URGENT WARNING FOR ALL OZZIANS!!!!

Bottled toads have explosive potential
By Greg McLean
September 19, 2006 09:42am


GARDENERS who bought liquid fertiliser made from cane toads have been warned the product may spontaneously explode in storage. FrogWatch NT gave the warning yesterday for people who have bought bottles of their product ToadJus after reports of them exploding.

Co-ordinator Graeme Sawyer said customers who have not yet used the liquid fertiliser should take the pressure off by unscrewing the cap half a turn. "Otherwise the bottle may explode, or leak, potentially covering the garden shed with an evil-smelling, sticky liquid," he said. "While it's easy to wash off and harmless it could be annoying if the bottle has been placed on a kitchen shelf or in the house. "We don't need to go to product recall - the ToadJus is fine but the pressure needs to be relieved if bottles are being kept for later use. "I would particularly warn people against sending the novelty product to friends through the post."

ToadJus was launched at the Garden Festival Spectacular with more than 300 bottles sold this year. "We were keen to make ToadJus available to garden enthusiasts because there had been a lot of interest," Mr Sawyer said. "But the batch sold was very young and, it now seems, still undergoing residual fermentation. "We have another thousand or so bottles in storage that have had all their caps loosened, and in future the product will be vat stored for two months to ensure fermentation is complete."

In better news, volunteers rounded up 200 toads at Darwin River Dam and Howard Springs last Friday.