Credit: Plunkett's Pest Control
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Plunkett’s Pest Control partnered with Dr. David Davies, an anthropology professor at Hamline University, on a one-of-a-kind field study exploring the complex relationship between people, pests and the environments they share.
During a year-long sabbatical, Dr. Davies conducted immersive ethnographic research by training and working alongside pest control professionals at Plunkett’s, earning his technician license and participating in active fieldwork.
“Two years ago, I had a mouse in my office,” said Davies. “I called an exterminator and realized—that’s the person I need to talk to. That’s where this project really began.”
Davies specializes in participant observation and was seeking a way to directly study human interaction with “non-human cohabitants” in built environments. To launch the project, he cold-called Plunkett’s Pest Control and was met with enthusiastic support from Aly Silva Mulgrew, then Director of Innovation and Shared Services and now President of Plunkett’s.
“Aly immediately understood the value of what I was trying to do,” said Davies. “She had taken anthropology courses herself and saw the bigger picture.”
“We were excited to support Dr. Davies’ research,” said Aly Silva Mulgrew, president, Plunkett’s Pest Control. “His project aligns with how we view our work—where science, culture, and daily life intersect. It’s not just about removing pests; it’s about understanding the environments where people live and work, and the role pests play within them. That perspective helps us solve problems more effectively and deliver results that truly support healthier, more comfortable spaces for our clients.”
Davies’ research, which focuses on three interconnected areas—built environments, the creatures that seek to inhabit them, and the professionals tasked with resolving those conflicts—led him to overcome his own discomfort with pests and apply new insights into his teaching.
“This research lies at the intersection of people and environment,” Davies said. “It’s helped me develop new course material, including a digital anthropology project involving an AI cockroach, and it’s deepened my understanding of fear, disgust, and social structures.”
For Plunkett’s, the collaboration provided a unique lens through which to view its centuryold mission.
“At Plunkett’s, we’ve always believed our work is about more than pests—it’s about people, their spaces, and their peace of mind,” said Mulgrew. “This partnership reaffirmed that belief in a meaningful and thoughtful way.”
As summer approaches and pest activity rises, the partnership between academia and industry reminds us that every buzz, scratch, or sting is part of a larger conversation—one about how we live, adapt, and coexist.
