Children and parents swarmed through NC State’s Structural Pest Extension, Research and Training (SPERT) facility on Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh in early June, getting hands-on with pests, hunting for insects at a scavenger hunt, learning about harmful and beneficial bugs, and even enjoying some Howling Cow ice cream.

The occasion was the inaugural Urban Pest Field Day. The free event introduced families to common structural pests such as cockroaches, ants and bedbugs, while also highlighting the professionals who protect health and safety in homes and facilities across North Carolina.

Activities included a discovery room with live insects and identification quizzes; a critter craft room with pest-themed crafts and coloring sheets; and a pest pavilion scavenger hunt where kids could search for plastic cockroaches, ants, flies and rats.

Another outdoor area gave attendees the chance to check out a pest control truck and equipment including a mosquito blower.

The field day was organized by Chris Hayes, NC State Extension structural pest management specialist, who hopes to grow the event into an annual cornerstone outreach program called Pest Fest, reaching up to 1,000 people within five years. He has already scheduled next year's event for June 5.

Hayes discussed the goals behind the inaugural event, the importance of public pest education and his vision for its future.

We want to give people more information about the pests that we deal with — things like cockroaches, ants and the terrible bedbug. The goal is for kids and families to meet some of these insects, to see them firsthand. They can also meet pest control professionals and learn about what a career in that field could look like. The structural pest management industry reaches almost every person in North Carolina in some form or fashion, whether it be in healthcare facilities, in schools, in food production, in grocery stores or even in their homes. This is an opportunity to learn more about the people in the industry that helps keep North Carolinians healthy and safe.

My Extension work at NC State has largely focused on the pest management industry. However, my team realized we were missing a really critical opportunity to educate the public. We said, ‘How can we use the space we have, the connections we’ve fostered, and the resources at our disposal to pull the public in?’ That's what birthed the idea of this Urban Pest Field Day. It’s a chance for the public to see pests, to learn about them and learn about the industry.

The goal is to educate everyone, but we gear a lot of it towards kids because a career in pest management is actually really exciting. It is centered at its core on helping people. It might be helping people get rid of a pest they can't control, things like bedbugs. It could be helping people remain healthy by controlling rodents in a factory that produces food. Or it could be helping people become healthy in a hospital by not having to deal with cockroaches in that space. The industry is constantly looking for new talent, individuals interested in building a career. We wanted to introduce folks to that as well, especially kids.

My bottom line expectation was that someone would show up. My goal is that five years from now, this has happened every year, we would be reaching even a thousand people, that it would be an immense event and a cornerstone example — just like CALS Farm Animal Days — of what NC State can do when we leverage Extension connections and really fulfill our land-grant mission.

The one right now that is the biggest concern, at least from my perspective, is the Asian needle ant, which is an invasive species. They have a higher rate of anaphylaxis per sting than fire ants do. They've been in North Carolina for close to 100 years, but have been fairly quiet, living in decaying forests and fallen trees. Over the past five years or so, their population has hit a tipping point and they are found nearly everywhere in the state at this point. They're a major concern. Because they have been so silent for the past 100 years, we don't really have clear control recommendations. It is a pest that people should be on the lookout for. We are trying to raise awareness of it.

It is confusing. It's also sometimes competing optics when we look at pest management as the antithesis of pollinator protection, when we think that they spray and just kill everything. Unfortunately there are some companies that might do that, but the vast majority of them are really good stewards of our environment. That's part of what we hope to accomplish here too. The NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers are here with pollinator-friendly plants, and by next year we hope to have a full pollinator garden for people to enjoy.

It's a good question. Our general rule is, if it is living outside and not causing any risk to you, your well-being or your structure, we recommend leaving it alone. For example, a hornet nest in the woods behind your house. That's a natural place for them to be. As long as they are not dive-bombing you, we say leave them alone. It's when they bleed over into human habitations and spaces that pest control becomes something to consider. That's a little challenging because when we think about it, this was their space first and humans have just kind of moved in. We try to have a healthy balance so that people can enjoy the spaces around them, enjoy the insect life that is there, but also have a barrier. It can be a blurry line, but it's a line we try to explore.