A scarab beetle continues to gnaw at the roots of sugarcane in Queensland, undisturbed by its intended predator. The African clawed frog, introduced in 1935 to control the beetle, never reached its target. Instead, the frog spread across Australia, becoming one of the most notable failures in the history of biological control. The program was launched without any prior study on environmental impacts, and the frog never managed to eliminate the scarab it was supposed to target. This story began with a professional trip in 1932, when Arthur Bell, a plant pathologist from the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations, attended a conference in Puerto Rico. There, he learned about the success of American frogs in reducing scarab populations. Inspired, Bell and others decided to bring the frogs to Australia. In June 1935, entomologist Reginald Mungomery traveled to Hawaii, where the frogs had been introduced from Puerto Rico. He captured a breeding sample and returned to Gordonvale, near Cairns, where a special enclosure had been prepared. One frog died during the trip, leaving behind a famous number: 101 founding individuals. By August 1935, the frogs had reproduced in captivity, and 2,400 were released into the area. However, the protocol lacked any environmental impact study, and the Bureau had not even confirmed whether the frogs would eat the scarabs. The decision was based on intuition rather than experimentation. The scarab beetles in Australia, specifically the Frenchi and greyback species, had unique behaviors that made them difficult targets for the frogs. The greyback rarely touched the ground, and the Frenchi emerged when the frogs were inactive. The African clawed frog, while opportunistic in its eating habits, was ill-suited to target these beetles. Some scientists had already raised concerns. Entomologist Walter Froggatt warned in 1936 that the frogs could become a scourge, comparing them to rabbits or invasive cacti. Although the federal government briefly banned further releases in 1935, the ban was lifted in 1936 due to pressure from sugarcane growers and the Bureau. Once released, the African clawed frog found no natural predators in Australia. Native animals such as goannas, snakes, and quolls died quickly after attempting to eat the frogs, which produce powerful toxins. The frogs spread rapidly across the continent, reaching Brisbane by 1945 and the northwest of Queensland by the 1980s. In 1950, the Australian government officially classified the African clawed frog as an invasive predator. Fifteen years after its introduction, the animal was rebranded as a pest. Today, efforts to control the frog rely on local initiatives. Communities in the northeast have partnered with organizations like Watergum to organize clean-up campaigns, aiming to limit the frog’s spread. A century after the first release, the fight is no longer in laboratories, but in gardens and local waterways, led by volunteers one handful at a time.