A Florida wildlife officer responded on Monday to reports that hundreds of mothballs, which can be toxic to humans and animals, had been spread near a condo along a portion of St. Pete Beach, according to Audubon Florida and the state\u2019s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.<\/p>\n
Audubon and the wildlife agency worked to clear the beach of the mothballs, the agency said in a statement. Julie Wraithmell, Audubon Florida\u2019s executive director, said a handful of volunteers had helped to \u201cmeticulously\u201d clean the area.<\/p>\n
The wildlife agency received another report of mothballs the next day, though Ms. Wraithmell said it was not clear whether additional mothballs had been scattered on the beach or if they had been left behind from cleanup efforts the previous day.<\/p>\n
The agency is investigating the episodes and said officials involved in the inquiry would not be available for comment.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Tampa Bay Times<\/a>, Brian Ferguson, a wildlife officer identified as the case\u2019s investigator, said he thought the mothballs had been spread to keep black skimmers, a protected bird species, from nesting on the beach. St. Pete Beach is about 20 minutes west of St. Petersburg on the Gulf Coast.<\/p>\n \u201cMothballs contain chemicals that can be toxic to birds and other wildlife and placement of them on the beach is harmful, as wildlife can ingest them whether on the sand or if blown into the water,\u201d the wildlife commission said in the statement.<\/p>\n Mothballs are sometimes used illegally to control \u201coff-label pests,\u201d including squirrels, skunks, deer, mice, rats and snakes, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services<\/a>. Those who do so can be fined up to $10,000 per violation.<\/p>\n \u201cDistributing mothballs on a beach is a terrible idea,\u201d said Ms. Wraithmell, adding, \u201cBeaches are more than just a sterile strip of sand.\u201d<\/p>\n Black skimmers, designated by Florida as a \u201cthreatened\u201d species, are native to the state\u2019s coastal areas, though they can also be found in other areas including Mexico and the northeastern United States, according to the wildlife commission<\/a>. There are 65,000 to 70,000 breeding black skimmers in North America, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology<\/a>.<\/p>\n The birds eat fish, which they capture by skimming the water\u2019s surface with the large lower half of their black-and-orange bills.<\/p>\n