The Hawaii Department of Agriculture this morning resumed plans to drop a citric acid solution over a remote mountainous area of Waimanalo as part of an effort to eradicate invasive coqui frogs.
Helicopters were originally scheduled to drop the solution via ‘Bambi bucket’ in the third week of April, but the deployment was delayed due to strong winds and weather conditions last week.
The department said after a rain delay this morning, treatment began around 10am and is scheduled until 3pm today.
Officials said area residents and businesses have been kept informed of the planned treatment plan, weather permitting.
They said the citric acid solution is a formula that has historically been successful in controlling and eradicating coqui in Hawaii and should not physically affect the neighborhood, and that the helicopter noise will be intermittent.
The department first discovered the coqui frog infestation last April at the base of the mountains in Waimanalo, where 65 frogs were originally hand-caught.
Since then, Jonathon Ho, head of the department’s quarantine inspection and compliance branch, said an estimated 600 coqui frogs were caught in the past year.
“We don’t know exactly how the frogs got there because they are so remote,” he said in a video interview. “We’re just trying to eradicate it.”
Anyone who hears coqui frogs in Oahu, Kauai, or Maui County should call the state’s toll-free line: 808-643-PEST (7378).
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