From: Bridget Saunders

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To:Tatum, Monte; Pate, Chris; Brady, Brad; Prato, Joseph; Smith, Justin; Roddenberry, Angela; Boree, Kelley; Mears, Kathy (Assistant Commissioner); Bergquist, John; Lucas, Patty; Commissioner Simpson; Silver, Claudette; Garner, Sean

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Subject: Re: Massive Bee Kill "Investigation"

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Date:  Friday, July 25, 2025 9:56:33 AM

 

I have not heard back from the 13 people I emailed on Tuesday regarding questions about the “investigation” of the massive bee kill  at Costa Honey Farm. I did not get any replies that anyone is out of the office or on vacation so I'm just wondering if anyone is working on finding answers to my questions or is a FL resident being ignored by 13 FL government officials? Hoping to hear something from someone. If you or anyone you see listed as a recipient of this email cannot answer my questions, please refer me to someone who can.

 

Thanks,

 

 

On Jul 22, 2025, at 1:20 PM

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Bridget Saunders wrote:

 

It’s been 15 weeks today since the “investigation” into the massive bee kill at Costa Honey Farm started and my fiancé and I are left with more questions than answers. 

 

Every single person receiving this email is aware of the “investigation” into the egregious misuse of Taurus SC by Florida Pest Control and the dissatisfaction  of the “investigation” by the beekeeper/owner of Costa Honey Farm, Dave Costa (my fiancé) 

 

I obtained each of your email addresses through a public record request related to emails about this investigation, so I know you have knowledge of this case. I’m truly hoping someone can provide us with some answers. 

 

If anyone on this list has a science degree (as I do), you should be curious about all of the unanswered questions. Actually you don’t even need a degree, a lot of these questions are common sense. 

 

1- Why would the FDACS pesticide lab NOT test for the most common Bee/Wasp/Flying Insect/Hornet killer ingredients during a For Cause BEE KILL PESTICIDE INVESTIGATION? 

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The following pesticides are NOT on the list of pesticides that were tested for in the Costa Honey Farm/Dave Costa/Florida Pest Control Case, yet they are ingredients in Bee/Wasp/Flying Insect/Hornet killers

-Prallethrin

-Sumithrin

-Lambdacyhalothrin 

 

2-Why did a blank swab test positive for 4 chemicals and no one questions the validity of your labs test results? (EPA Sample number 051625-2129-0117) 

OR

Was it the blank swab?  It seems like the sample was taken out of sequence yet the sample number was changed from sample 59 to 17 and crossed out AFTER we received our copy of samples taken.

 

3-Is your SOP just to obtain control samples, or actually test them?  Section 2.05 F of your Pesticide Field Sampling Manual states “When conducting a pesticide use investigation take environmental control samples whenever possible."  The control was the pile of dead bees that Fl Pest Control egregiously sprayed. YOU COLLECTED THE BEES, but then disposed of them in the lab??? Who authorized the disposal of evidence?

 

4-Did anyone question why the use of Taurus SC created a “knockdown” effect of the swarm when Taurus SC is not a knockdown agent?       

-Related to question #3, how do we know Fl Pest Control ONLY used Taurus SC when you didn’t TEST the control sample you obtained, but instead threw away evidence?

 

5- Why do some of our test results NOT have a MDL (Method Detection Limit) value and others have varying MDL values for the same chemical? (Ex-Fipronil ranges from 10-400)

 

6-Why are the MDL results NOT the same for each substrate tested?              

Example Diuron on soil samples has an MDL that varies from 0.68 to 1.4. So if Diuron in the soil is found as 1 on the sample that has the MDL of 1.4, it’s gonna show up as a negative, but a positive in the sample that has the MDL of 0.68.  How can those variables exist when testing the exact same substrate- soil?

 

7-Who determined that the  damage to Costa Honey Farm was less than $1000?       

Honey sells for $1 oz and we will have to dispose of over 150 lbs of honey. Do the math. That doesn’t even include getting new hive boxes and completely starting over

 

8-How is our “investigation” over?

Diuron was found on the top of 7 out of 8 of our hives/splits       

Diruon was found at the entrance of 4 out of 8 hives/splits

Permethrin, Bifenthrin, and Piperonyl Butoxide were found on the the top of our hive closest to the neighbors fence gate (Hive 1)

Diuron and Bifenthrin were found on the top of hive that had “bee electrocution” activity that sparked this whole investigation (Hive 7)

Diuron was found in the initial collective sample of dead bees taken in April. Diuron and Imidicloprid were found at the fence line near the bees on our side of the fence AND on the neighbor's side of the fence where all the illegal pesticide use occurred.

FYI The neighbors side was tested 10 weeks and 1 day after the initial swarm spray AND after the neighbor washed the portion of her fence where our bees are for 15 min straight with a pressure washer

Fipronil was found at a concentration of 40,000 at the swarm kill site 10 weeks and 1 day after the initial spray and after the neighbor frequently  watered that spot heavily

Imidicloprid was also found at the swarm kill site

 

9-What was the point of doing your “investigation”?  You found 5+ OTHER chemicals and there was no further testing or questioning done? Where did the Diuron come from? Does anyone care?

 

10-Why was the Florida Pest Control tech called by the FDACS pesticide inspector to question his affidavit about his mixing of Taurus SC?

He was questioned and then  allowed to change his affidavit from using 100oz of Taurus SC to only 0.8 oz. FYI-This questioning occurred several weeks after the initial spray when usually your memory fads, but in this case it got much clearer. BTW- 0.8 oz is the exact measurement Taurus SC is supposed to be mixed at, yet he initially said he used 99.2 more oz.

 

I hope at least one of you reading this will actually give 5 minutes of thought to these questions AND put yourself in OUR shoes for a few minutes.  Not too many people understand how hard beekeeping is, but to have 1 negligent spray wipe out 5 years of work and no one seems to care is very disheartening.

 

We only want help and answers. We are tax paying Floridians and are the VICTIMS of an egregious  misuse of a pesticide (violation of federal law). Why is it that we are treated like we are the ones that did something wrong? Why are our questions ignored?

 

Please someone help

 

Thanks,