Wet weather surge leads to cane toad expansion across western Queensland

If you’ve noticed a massive increase in cane toads, you’re not just seeing things. The invasive pests are breeding in huge numbers. Here’s the best way to kill them.

Cane toads are expanding into new parts of Queensland, as experts reveal the most humane way to stop their spread.

Recent wet and humid weather in Queensland has led to a surge in cane toad breeding activity across the state.

Invasive species manager at Watergum Kelsi Taylor said the recent inclement weather in Queensland has produced the “perfect breeding conditions” for the toad, which was introduced to Australia in 1935 as part of a bid to control agricultural pests that spectacularly backfired.

A giant cane toad found in Conway National Park in north Queensland weighs 2.7kg

“The recent wet and humid weather is perfect breeding conditions for cane toads, so there has certainly been a boom in breeding activity,” Ms Taylor said.

“We do expect this trend to continue as climate change creates wetter and hotter weather across northern Australia.

“There’s just an extremely huge population and they reproduce so rapidly with a single female able to produce up to 70,000 eggs per year.”

Environmental non-profit group Watergum recently conducted its annual ‘Great Cane Toad Bust,’ from January 18-26, that saw almost 200,000 cane toads at all life stages taken from the environment across Australia – with 95,861 caught in Queensland.
This year, toad busting activities took place as far west as Tara in the Western Downs.

Participants of the 2025 Great Cane Toad Bust with cane toads that had been removed from the environment. Photo: Watergum

So far this season, which runs from September to April, 368,000 cane toads have been removed from the Australian environment.

“This is almost four times as many toads as we caught during the same event in the previous year,” Ms Taylor said.

The 2025 Great Cane Toad Bust saw over 200,000 cane toads removed from the environment across Australia, including over 95,000 in Queensland.

Ms Taylor added that cane toads have been collected in new areas further west in Queensland.

“Some of our toad busters have been expanding further west into Queensland than we have seen in previous years, so I think cane toads may be moving further west,” she said.

“We’ve seen some cane toad busting events held further out past Toowoomba, whereas previously most of our cane toad busters tended to be closer to the coastline.”

Cane toads have moved further west in Queensland. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Amphibian expert Professor Michael Bode from the Faculty of Science at the Queensland University of Technology said that there has been an increase in the number of cane toads in Queensland and they are expanding further west.

“With the rain, we’ve probably seen an increase in the populations on the coast and in the sort of normally wet areas, and we’re almost certainly seeing an expansion of their range into the western parts of Queensland,” Professor Bode said.

“While the conditions are wet and good, they will be moving west into the interior of Queensland.

“When it gets dry again, they’ll back off, but there’s a lot of species out there that aren’t used to cane toads.”

Professor Bode said it is critical to monitor the spread of cane toads and control their population.

“Cane toads are not great for the Australian ecosystem,” he said.

“When they first arrive in an area, they go out of control and boom in numbers.

“They eat everything, every insect, every other small frog, little reptile, they just consume whatever they can.

“They kill up and down the food chain from where they are.

“That choice to make an introduction just completely, excuse my French, f**ked the Australian ecosystem.”

BEST WAY TO KILL CANE TOADS HUMANELY

Professor Bode advocated for humane methods to control the cane toad population and urged the public to report sightings – especially in new areas they are spreading to such as western Queensland and northern New South Wales.

“The most humane method is to put a tadpole trap in a water source,” he said.

“If you want to euthanise cane toads, put them in a bag, put them in the fridge and then the freezer, be humane about it.

“Don’t use a golf club, cricket bat or a car or anything stupid, just put them in a bag, put them in the fridge and freezer and they’ll just go to sleep.”

Watergum has cane toad tadpole traps that use pheromone-based technology to attract cane toad tadpoles into the trap.

Alternatively, you can euthanise cane toads at home, or bring them to a Watergum drop-off point where they will humanely euthanise them for you and ensure the toads are used for good.

To report cane toad activity or a sighting, visit feralscan.org.au/toadscan/ or download the ToadScan app.

Originally published as Wet weather surge leads to cane toad expansion across western Queensland