{"id":34453,"date":"2026-08-09T11:40:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T06:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34453"},"modified":"2026-08-09T11:40:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T06:40:58","slug":"florida-business-owners-allegedly-dumped-mothballs-on-beach-to-scare-off-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34453","title":{"rendered":"Florida business owners allegedly dumped mothballs on beach to scare off birds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fnewspress-collage-kpyzqdplq-1786256546683.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261786242193\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Two\u00a0Florida\u00a0business owners have been charged with third-degree felonies after allegedly spreading about 1,500 \u201ctoxic\u201d mothballs across a beach in hopes of keeping an \u201cimperiled\u201d bird species from nesting there.<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison, fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years of probation.<\/p>\n<p>The problem started in late April when beachgoers noticed mothballs on the white, sugary sand on St. Pete Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and bird-loving volunteers from the Audubon Society mobilized.<\/p>\n<p>They plucked about 1,000 of the small, white orbs from the sand behind the Plaza Beach Hotel.<\/p>\n<p>Then 500 more appeared overnight.<\/p>\n<p>The smelly balls containing pesticides dotted an area where\u00a0endangered shorebirds\u00a0known as black skimmers were \u201cattempting to establish a nesting colony,\u201d FWC officials said at a news conference.<\/p>\n<p>Their placement also meant other wildlife and children \u201ccould easily come in contact with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Volunteers pick up thousands of mothballs dumped onto St. Pete Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida. <span class=\"credit\">10 Tampa Bay News\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It quickly became clear that someone might be targeting the birds, they said.<\/p>\n<p>So FWC investigators flew into action.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Crying fowl<\/h2>\n<p>The discovery of the mothballs ruffled feathers in the community.<\/p>\n<p>There was \u201ca lot of public outcry,\u201d expressing concern for the birds, while investigators tried to locate the source of the mothballs, FWC officials said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Christopher Monroe is the owner and manager of Chris\u2019s Beachside Bar. <span class=\"credit\">Pinellas County Jail<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Robert Czyszczon, the owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel. <span class=\"credit\">Pinellas County Jail<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Law enforcement served search warrants, combed through \u201cterabytes\u201d of data and eventually seized cellphones to try to locate the individuals behind the caper.<\/p>\n<p>That work led them to Christopher Monroe, owner and manager of Chris\u2019s Beachside Bar, and Robert Czyszczon, owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel, FWC officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Out of fear of lost revenue, the two allegedly hatched a plan to use mothballs to deter birds from congregating on the beach behind their businesses, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>Through video surveillance and receipt records, investigators found that Czyszczon spent about $60 buying \u201ca large quantity\u201d of mothballs at a Walmart the day before they first appeared on the beach, FWC officials said.<\/p>\n<p>\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FWC investigating after hundreds of mothballs illegally placed on St. Pete Beach\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/trpNyz0GlEE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\t<\/p>\n<p>Upon examining his phone, investigators found \u201cincriminating\u201d text messages between him and fellow business owner Monroe discussing their objections to the native fowl.<\/p>\n<p>Text conversations revealed plans for placement of the mothballs on the beach, officials said. That\u2019s what led investigators to Monroe as a suspect.<\/p>\n<p>The men discussed how they \u201cwere going to do something\u201d to prevent the birds from nesting on the beach, FWC officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Black skimmers don\u2019t nest in trees. They kick beach sand to make depressions on the ground. Then they lay their eggs and raise their young near the surf.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re the worst birds,\u201d one of the men allegedly wrote in anticipation of nesting season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bird people will put up fence around the area, and then the beach people will not be able to get to and from because they will fence around that space.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Out of fear of lost revenue, the two allegedly hatched a plan to use mothballs to deter birds from congregating on the beach behind their businesses. <span class=\"credit\">10 Tampa Bay News\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Black skimmers don\u2019t nest in trees. They kick beach sand to make depressions on the ground. Then they lay their eggs and raise their young near the surf. <span class=\"credit\">10 Tampa Bay News\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cellphone tower data showed Monroe\u2019s phone was at the same location as Czyszczon\u2019s phone on both nights when the mothballs appeared on the beach, FWC officials said.<\/p>\n<p>The men feared that nests on the beach would lead to fewer customers and less money being spent there, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me we lose $25,000 to $50,000?\u201d one allegedly wrote in a text.<\/p>\n<p>Monroe and Czyszczon were charged with\u00a0illegal dumping, a third-degree felony, according to Pinellas County court records.<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>They also were charged with the \u201cattempted take of a state-listed imperiled species by harassment,\u201d a misdemeanor, according to FWC officials.<\/p>\n<p>Both are out of jail on bond.<\/p>\n<p>About 6,800 black skimmers live in Florida. FWC officials estimate that several hundred live on the beaches of Pinellas County.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Czyszczon spent about $60 buying \u201ca large quantity\u201d of mothballs at a Walmart. <span class=\"credit\">10 Tampa Bay News\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The discovery of the mothballs ruffled feathers in the community. <span class=\"credit\">10 Tampa Bay News\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The\u00a0pesticide in mothballs\u00a0can harm people and wildlife that come into contact with their vapors, according to an educational publication by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith any pesticide, the label is the law,\u201d Brett W. Bultemeier, director of the UF\/IFAS Pesticide Information Office, wrote in a 2021 educational publication about mothballs. \u201cThe label language is not simply a set of directions. Rather, they are requirements that are legally enforceable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The birds probably weren\u2019t hurt by the \u201charassment,\u201d FWC officials said.<\/p>\n<p>But it did delay their nesting, they said. That pushes the date that their young can fledge from the nest further back in the season. And that could put them in danger.<\/p>\n<p>A big storm at the end of hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30, \u201ccan wipe out a colony if those young birds haven\u2019t fledged yet,\u201d an FWC official said.<\/p>\n<p>An attorney for Czyszczon did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Court records indicate that Monroe doesn\u2019t have an attorney. He couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two\u00a0Florida\u00a0business owners have been charged with third-degree felonies after allegedly spreading about 1,500 \u201ctoxic\u201d mothballs across a beach in hopes of keeping an \u201cimperiled\u201d bird species from nesting there. If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison, fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years of probation. The problem&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/newspress-collage-kpyzqdplq-1786256546683.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1786242193&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}