Noisy frogs get poisoning reprieve

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has put on hold a plan to use concentrated caffeine to kill the noisy coqui frog in Hawai'i.

The coqui frog — named for its distinctive two-note call of "ko-KEE, ko-KEE" — is native to the Puerto Rican rainforest. Advertiser library photo

Wildlife Services officials had expected the EPA's approval so it could continue the work of the state. Instead, officials were told last week the permit will be withheld until certain concerns, such as the effect of the caffeine on humans and other non-target animals, are answered.

Mike Pitzler, Wildlife Services state director, said the EPA made the decision following the protests of several community groups. One group, Coqui Hawaiian Integration and Reeducation Project (CHIRP), argued that caffeine sprayed in the wild could have harmful effects on pregnant women or children, and cause mutations in plants, animals and humans.

CHIRP also said that the state and federal governments have not shown that the tiny frogs, which are native to Puerto Rico, are a threat to Hawai'i's environment.

Pitzler said his office does not have the money for widespread use of caffeine. He said the permit would have allowed continued tests until money is obtained.

The caffeine has been used on a limited basis on Maui, but results of those tests are not yet in, said Bob Boesch, state pesticide program manager.

Pitzler said he believes that the EPA will approve the permit request, and that could happen as early as November.

"This is just delaying the inevitable in my mind," he said. "We're eventually going to be out there working with the product."

The coqui frogs arrived in Hawai'i in recent years in plants imported from the Caribbean. Agricultural officials believe the frogs spread from island to island in nursery material.

Major infestations have been reported on the Big Island, and separate colonies have been found on Maui, O'ahu and Kaua'i. The caffeine has shown to be effective in killing the frogs. Pitzler said the state needs to act quickly before the populations can no longer be controlled.

"In the short term if something isn't done then there won't be a need to do anything because we won't be able to do anything," he said. "Right now the frogs are controllable, we can actually come in and do this."

CHIRP spokesman Sydney Singer said he will continue to fight the use of caffeine as a pesticide, particularly since there are what he called safer methods. He said citric acid and hydrated lime have been shown to kill the frogs.

But Singer also said he doesn't consider the frogs to be pests.

"I don't think we should be waging a frog war when there are so many other problems," Singer said. "They've been compared to lawnmowers and table saws and I don't see them at all sounding like that. Most people think of them as an exotic night-time bird until they learn that it's a frog."

In addition to loud chirping sounds, the coqui are considered a potential threat to native birds. Pitzler said the frogs have a voracious appetite for insects, which provide a food source for the birds.