How to get rid of coqui frogs
What neighbors in Haʻikū and Hāmākualoa have learned, plus the official guidance from MISC and UH. Compiled by neighbors, not an official document. Always follow the product label.
Where are coqui in our area?
MISC (the Maui Invasive Species Committee) sorts Maui into four coqui zones. Haʻikū, Hāmākualoa, Paʻuwela and Kuiaha are Zone 1, the established core population. According to MISC’s July 2026 community update, MISC does not do routine property treatments in Zone 1. Instead it supports neighbors with free citric acid, loaner sprayers, training and advice.
Kaupakulua, Peahi, ʻŌpana, Ulumalu, Keaaula and Kealiʻiiki are Zone 2, “Coqui Warning”, the leading edge where coqui are spreading. There MISC aims to contain the population and prevent further spread into Zone 3
. It does targeted treatments but cannot spray every property
, and community suppression between crew visits is essential
. MISC wants coqui in Zone 2 reported: use the MISC coqui report form or call 643-PEST (643-7378). MauiCoqui.com does not notify MISC.
Halehaku, Honopou, Waipiʻonui, Waipiʻoiki, Mokupapa, Hanehoi, East and West Hanawana, Puʻuomāile and Pāpaʻaʻea are Zone 3, “Coqui Advisory”. MISC says Zone 3 is mostly coqui-free with isolated populations
. Its goal there is eradication or containment
by rapid response, and community suppression and support between crew visits is essential
. MISC wants coqui in Zone 3 reported too: use the same report form or 643-PEST. MauiCoqui.com does not notify MISC.
Why: MISC’s coqui crew has shrunk. It briefly had about 20 people in 2021. By August 2026, Maui News reported two field workers and a supervisor for the whole island. The County gives MISC about $2.8 million a year and the State about $850,000. That money covers all of MISC’s work (invasive plants, little fire ants, coconut rhinoceros beetles and coqui), not just coqui. A 2020 study estimated it would take $63.5 million over ten years to eliminate coqui on Maui. From mid-July 2026, Zone 1 residents get citric acid and instruction from MISC, and treat their own properties.
Maui County Council Vice Chair Sugimura’s message to residents (KITV, July 2026): it’s going to take you and I
. MISC posts any field-crew openings at mauiinvasive.org/careers.
What MISC does with a small crew (FY2025 annual report):
- 2 populations eradicated in 2025, for 29 in total.
- 97 priority outlier populations controlled.
- 45,069 lb of citric acid handed out to community members.
- 148 equipment loans to residents.
MISC credits that steady response with keeping coqui on Maui “limited and localized rather than widespread”, unlike Hawaiʻi Island, where they arrived around the same time. MISC calls training, equipment loans and support for residents “critical” in infested areas like ours.
So the work is ours. The good news: it works when neighbors coordinate. Spray the same night as the people next door, keep at it every two weeks, and quiet areas stay quiet.
Sources: MISC “Community Update: Coqui Frog Program”, July 2026 (newsletter); MISC FY2025 annual report, coqui page; Maui News, “Haiku residents urge more action against coquis”, Aug 6, 2026; KITV, “Maui council members need your help to remove coqui frogs in your area”, July 28, 2026. Staff counts differ by date: five in the FY2025 report, three field staff and a coordinator in the July 2026 update, and two field workers and a supervisor in the August 2026 article.
Citric acid spray: how much per gallon?
Citric acid is a common food additive, and it’s the treatment used for coqui in Hawaiʻi. It kills on direct contact only; it leaves nothing behind that keeps working, so you have to hit the frogs.
Mix: about 1.3 lb of dry citric acid per gallon of water (a 16% solution), roughly 2¾ cups per gallon.
- MISC crews use 12–16%. 12% is about 1 lb (2–2½ cups) per gallon.
- A 50 lb bag makes roughly 40 gallons. Neighbors use two 50 lb bags per 80-gallon tank.
- Dissolve it completely before spraying, because undissolved chunks clog sprayers. A paddle or 3–4 ft stick helps in a big tank.
- Mix what you’ll use. Don’t leave solution sitting in a sprayer.
Where to get it
- Free from MISC: request it with MISC’s citric acid request form. Pick it up at MISC’s office at Old Maui High School, 1000 Holomua Rd, Pāʻia. MISC sometimes delivers on scheduled days, but neighbors find pickup more reliable. MISC asks that every order go through the form, so read their instructions first.
- Buying it: food-grade anhydrous citric acid comes in 50 lb bags, and some shops repackage it into 5–10 lb bags. Neighbors have bought it online. One reported about $125 for 40 lb in late 2025. Prices and shipping to Maui vary.
Safety
- Wear long sleeves, long pants, closed-toe shoes, gloves and eye protection. The solution irritates skin and eyes.
- It corrodes metal. Flush sprayers, hoses and wands with clean water for a few minutes after every use. One neighborhood sprayer needed a $700 stainless pump head after its original one corroded.
- It burns some plants: mock orange, orchids, air plants, anthurium, calathea, streptocarpus, eggplant, ferns (including leather-leaf fern), and young or potted plants. Rinse those with fresh water about 30–60 minutes after spraying, right away if they’re hit hard, or hand-capture there instead. Bananas tolerate it fine. (MISC: plants sensitive to citric acid)
How to catch coqui by hand
Good for one or two callers, around sensitive plants, and for cleaning up after a spray.
- Go out shortly after dark when males start calling. Wear a headlamp so both hands are free.
- Follow the call. Check curled leaves, leaf bases, dead hanging leaves and the leaf litter below. Silent females and eggs are often nearby.
- Wear gloves. MISC trains people to always wear them, because coqui on the Big Island have been found carrying rat lungworm.
- Capture: pop a plastic bag over the frog, or use a “tube tool”: a length of clear tubing or PVC with a bag taped over the far end. Frogs climb up into it.
- Dispose of it humanely: current UH guidance is to make the frog unconscious first, for example with a topical anesthetic such as benzocaine gel, and only then freeze it. Or take it to a vet or wildlife shelter. (UH CTAHR: what to do)
Neighbor tips that aren’t official:
- A lidded bucket with a small hole in the lid, left on the ground under plants and checked by day, has caught frogs.
- Laying hens eat coqui.
How to spray for coqui
- When: early evening when frogs start calling, ideally after a light drizzle. They hide during long dry spells and heavy rain.
- How (“sprench”, spray and drench): start at the ground and work up into the canopy, soaking the undersides of leaves. Drench tree bases, banana stalks, bromeliads and broken bamboo. Spray or catch any frog that jumps.
- Bananas: trim dead leaves, then spray down each leaf-stalk channel and into the new rolled leaf at the top.
- Target the callers. Neighbors found spraying where frogs are actually calling works better than blanket spraying.
- Repeat every 2 weeks. Eggs hatch in about two weeks, so one round never finishes the job. Keep listening and spot-spraying for up to a year while young males mature.
- Coordinate with neighbors. Spray adjacent properties on the same night so frogs can’t just hop next door. Use your group board on the map to plan.
- Height: frogs climb well above head height into bamboo, palms and trees. Reaching 20–30 ft takes a powered sprayer. Stay off ladders at night.
Sources: UH CTAHR: spraying, UH CTAHR coqui control brochure (PDF), neighbors’ experience 2025–26.
What equipment do you need?
Small jobs
A 1–2 gallon hand pump or backpack sprayer is fine for a few frogs in low shrubs.
Finding frogs at night
- Headlamp, so both hands are free.
- UV (“black light”) flashlight, 365 nm. Coqui eyes reflect UV light at that wavelength, so the frogs stand out among the leaves. A Pālolo Valley hunter who worked this out says he finds at least three times as many frogs, and much faster. The State Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity calls it another hand-capture tool some people prefer (KHON2). One household here uses a uvBeast V3.
- Wear UV-blocking safety glasses with it, and never shine it toward anyone’s eyes. 365 nm light is nearly invisible but can still hurt eyes.
Borrow from MISC
MISC lends backpack sprayers, a rolling battery sprayer (about 9 gal, which neighbors rate highly), and 55- and 100-gallon truck-bed sprayers “as they are available”.
- Loans are for homeowners, and the large units need a pickup truck.
- There are only a few large units island-wide, and waits of 2 weeks to a month are common.
- Ask through MISC’s Community Coqui Control Program.
Buy your own
| Type | Neighbors’ notes (2025–26) |
|---|---|
| Skid sprayer, 55 or 100 gal, gas engine and agitator | MISC’s coordinator recommends Northstar units with a Honda engine and an agitator, from Sprayer Depot or Northern Tool. They reach 30+ ft with about 150 ft of hose. |
| Skid sprayer, smaller | A Tomahawk unit from Home Depot cost about $1,000, took 2–3 weeks to arrive, and reaches 20–30 ft. You supply the tank, such as a 44-gal can. Flush it right after every use. |
| Shared trailer sprayer | One neighborhood group pooled about $400 per household to buy a 150-gal trailer sprayer (about $5,000 delivered) that a volunteer keeps and delivers. Each household supplies its own citric acid. Ask your group organizer, or use your group board to start one. |
No Maui rental source for citric-acid sprayers has been confirmed yet. Large tanks also use a lot of water, so check any water restrictions.
Can you hire someone to spray?
Some former MISC field staff, and landscapers trained at MISC courses, spray for hire.
- Rates neighbors reported in 2026 run about $30–40 an hour per person, and roughly an hour per property.
- Book several neighbors for the same night. Crews can usually do 2–4 adjacent properties in an evening, which splits travel and makes the spray more effective.
- You usually supply the citric acid, and your own sprayer or a MISC loaner. Some crews pick up supplies for a fee.
People who spray for hire
- Genevieve · (512) 567-3771, text or call
How to make your yard unfriendly to coqui
MISC’s advice: fewer hiding places means frogs are easier to find and spraying works better.
- Clear dead plant material, old pots and building scraps.
- Remove or watch closely: bromeliads, heliconia, bananas, false staghorn fern, wild orchids, ginger, wedelia and tall grasses.
- Keep grass short, especially cane grass and molasses grass.
- Keep a clear strip of about 5 ft around your property edge.
- Avoid leaving green waste piles on your property. They give coqui ideal habitat. Treat green waste with citric acid before you haul it, and take it to a landfill or approved facility.
How not to spread coqui (plants, hot water, vehicles)
- Moving plants and materials is the biggest way coqui spread, according to MISC. Its FY2025 report counts four Maui nurseries confirmed infested. Ask your nursery about coqui, and inspect everything you bring home.
- New plants: check leaf undersides, pots and soil for frogs and eggs, and keep new plants apart for a while. A hot-water shower at 113°F (45°C) for 3 minutes, followed by cool water, kills frogs and eggs on most plants. Check the temperature with a thermometer: cooler water doesn’t work, and hotter water can damage plants. Orchids and bromeliads were the sensitive ones in testing. (UH CTAHR: hot water treatment)
- Green waste: spray it with citric acid before hauling, and take it to the landfill or an approved green-waste facility.
- Vehicles and gear: check them before driving from a coqui area to a quiet one.
How to report coqui on Maui (MISC and 643-PEST)
- MISC (Maui Invasive Species Committee): (808) 573-6472 · miscpr@hawaii.edu · Old Maui High School, 1000 Holomua Rd, Pāʻia
- MISC coqui program · Community Coqui Control Program (loans, citric acid) · MISC spraying video
- Report coqui in a new area: HDOA Pest Hotline 643-PEST (7378) · 643pest.org
- Training: MISC holds hands-on spray trainings, sometimes with Mālama Hāmākua. Space is limited, so call MISC to ask about the next one.