Study: Hemp-Based Insecticide Prevents Harmful Beetles In Chicken Farms

Researchers at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina said that a hemp-derived insecticide spray shows promise against darkling beetles, a harmful pest that is pressuring the state’s $40 billion poultry industry, Spectrum Local News reports.

The darkling beetles and their larvae pose a significant pest concern for North Carolina chicken farmers, as they multiply quickly and thrive in chicken-farming environments.

“A lot of times they’ll find the chickens, and there’ll be beetles stuck to them…. and they’re just kind of feeding on them,” FSU biology professor Shirley Chao said in the report.

The standard solution is chemical-based insecticides, but they can be expensive and logistically problematic, and are usually dangerous for the birds.

Initial research found that the hemp-based insecticide is both nontoxic to chickens and stops the development of the beetles. The state is investing $1.1 million through its NCInnovation program to fund a field study on the spray, the report said.

Chao said the hemp-based insecticide was discovered accidentally by one of her students who, as part of an assignment “to increase the population of insects that they were caring for,” wanted to try giving the insects hemp, but found the hemp spray had an opposite effect.

The study is the latest hemp-related development for poultry farmers after the Association of American Feed Control Officials earlier this month declared hemp seed meal an approved feed ingredient for laying hens.