Resources
Coqui History & News
A dated list of news reports, MISC releases and public documents about coqui frogs on Maui. Each link goes to the original publisher.
Each source shows what was known or reported at the time. Zones, staff numbers, available help and population estimates change. For what is true today, check the current pages below. This is not a live status page.
The Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC) and others have monitored, researched and controlled coqui on Maui for about twenty years. MauiCoqui.com is an independent neighbor project. This page points to their work; it does not take credit for it.
Current information
- MISC — Coqui Frog Response (program history and current status)
- MISC — Treat Coqui Frogs on Your Property
- MISC — Community Update: Coqui Frog Program (July 2026)
- 643PEST — report invasive species in Hawaiʻi
- How to fight coqui — our guide for neighbors
News and documents, 2018–2026
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Coqui Frogs: Coming To Your Oʻahu Neighborhood Soon?
Coqui on Oʻahu: spread through plant nurseries, the volunteer response, and the policy choices.
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Community Commitment to Coqui Frog Control on Oʻahu Hits Milestone
For comparison with Oʻahu: residents catching frogs, volunteer records, and new tools being tried.
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Residents fear waning support in effort to combat coqui frogs
Part 2 of 2. A Haʻikū Hill neighborhood treats its borders above Māliko Gulch from a 2,500-gallon tank and pipes, and worries about future support.
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Haiku residents urge more action against coquis
Part 1 of 2. Residents ask for more help. MISC says its zones set priorities across large areas and are not decisions about single properties. Also covers crew pay and hiring.
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Community Update: Coqui Frog Program
MISC’s Zones 1–4 and priorities. At that time the field crew was three field staff and one coordinator, and MISC did not give routine property treatments in Zone 1.
The newsletter has no date on the page. The Maui News of August 6 says it went out in mid-July.
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Coqui Frogs: Is Haʻikū The New Hilo? Locals Try To Stop The Spread
A long report on the spread in Haʻikū, with an estimate of about 5,000 acres of Haʻikū–Pauwela. Covers what neighbors do, MISC staffing and resources.
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Mālama Hāmākua Maui and Maui Invasive Species Committee launch 2026 evening coqui control workdays
Monthly evening workdays to treat coqui, with training for volunteers.
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Reducing Overgrown Vegetation Key to Lowering Coqui Frog Numbers
Why cutting back dense vegetation lowers coqui numbers, with a resident’s example.
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State launches biosecurity website to help in the battle against invasive species
A new state website with public information on invasive species.
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FY2025 Invasive Species Report to the Legislature
State invasive species budgets, public reports to 643PEST, agreements between agencies, and coqui response planning.
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DLNR puts on Invasive Species Awareness Month webinars, activities
Statewide awareness-month events, including a session on coqui control on Maui.
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Coqui Update: December 2024
A funding gap cut the crew for a time. MISC on rebuilding the crew and how residents can help.
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Coqui Staffing Update: October 2024
MISC’s coqui crew is short of staff, and what that means for its work.
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MISC Coqui Catching and Spraying Tips
Practical tips from MISC’s crew for catching coqui by hand and for spraying.
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Coqui frogs on Maui; containment protects quiet nights and the environment
Only males call, and only when it is warm enough. In cool months coqui go quiet but are still there. Important for anyone who listens for coqui.
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Fencing for frogs; the effort to build a barrier to slow down coqui in Haiku is underway
Contractors start a barrier along the eastern side of Māliko Gulch. When finished, it is to limit spread along three miles of the gulch; construction was to take several years.
Reports the start of construction. It does not show that the barrier was finished or that it works.
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Maui experts hope to catch up in battling coquis, Little Fire Ants, miconia
Invasive species workers on years of limited resources, including for coqui in Māliko Gulch.
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State Releases $69.8 Million for Capital Improvement Projects for Maui County
Includes $750,000 for a coqui barrier fence at Māliko Gulch (total project $1.5 million, completion then expected in December 2022).
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Community Coqui Control Program Update: October – December 2020
Participation and spraying figures for the community program in late 2020.
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Haʻikū Residents bring back quiet nights through MISC Community Coqui Control Program
Neighborhood groups that spray together with MISC’s support, and the results they reported.
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Coqui Community Engagement Questionnaire Results
What residents told MISC about coqui and about the help they wanted.
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Eradication of Coqui Frogs from Maui County, Hawaiʻi: Strategic Plan 2020–2030
MISC’s proposed ten-year plan: mapped populations, control methods, monitoring and cost estimates.
A proposal. It does not show that the ten-year program was carried out.
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Coqui frog has impacts beyond being a noisy nuisance
The harm coqui do to Hawaiʻi’s ecosystems, beyond the noise at night.
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Attack on the coqui frog
Haʻikū residents organize against coqui. Also describes MISC’s coqui staff and funding at that time.
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Illegal dumping risks spreading invasive species
How dumped rubbish and green waste can move coqui, possibly as eggs, to a new place. Uses a Five Corners example.
Nothing in this group.
Earlier milestones, 1980s–2018
From MISC’s Coqui Frog Response page, which tells the history of the program. These are events, not dated articles.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Late 1980s | Coqui frogs arrive in Hawaiʻi. |
| 1998 | Eight known coqui populations on Hawaiʻi Island. |
| 2001 | A published study estimates 200 populations in the state, including on Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. |
| Early 2000s | Control methods are tested, among them caffeine, baking soda and citric acid. A citric acid solution is the spray still used today. |
| 2004 | A community “Frog Squad” starts control work. |
| 2005 | MISC starts landscape-level control across Maui County. About 17 separate population centers. |
| 2006 | 11 of the 17 populations are eliminated. The population in Māliko Gulch stays the largest challenge. |
| 2006–2008 | A gravity-fed pipeline is built to treat frogs inside Māliko Gulch. |
| 2008 | The coqui-free nursery program starts. |
| 2013 | Floods in Māliko wash away much of the pipeline. (MISC’s date. Civil Beat, June 2026, gives 2014.) |
| 2014–2017 | MISC moves its work to areas outside Māliko. Removing outlying populations becomes the priority. |
| 2018 | The Community Coqui Control Program starts, to help homeowners control coqui. |
| 2004–2024 | MISC reports coqui eradicated at 26 sites across Maui, from ⅓ acre to more than 16 acres each. |
Reading these sources
- Heard is not the same as not heard. A clear call shows that a male coqui was calling there at that time. No call does not show that no frogs are there.
- MISC zones are not property checks. MISC uses zones to decide where to put its effort across large areas. A zone does not say what is on one lot.
- Stories are not measurements. What neighbors tell us shows where to look. Repeat surveys show what is there.
- Old offers may be gone. Citric acid, sprayer loans or MISC visits described in an old article may not be on offer now. Check MISC’s current page.
- A plan or a start is not a result. A strategic plan or a construction story does not show that the work was finished or that it worked.
List made October 16, 2026. Links checked the same day. News sites can add paywalls or move articles. MauiCoqui.com is not affiliated with MISC, the County, the State or any government agency. See also Updates and How to fight coqui.