RALEIGH, N.C. — Poultry production remains a driving force in the state’s agricultural industry, but a pest threatens this vital sector.
The North Carolina Poultry Federation says it is the state’s largest commodity, contributing nearly $40 billion annually to the state’s economy.
However, pests pose a threat to this important industry, forcing farmers to resort to chemical pest control methods, which can impact human health.
Now national funding is playing a crucial role in new research that promises to find better solutions.
Plastic containers at Fayetteville State University are home to tiny insects that are disrupting a multi-billion dollar industry.
Researchers are studying swarms of dark leaf beetles to gain a better understanding of the pests that are putting pressure on the poultry industry.
These insects are attracted to chicken feed and reproduce rapidly, laying eggs throughout the coop, which then hatch into larvae.
Over the course of several months, they metamorphose into pupae and then develop into adults that attach themselves to birds.
”They often find chickens, and the bugs stick to them. Yes, they feed on chickens,” said Shirley Zhao, a biology professor at Fayetteville State University.
Zhao noted that birds may view them as a snack, but eating too many of these bugs can cause another problem.
”There’s an area called a crop, a kind of stomach, where they store food,” she said. “There are so many bugs in there that they don’t have enough nutrients.”
Farmers began using pesticides to kill insects, but they could not be used near birds, limiting farmers’ ability to control the bugs.
”Exposure to these and other chemicals can have significant cumulative impacts on our health,” said Kendall Wimberly, policy manager for Drug-Free North Carolina.
Wimberly said the harm from these pesticides extends far beyond the walls of chicken coops, as runoff from these farms ends up in our rivers and streams.
”Things that are used in chicken coops or even homes sometimes end up in our waterways,” Wimberly said. “When they persist in the environment, they create real problems.”
”They target the nervous system, so they attack that specifically,” Chao said. “The problem is that the insect’s nervous system is actually very similar to ours.”
”They needed to find a way to increase the number of insects they were caring for,” Zhao said. “(One student) wanted to give them marijuana. A few months later, we discovered that they had all died. They had never developed.”
Chao received a $1.1 million NCInnovation grant for the next phase of his research: a field study.
She has already held discussions with companies such as Tyson and Perdue, which have expressed interest in using the insecticide if it proves effective and is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. She says this process would not have been possible without government investment in her research.
”I don’t know how many small companies would be willing to spend $10 million to register a pesticide,” she said.
While it may still be several years before it hits the market, Wimberly said it’s an encouraging development.
”We hope to see more safer alternatives to often toxic pesticides,” Wimberly said.
Zhao and her team are preparing to build a chicken barn and a broiler house in rural North Carolina to begin field testing their insecticide formula.
If these tests are successful, the formula must undergo toxicity testing before it can be registered with the EPA.
Post time: Oct-13-2025