Baldwin County and the rest of Georgia are being invaded by armies right now, specifically armies of destructive caterpillars called fall armyworms. The armyworms eat up an entire home lawn or farm hay pasture, forage or row crops in no time flat.
“The last time I saw them here this bad was in 1987, and it literally took a killing frost to get rid of them,” Putnam County Extension Agent Keith Fielder said.
Local farmers began having sporadic problems “here and there across the county” the end of June, Fielder said, and the armyworms gained momentum so that by the end of July, they were everywhere.
“Now we have multiple generations on top of each other consuming everything, eating everything down to the ground,” Fielder said. “One field of grain sorghum, they completely decimated it. Once you’ve found them, you need to quickly determine what to do.”
To check your home lawn for infestation, Fielder says to walk quietly around your yard with the sun in front of you. The armyworm larvae are extremely sensitive to vibrations or shadows, so if you’re not moving softly and quietly or if your body casts a shadow on the ground, the caterpillars will quickly move down under the foliage to hide.
“Plus, having the sun shining on the ground in front of you makes them easier to see,” he added.
If your lawn is thick or the grass is taller, Fielder said you should slowly bend down and part the grass with your fingers to look for the caterpillars. For agriculture fields or pastures, don’t scout around on a 4-wheeler or tractor, but use the same method described above for lawns.
The entire life cycle of fall armyworms is about 30 days in the summertime, and up to twice that long in cooler months. The eggs are laid by the moths during the nighttime, Fielder said, noting the number of eggs varies but can be several hundred.
The fall armyworm moth hangs out on the bark of trees during the day, with its coloration blending in with the bark. When the wings are spread, the fore wing has darker brown colorations, and the hind wing is more solid light color with feathery edges and abdomen.
The larval worms feed on grasses for about two weeks. Then it burrows down in the soil and makes a loose cocoon about 2 to 4 centimeters deep. Eight to 10 days later, an adult moth emerges and starts laying eggs.
“It’s just absolutely incredible how fast they grow and turn over,” Fielder said. “When they get about ¾-inch long, they’re almost impossible to kill.”
Fielder said 82% of Georgia counties are heavily infested with the armyworm right now, which means “a great deal of damage to crops.”
“Between the armyworm and the hurricane down in South Georgia, it has just been one thing after another for farm crops this year,” he said. “The impact will be significant for all of us.”
Fielder said some pesticides that traditionally have been good to get rid of the armyworm are not working well in some instances, so he asks anyone who has questions on chemical choices to call him at 706-485-4151.
For more information, Fielder suggests reading the article at the QR code below or by visiting bit.ly/4dHjYZs.