Armyworms

Average size: 1.5"

These pest are most active at night when they consume the rhizome and the crown of turf grasses. Their continued feasting will cause your lawn to thin out and die back if not treated properly. Their damage resembles that of scalping the lawn with the mower (when the blade is dropped too low). Watering and fertilizing will help the turf recover.

Around April to May, armyworm moths may be carried into our area by weather patterns or their own flight behavior. The moths will begin to lay eggs which will hatch late May thru early June allowing for the larvae to emerge and begin feeding on grasses (as well as crops). Armyworms harbor in the thatch layer during the day and come out of hiding the feed on leaves during the evening hours or cloudy days. Within a month, the larvae goes through a metamorphosis and pupates, then transforms into a moth- and so the cycle repeats itself two more times throughout the summer. Due to the chilled winter weather in Ohio and Michigan - most armyworms do not survive over winter.