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Posted: Monday, January 30th, 2006 5:52 AM HST

Heat being used to kill coqui frog

By Associated Press

WAIMANALO, Hawaii (AP) _ A local nursery is using heat to kill the pesky coqui frog in potted plants. In a recent test done at Leilani Nursery, nine out of ten frogs died after being exposed to temperatures of more than 113 degrees for five minutes. Bill Durston is the owner of Leilani Nursery. He says the goal is to kill 100 percent of the frogs in potted plants being prepared for export. The plants are treated to a hot shower in an insulated chamber the size of a shipping container for about 20 minutes. The idea came from University of Hawaii researcher Arnold Hara, who discovered the coqui's sensitivity to heat. U-H researchers also helped Durston get a 22-hundred dollar grant to build the chamber. The tiny coqui frogs are loathed in Hawaii for their shrieking. Big colonies have established themselves on the Big Island and Maui. The frogs are believed to have hitched a ride to Hawaii in plants shipped from Puerto Rico or Florida in the 1990s. Here there are no natural predators to keep their numbers under control. (Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.)