BAKERSFIELD, CA - People living in a southwest Bakersfield cul-de-sac say tiny toads are taking over. Neighbors say they woke up to hundreds of hoppers, and they want the city to do something about it. Those neighbors blame a drainage sump the city dug on the backside of their properties for more insects and now toads.
"There's got to be at least 200 frogs inside this container," said Donna Serna holding a coffee container full of toads she collected from her yard Tuesday morning.
And, she says that's just a sample of the ones still pouncing all over her property.
"We're trying to pick up the frogs and stuff so we are not running them over," said Serna.
Leap a couple lawns down, and Will Chandler has a similar story.
"I came out this morning. There's a lot of little frogs jumping around. I could hardly see them at first until I almost stepped on one and it jumped over my foot and they are all over," said Chandler.
Neighbors in the southwest cul-de-sac say the problem sprung up in the last couple of days and they are blaming a drainage sump, they say, the city dug over a year ago. Now the little amphibians are hopping over to these people's pads, and they want the city to do something about it.
"Yeah, hop to it," said Chandler of the city taking action.
"It's all green and nasty looking. We've been getting bugs, mosquitoes, and now frogs," said Serna.
Rob Quiring, manager of Kern Mosquito and Vector Control says this is bound to happen almost every year.
"If they have water in it this time of year, they are going to have baby toads and baby frogs in them and that's just Mother Nature at work," said Quiring.
It happened back in May of 2008 in Rosedale near a sump. Quiring says while they test all sumps weekly for mosquitoes and treat as needed, there's nothing they can do about the amphibians.
"They actually eat insects and so they are very beneficial. And, in a little while they do go away. They thin out and go away so it's a temporary problem," said Quiring.
So, for Donna and her collection of critters, this is a short-lived hurdle they'll have to hop together.
"We are hoping they are able to do something about it because I don't want to end up with all of these frogs and stuff in my yard," said Serna.
City Water Resources Manager Art Chianello, said a crew went out and checked the sump and said it was clean and found just a few toads. He recommends neighbors call his department if they see a problem, and they could possibly drain the water.