The caterpillar-like armyworms feed on grasses and crops and are typically an agricultural pest. This summer, they’ve hit area lawns. Staff photo by Caitlin O'Hara
An armyworm invasion has swept across Dubois County, destroying hundreds of lawns in a matter of days.
The destructive pests gobble up grass and slither into garages and onto patios. The greenish brown worms — which range between a quarter-inch to 2 inches in length — aren’t normally found in southern Indiana yards, and lawn care experts say it’s unclear what prompted the recent infestation.
“I don’t think anybody’s got an answer,” said Greg Begle, owner of Turf-Pro Lawn Landscaping & Irrigation near Jasper.
The first calls came over Labor Day weekend, and “ever since then, it’s just been nothing but armyworms,” said Begle, who estimates his crew has sprayed hundreds of worm-infested yards in less than two weeks. A representative of Pfaff’s Lawn Care of Jasper said his company has fielded between 300 and 400 calls in the last couple weeks.
Begle has been in business for 26 years, and “I’ve never had a problem with armyworms,” he said. “This is a first for me.”
The pests have also taken others by surprise. Rural King and Buschkoetter’s Nursery, Lawn and Garden Center are having trouble keeping insecticides in stock. Products such as Ortho Bug B Gon and Malathion have flown off of shelves since the infestation began.
“We’ve sold a lot of it,” said Wanda Buschkoetter, who manages her family’s garden store west of Jasper.
The pests have cropped up before but never on this scale, she said.
“They’re really bad this year,” said Buschkoetter, whose store has been in operation for more than five decades. “It’s the worst I’ve ever witnessed in all the years I’ve been in business.”
The worm larvae hang on silk threads and are sometimes spread by blowing wind. Swarms of worms may travel long distances along the ground, driven by crowding and lack of food.
Kathy Hart, who lives near Jasper High School, recently noticed a few brown spots in her yard. She was puzzled because she regularly waters her grass. Soon her entire lawn, normally lush and green, had turned brown.
A few days later, the gentleman she hires to cut her grass knocked on her door and said her yard, driveway and sidewalk were overrun with a slew of armyworms.
“There weren’t just a few worms. There were a lot of worms,” Hart said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She hired a company to spray her yard. The worms are gone, but her grass is still brown.
“I’m very finicky about my lawn,” Hart said. “I was just so upset.”
Oddly, the infestation seemed to be confined to her property. Her neighbors’ yards haven’t shown any ill effects.
“I kept on saying, ‘Why is it just my property line?’” Hart said.
But Begle said the pests are probably in other lawns on Hart’s street. They just haven’t surfaced yet.
“Some yards look like they don’t (have them), but they do,” Begle said.
The worms often take over a yard in a matter of days but die off just as quickly once the grass is sprayed with insecticide. A harsh freeze should wipe out most of the pests, Begle said.
Armyworms don’t eat the crown of the plant, but rather chew on the blade, creating a “window-pane” affect along the length of the blade. Fraying at the top of grass is usually caused by a dull lawn mower blade. Grass that has been affected can grow back.
Homeowners can check for armyworms by mixing liquid dish soap and water into bucket, then pouring it onto a spot in the lawn. Within minutes, the critters will appear out of the ground.
After a lawn is sprayed, it’s usually worm-free for at least 30 days, Begle said. After that, it’s unclear whether homeowners will need to spray again.
Farmers say the pests are not showing up in fields or pastures. But even if they do, corn and soybeans are probably too far along to be in danger, said Ken Eck, Dubois County’s Purdue University extension educator for agriculture and natural resources.
“For some reason, they’ve had the perfect weather conditions to grow and they’re expressing themselves on people’s lawns,” said Eck, who noted that infestations have also been reported in Posey and Vanderburgh counties.
“We think most of the lawns will pretty much recover,” he added. “But maybe not 100 percent right away.”
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