WAILUKU — The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has launched an investigation to determine where three coqui frogs came from after they were captured in a hardware store in Maui earlier this week.
Department spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi said the area was treated with citric acid on Wednesday and no plants were sold from the nursery area in the Home Depot store on Thursday, the Maui News reported.
The Maui Invasive Species Committee released a blog post earlier this week featuring a video with the ear-splitting call of the small invasive tree frog species from plants outside the store nursery in Kahului.
A longtime committee staffer went out on his own to investigate around 10:30 p.m. after being alerted to the video and was able to track down and hand capture one of the frogs, committee members said.
A store manager also captured a frog, officials said. The third was found and capture during a plant inspection.
The source of the infestation has not yet been determined. The Agriculture Department is working to pinpoint which plants the frogs came to the store on, Saneishi said.
Experts encourage residents to purchase locally grown plants, inspect any plants or landscaping material before use, and report any potential sightings of any invasive species, including coqui frogs, to the Maui Invasive Species Committee.
“Mahalo to the Maui community for taking action and drawing attention to this incipient invasive species threat,” the committee said. “Unfortunately, other invasive species are not as vocal. We all need to be vigilant to limit the spread of all invasive species.”