David Harvey found the toad hiding behind a pot plant outside his home in Burns Street, Redhead, about 10.30pm on Tuesday.

At least three other cane toad sightings have been reported in the Hunter within the past year.

‘‘The dog was barking at something so I went out to investigate,’’ Mr Harvey said.

‘‘I didn’t expect to see a cane toad sitting out there.’’

After corralling the amphibious hitch-hiker in an ice-cream container and checking on the internet that it wasn’t a native species, Mr Harvey disposed of the toad as humanely as possible.

‘‘I popped it in the freezer,’’ he said.

‘‘He’s currently sound asleep in our back fridge.’’

The RSPCA advises that captured toads be frozen then decapitated – to avoid an outbreak similar to what happened when they were introduced into Queensland in the 1930s.

Lawrence Orel, from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, said the service had received several reports of cane toads hopping into the Hunter.

‘‘Isolated discoveries of individual cane toads that far south are unusual, but not uncommon,’’ he said.

‘‘Typically those discovered have hitched a ride on vehicles coming from north of the Clarence River back into the Hunter.

‘‘Toads will sometimes inadvertently get underneath vehicles and can be transferred all around NSW, or they’ll find their way into freight with building supplies or plants and hop out again when it reaches its destination.

‘‘So they can literally pop up anywhere.’’ Last June, Maryville residents were quick to stomp on a cane toad.

TELLING TOAD TALES

Cane toads were introduced from Hawaii in 1935 in an attempt to stop cane beetles destroying sugar cane crops

Native to South and Central America

Average adults are 10-15cm long, but can grow to more than 23cm

Have glands on each shoulder that can squirt poison

Females lay up to 35,000 eggs at a time and usually breed twice a year

To kill a cane toad humanely, the RSPCA recommends cooling it to 4 degrees in an aerated bag in a fridge then decapitating

Sources: CSIRO, RSPCA