Well, hello little fella!

Last night I heard some movement in my kitchen.

It's getting a bit chilly outside at night and we've had a mouse that's escaped all attempts at catching it! Armed with broom, I quickly switched on the light and looked around the floor and counters for my hairy little nemesis. What I found instead was a big greenish blob on my wall.

Let me preface this by saying I am not a bug or critter kind of gal.

Regardless, I couldn't resist taking a few photos and was very surprised that it remained still long enough for me to get some close-ups with my iPhone.

So here it is a day later and I decided to look up what kind of frog it was. Based on the suction cup-like toes, I guessed it was a treefrog, but the coloring was different from the ones I've seen previously. This one has gold and brown spots. The other ones I've caught were much smaller and a pretty, almost-neon green.

It turns out this may be a Cuban Treefrog, which is an invasive species and potentially harmful to the local ecosystem.

According to the Department of Wildlife and Conservation, University of Florida - Johnson Lab:

The Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) is native to Cuba, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. They are considered invasive in Florida and likely to "harm our native ecosystems and also cause a lot of problems for humans." They eat at least five different species of native frogs, lizards and small snakes, and their tadpoles compete for space and food.

A nuisance to humans, they will poop on walls and windows leaving stains and potentially causing irritation to people with asthma. They also tend to requisition birdhouses, or hang out in toilets and sink drains - sometimes even short-circuiting utility switches.

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And here is my dilemma

I caught it and let it go last night.

But according to the article I cited above, it should have been euthanized, and gives specific directions on how to do that humanely.

Personally, I've never purposefully killed a critter - not even a frog. I've dissected a few critters, but they were quite dead before I got to them. I've also prepared meals from a hunt, but never did the hunting.

That being said, apparently I did a big no-no by letting it go.

So, if I see him again, he's gonna have to get a good dose of benzocaine, getting tossed in a ziploc and thrown in the freezer.

Sorry, little dude.

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