What To Spray For Army Worms

The Best Army Worm Spray ^

The strongest army worm control option includes a combination of MAXXTHOR GRANULES and MAXXTHOR SPRAY.

First apply 2 lbs of of the Maxxthor Granules per 1,000 sq/ft of turf. Renew once a month throughout the summer and fall. This treatment is designed to get the developing young down in the dirt so its getting all the activity out of sight.

Next, spray over the top with MAXXTHOR EC. Add 2 oz in our HOSE END SPRAYER and then some water to get it up to the 5 gallon line. This will cover 5,000 sq/ft. Expect to treat twice to solve established problems space the treatments two weeks apart. Once under control, spray once a month to make sure they dont return.

Youll need a lot of water to cover most any yard so a good HOSE END SPRAYER is usually the best way to make the application. Watch the video we have for this sprayer if you have any questions but essentially it uses the power of your hose to distribute the material needed and added to the tank.

If you have a small yard , CYONARA RTS might be enough to do the job. With this container, you only need to hook it to your hose and spray. The container has enough concentrate inside to treat up to 15,000 sq/ft.

How Can I Help My Lawn Recover

After an infestation, your grass blades may be chewed up, but heres the good news: Armyworm feeding doesnt hurt the all-important plant crowns. Your lawn should bounce back with the right plan.

• Hot, dry weather isnt great on any lawn, much less one stressed out by armyworms. Keep your lawn adequately watered to encourage regrowth after armyworm damage.
• Apply Scotts® Turf Builder® Lawn Food to help strengthen your lawn and promote growth after armyworm stress. It works on all lawn types and can be applied in any season. If you put down fertilizer right before the attack, wait at least a month before applying another round.
• Warm-season grass types are hardier and usually recover with fertilizer, but Northern lawns may need extra help. If thats the case, you can overseed your lawn to thicken it back up. Use a spreader to apply a premium quality grass seed like Scotts® Turf Builder® Thick’R Lawn Sun & Shade, following all label directions.

Dont let militant moth larvae take you by surprise. If you suspect armyworms are plotting an invasion, get out there and protect your turf. A lush lawn is worth the fight.

How To Get Rid Of Armyworms

Armyworms are voracious and destructive pests. An infestation can cause significant damage to your lawn and plants if not dealt with promptly. Learn how to identify armyworms before they cause long-term damage. Read this guide for tips on how to get rid ofarmywormsin trees and grass in your yard.

• How to Get Rid of Armyworms Naturally

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When Should I Spray For Armyworms

Armyworms can attack a crop at any time of the year and at any stage of development. However, they cause the most damage to young plants and early sown crops. Therefore, it is recommended to spray as soon as possible when you notice the first signs of infestation. The best time to spray is when you notice the first signs of infestation. The best time to spray is when you notice the first signs of infestation. Spraying too early or too late will provide little or no control. Spraying should be done before the armyworms have a chance to cause too much damage..

How To Check For Armyworms In Lawn

To coax armyworms from coming out of your lawn, you can flush them out from hiding by pouring a solution of 1 tablespoon of dishwashing soap and one gallon of water over suspected patches. Pour the one-gallon solution over one square yard at a time and any armyworm should surface within a few minutes.

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Management Tips For Perennial Grass Pastures And Hayfields

Fall armyworm damage is most likely to occur from August through October when populations are at seasonal highs. During periods of drought, it is not uncommon to receive the first reports of damage in July. Natural enemies of the armyworm are less effective during drought years.

Damage from armyworms seems to come in waves about a month apart. This is because moth activity and egg laying peak periodically even though there is substantial overlap between generations. Fields damaged by fall armyworm should be closely monitored for the rest of the season to determine whether further treatment is required.

Because moths prefer light-colored surfaces on which to lay eggs, check these first. In pastures and hayfields, fence rails, fence posts, and tree limbs are favored egg-laying sites.

If a hayfield has been heavily damaged, fertilize as recommended to allow for another hay crop. Badly damaged pastures may need to be rested. If possible, restrict grazing on badly damaged pastures until the grass has regrown.

Figure 8. Scouting fields with a sweep net is the best practice to locate fall armyworm infestations early in their life cycle. Sweep the net from side to side and through the foliage to capture specimens.

Figure 9. Fall armyworm larvae captured in a sweep net.

The following generalizations may help you match your circumstances to the right insecticide.

Description And Life Cycle

Adult. The adult fall armyworm is an ash-gray moth with a wingspan of about 112 inches . The front wings are mottled and have white or light gray spots near the tips. The back wings are white with a narrow, smoky-brown edge. Moths become active at twilight and feed on nectar. They have an average life span of 2 to 3 weeks.

Eggs. The female moths lay eggs at night in masses of several hundred. They prefer to lay eggs on light- colored surfaces such as fence rails, tree trunks, and the underside of tree limbs. They will also lay eggs on the grass itself. Most eggs are laid 4 to 9 days after the female emerges from the pupal stage. The eggs are light gray and covered with grayish fuzz from the females body. These masses darken with age, and the eggs hatch within 2 to 4 days. All the eggs within a mass hatch at about the same time.

Pupae. Fully grown larvae burrow into the soil and form pupae. The moths emerge in about 10 days in summer.

Figure 5. Adult fall armyworm.

Figure 6. Fully grown fall armyworm larva. Note inverted Y on the head capsule and the three white stripes just behind the head.

Figure 7. Fully grown fall armyworm larva. Note set of four dots on the end of the abdomen.

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Symptoms Of An Attack By Armyworms

All manner of creatures can invade Australian gardens, lawns and farms, from snails to locusts and countless other invasive pests. So how do you identify if you are encountering a problem with armyworms in particular?

When it comes to identifying an armyworm infestation in your lawn, their presence is often given away by small dark brown patches of grass. Armyworms love to roam under the cover of darkness, so their physical presence is not always so obvious during the daytime. Another clue when it comes to grass is a transparent look to the leaves, as armyworms often devour just the green layer of the blades.

Insecticides For Fall Armyworms

Although some older fall armyworm products like Sevin and Malathion are still available, there are many new products that are cheaper, more effective, provide longer residual control, and/or have more favorable pre-harvest intervals. These include several pyrethroid insecticides and two insect growth disruptors , as well as several more caterpillar specific products . Growers need to be aware of the relative strengths and fit for each of these groups of insecticides.

The pyrethroid insecticides are all restricted use products, which means you must have a current pesticide applicator certification card to be able to buy and use these products. If you have significant acreage, it is worth the time and effort to get this certification because pyrethroids are effective, low-cost fall armyworm treatments. The growth regulator diflubenzuron is also restricted use. The primary reason for the restricted use classification is because of buffer zones along streams and around other bodies of water. See labels for specific details.

Table 2. Insecticides for control of fall armyworms in hayfields and pastures.*

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When To Stop Scouting For Fall Armyworms

They are called fall armyworms because their populations are usually highest in the fall. In other words, they can damage the last cutting of hay if you stop scouting too early. During heavy outbreak years, fall armyworms will even destroy stands of early-planted winter grass crops, such as wheat and ryegrass. Delaying planting until later in the fall is one way to avoid this problem. If you do plant winter grazing crops in early fall, check fields often and treat promptly if you detect an infestation. Be especially vigilant during years when fall armyworm pressure has been high in hayfields and pastures. It takes fewer caterpillars to destroy a field of emerging ryegrass than to eat a lush field of bermudagrass.

Like all insects, fall armyworm development rate is greatly affected by temperature. In one laboratory study, conducted with caterpillars feeding on corn leaves at constant temperatures, the larval stage lasted about 22 days at 70 degrees, 14 days at 80 degrees, and 10 days at 90 degrees. As you can see, development rate is faster at higher temperatures, although it does begin to decline at temperatures above 93 degrees. Fall armyworms cannot survive freezing temperatures. Populations usually begin to decline a little before first frost because fall armyworms cannot develop at temperatures below about 50°F.

What Treatment Kills Armyworms

Armyworms are surface feedersif your lawn is infested youll see them chomping on the tips of grass bladesand theyre easily controlled by insecticides when caught early in their infestation. If you see armyworm damage or find the pests in your grass, apply Scotts® GrubEx®. Follow all of the label directions, and make sure your lawn is dry when you get out there with your spreader. Then, water regularlythe most severe damage occurs when armyworms attack in hot, dry weather.

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What Do Armyworms Look Like

First, lets be sure you know what youre dealing with: Armyworms, which are moth larvae, are light green or tan in their earliest stages and become dark green or brown as they grow. Fully formed caterpillars are hairless, 1-½ to 2 inches long, and have green, yellow, or brown stripes running down their body, and a Y-shaped mark on their head.

Tips For Controlling Armyworms In Hay Fields

Large armyworms were seen defoliating a Tifton 85 Bermudagrass field recently in Holmes County. Photo credit: Liza Garcia-Jimenez

Every summer, fall armyworm moths fly up from South Florida to lay their eggs in well fertilized hay fields and forage crops in the the tri-state region. The timing of the first major infestations varies from year to year, from May through August. Judging by reports that have come in to the Extension Office this year, it appears that July is the month for 2014. If you have not scouted your fertilized Bermudagrass fields lately, it would be a good idea to make that a regular routine for the remainder of the season.

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Life Cycle Of Armyworms

Female moths lay their egg masses on the underside of leaves or grasses. While their location and number vary by species, typically an adult lays between 30 and 80. When the eggs hatch, the young larvae are smaller caterpillars that are almost all grey-greenish, and develop through six larval life stages, called instars, changing to a darker and visibly-striped color depending on their species. True armyworms may have up to nine instars, but most have six. This larval stage when caterpillars feed is when theyre at their most detrimental to crops. After the larval stage, the larger larvae burrow into the soil during the pupal stage. The pupation period for these large larvae varies by species, but they are all 12 to 14 days on average. Then moths emerge in mid-April to carry on the cycle.

The cycle length also varies by species but ranges between 30 to 90 days, most of which is spent in larval stages. The moth typically has a life span of 9 to 14 days. During that time moths lay between 1000 and 1500 eggs. Hence their rapidly spreading and destructive nature. They produce three or more generations per year, with most occurring in the southern region of a state. While most of the cycle takes place in the spring and summer, the fall armyworm also continues into fall. The fall armyworm life cycle takes longer in the autumn and usually lasts until the first killing frost, or when freezing temperatures set in.

Liquid Insecticide For Armyworms

When the attack of these armyworms occurs on plants in our garden, such as grass, flower plants, fruit trees, etc., it is very practical to treat it with an insecticide in spray format.

All the products that we will mention here come in liquid format, some to apply in spray, and others to apply in liquid form directly on the floor.

Ive named you just five liquid insecticides for armyworms. In all cases, they are products that you can get online in stores like Amazon.

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How To Kill Armyworms Safely

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Armyworms are showing up in our area of the country right now- and we had to act fast to get rid of them before they destroyed our grass! These little guys can be pretty devastating to a healthy lawn. These worms are actually the larvae of a gray brown moth, prevalent in the late summer and fall. The proper spelling is Armyworm, if you aren’t familiar with them. See a few ideas on how to get rid of Armyworms safely with household products.

Where Do Armyworms Live

Because most cant survive freezing temps, armyworms are largely found in the South where their snack of choice is bermudagrass. That doesnt mean your cool-season turf is necessarily safe, though. In summer, adult moths will ride the winds of a tropical storm, and each one will lay thousands of eggs up North. The larvae from those moths are commonly called fall armyworms, and theyll happily chow down on your lawn before a big chill sets in.

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What Damage Do Armyworms Cause

Armyworms have a seemingly endless appetite for grass. Moving as a group, theyll march across a lawn in a matter of days and leave a yard full of brown, chewed-up grass in their wake. They quickly move onto the next feeding opportunity, so if your neighbor mentions an armyworm problem, get prepared.

Learn About Fall Armyworm Treatment And How To Deal With The Damage These Pests Cause

Steve Bender is an award-winning author, editor, columnist, and speaker with 38 years experience as Garden Editor, Senior Writer, and Editor-at-Large for Southern Living magazine. Known as The Grumpy Gardener, he shares his horticultural wisdom with with Southerners and garden enthusiasts across the country.

People are always yapping about needing smaller lawns. Now that can happen, and they won’t need to lift a finger. In fact, they can wake up in the morning to find their lawns completely gone, thanks to the infamous fall armyworm . Fall armyworms are the larvae of a small, brownish-gray moth. They plague a number of agricultural crops, such as corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts, and sorghum, but when the pickings get slim due to hot, dry weather, the moths and caterpillars head for greener pastures, like your lawn that you’ve dutifully watered several times a week.

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Treatments To Kill Armyworms

Treat your lawn with alawn insect and pest controlproduct when leaf damage is noticed or large numbers of armyworms are seen.

• Bacillus thuringiensis products can selectively control small armyworm larvae without harming beneficial insects. This pesticide is available as a ready-to-use spray or as a concentrated solution that must be applied by a tank sprayer. Re-treating is recommended because B.t. residue remains on turf for less than two days and washes away with rain.
• Spinosadis a bacterial product produced by fermentation and can be used to get rid of armyworms in the landscape and garden.
• Other common insecticides to use against armyworms include bifenthrin, trichlorfon, deltamethrin, gamma-cyhalothrin and permethrin. The most suitable time for application is early morning as armyworms feed at night.

Tip: Always wear protective equipment like safety glasses and gloves when applying pesticides to reduce the risk of skin or facial contact.

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Armyworm Control: How To Get Rid Of Army Worms

Army worms are the larvae of moths and are common turf pests in yards and landscapes. As larvae, Armyworms feast on a variety of crops as well as turfgrasses. When multiplying in large numbers, they often move together toward new areas to consume food which resembles a marching army–hence the origin of their name.

Mainly found in the Southern part of the United States, Army worms like to reside on turf such as bermudagrass and infest lawns causing moderate to severe damage. Signs of trouble from Armyworms may appear in the form of brown grass which novice lawn owners mistake for the grass not getting enough sunlight or water. What actually is happening is Armyworms are chewing blades of grass, zapping the plant of it’s nutrition.

If you are dealing with Army worms on your lawn or garden, our professional DIY treatment guide can help. Compiled by our staff of lawn care experts, this guide can help you step-by-step in eliminating Fall Armyworms quickly and affordably. Follow the directions provided along with using our recommended products and we guarantee success in killing the Armyworm population on your lawn.