Now’s the time to combat coqui

One person’s delight of nature can be another person’s pest. There’s no better example of that observation than the coqui frog, very popular in its native Puerto Rico but commonly counted as an annoyance in Hawaii for the chirping sound the male often makes, into the wee hours of night.

But with any introduced species that has no natural predators — but does have a habit that at least some people find irritating — the combination can be a real problem.

The frogs have established themselves pretty firmly on Hawaii Island. And while the issue is less of a worry on Oahu, reports of coquis here are accelerating, and there’s no sign that the state has a response equal to the challenge.

The state Department of Agriculture has a small crew that responds to calls and captures frogs, and although some inspector positions recently were restored in the budget, the agency is still shortstaffed. Given that there have been almost as many coqui reports in 2011 as in the preceding seven years, a cause for concern.

Most of the time the coquis get in through plant material — large-scale landscaping installation seems to be a particular risk — but part of the difficulty is that the quarter-sized frogs can slip through a variety of portals. Officials say coquis need only enough moisture that can last through the trip, and that’s not very much on short interisland transits. They can be hiding in shipping pallets, on truckbeds, just about anywhere.

More thorough inspections at the entry point are essential, but an adequate counterattack would have to include other elements as well. Better outreach to nurseries and farms is needed to encourage best practices: storage of plantings in areas unlikely to have frog infestations, for example, and pretreatment with hot water or citric acid, the two options that have been effective against the frogs. Expanding the eradication methods remains an important goal for this state.

Further, there needs to be better outreach on Oahu to help with eradication efforts. Only the male frogs make the chirping noise, and in cooler weather even that happens less routinely. So chances to disrupt the populations are irregular, which means more people should be helped to recognize the call, which can be confused with that of other species.

The agriculture agency gets assists from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and organizations such as the Oahu Invasive Species Council and the Oahu Army Natural Resources Program, but residents need to be deputized in some measure. There’s a Pest Hotline (643-7378) to report any invasive species, and there’s an audio file online to help with recognition of the coqui in particular (www.hawaiiinvasivespecies.org/pests/coqui.html).

Finally, there should be penalties for shipping or receiving products known to be infested or at high risk of infestation. Other markets for Hawaii agricultural products, such as Guam, have restricted the import of any plantings lacking a special certification of pretreatment and inspection to guard against coqui frogs. A similar level of vigilance within the state should be adopted. Lawmakers should discuss, during the upcoming session, how to implement stronger measures to enforce that vigilance.

There are several problems that come with a coqui infestation. The frogs, which themselves become a food source for snakes, also consume insects. In the case of mosquitos, this can be a good thing, but they are indiscriminate, which means disruption of ecosystems. They have been associated with lower property values and disturbances at tourist destinations.

It would be far better to get out in front of this potential problem rather than wait for it to become a major infestation that will be very costly to correct.