Army Worms
By Cody Wynn
The worms come marching one by one “Oh No, Oh No”! The threat is real and more than likely you’ve heard about or seen these worms first hand. The Moth’s are already here. Sometimes when you’re playing in your beautiful Wynn’s Lawn you’ll see them fly out of the canopy and not think twice about it. They choose lush green lawns to lay their eggs. Reason being, is the future larvae needs that as a food source to begin its sole mission in life…eating lawns in just a matter of days. These worms can scalp a normal sized residential neighborhood lawn in as little as 24hrs before moving on to your surrounding neighbors. Unfortunately Golf Course subdivisions and or heavily wooded lots are among the first victims. The moths will see the fairways as ideal laying grounds. Moths can also be blown into wood lines where they’ll lay them on the trees. Lightly colored Siding on Homes are another attractive place for the eggs to be placed. Multiple generations can be experienced. Waves upon waves can leave a Lawn Care Technician and the Home owner feeling defeated. The good news is the damage is only temporary. It’s like a really bad haircut right before a first date. What i mean is you’ve got a drought stricken lawn and these worms will scalp it down eating all the green blades it can find. Summer conditions being stingy with rainfall can delay the recovery. Here’s a little more good news. They aren’t taking anything from your plant. Everything they devour is “dropped” (use imagination) back into your soil. So the important thing to remember is to simply water more often to help recover your lawn not back to life but just back to green. The best news yet! We include an insecticide to help prevent or suppress the first waves. The residual is approximately 25-30 days after the application has been made. My hopes are that the Hurricane Season we’re entering isn’t significant. The winds from those storms are actually what blows the Moths in our direction. So pay close attention in the weeks to come for overnight discoloration or if you notice a lot of Birds in your lawn feasting on the easy prey.
