we keep the gecko's out, they crap everywhere?

Bob

**Mobyturns** · 8th February 2016, 09:37 AM

Roy, I'm pleased to report there are 41 less cane toads on the road between Ingham & Townsville from my drive home last night. Many years ago that could easily have been way to many to even bother counting. A little bit of rain & all the bugs were out & about & so were the toads. The count should have been higher - I need to improve my driving skills.

RV, the feats of cane toads are almost legendary. I have seen them climb insect screen doors to get a beetle; when food is plenty they gorge themselves to the point that they can hardly hop; or pile one upon the other to get out of buried tin trap. They seem to have a collective lust for survival, work together to get one or two out of the trap. As kids in Cairns FNQ three of us could easily trap 200 or more cane toads each night over many weeks and never seem to put a real dent in their population. We don't see so many now and not sure why.

**Robson Valley** · 12th February 2016, 10:09 AM

Time to build a trebuchet. If you get the geometry of the sling finger just right, it ought to throw them just about straight up.
Toad goes up, comes down squash. Think 200 : 1 for the counterweight.

**Jeffen** · 12th February 2016, 09:37 PM

Gotta like a post that offers a trebuchet as a solution to cane toads, brilliant idea.

To answer your earlier question, I have had palm sized toads (they can get much, much bigger) jump out of a bucket approx 14 inches tall.

**Mobyturns** · 13th February 2016, 07:05 AM

See if you can track down "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" written and directed by Mark Lewis in 1988 on I-view. Very interesting show - I like VW Kombi cane toad control. Or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvV8OT-mmE

**ian** · 13th February 2016, 04:21 PM

How Do You Keep Cane Toads Out Of Your Workshop ?

Answer
move south till out of their range

**RoyG** · 13th February 2016, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

See if you can track down "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" written and directed by Mark Lewis in 1988 on I-view. Very interesting show - I like VW Kombi cane toad control. Or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvV8OT-mmE

Thanks for the suggestion to watch "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" ...

You can view the video on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azQnClq--RU

RoyG

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