ST. LOUIS COUNTY – Armyworms don’t always make it to the St. Louis region but when they do, the damage can be significant and costly.
Experts are fielding calls as more damage pops up.
“We’re seeing it all throughout the city. All the way up to Wentzville and Lake St. Louis and down to downtown. We’re starting to get a lot of calls about browning yards,” said Craig Calhoun, the Turf Department Manager at Ryan Lawn and Tree.
They aren’t always a problem this far north and we can blame their arrival on our weather patterns.
“Armyworms start as moths down south in Arkansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma, sees a lot of them. And they travel up in the jet stream. And usually about this time of year, they’ll start feeding on turf grass. Whether that be bluegrass or fescue, really anything and starting to cause damage,” said Calhoun.
The hotter temperatures that are headed our way could make the damage even worse.
“What the worm does is actually feed on the grass plant. And what happens is it exposes the roots and the crown to the sun. And that’s where the plant will start dying. Is it’ll burn up. So it’s very important to water heavily when you have an infestation to keep that plant alive and to allow it to grow new leaf tissue out,” he said.
You may see browning happening in spots, but it can take over an entire yard.
“What you’ll notice is a lot of leaf tissue, grass plants lying on top of the grass from them doing the feeding. It’ll start browning out the yard and you’ll notice those areas slowly getting bigger day by day,” said Calhoun.
If you suspect you have a problem, lawn care experts know the signs to look for to confirm an infestation.
And with fall right around the corner, that’s the perfect time to make any needed repairs to your turf.
“You can spray to stop the damage from happening. Usually when you do get damage, especially like this, there will be some seeding that needs to happen here in the fall,” Calhoun said.
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