Armyworms are lawn care pests that can be difficult to detect and remove. They consume just about everything in their path, including lawns, flowers, trees, and shrubs.

You might not notice them at first because they hide during the day hours then come out at night to feed on your lawn or garden plants. Armyworms are most common after a cool, wet spring.

To control this destructive garden pest, you must understand how it feeds, what damage it does, how to detect them, and finally, how to get rid of them. Learn everything you need to know about armyworms infestation by keep on reading this blog.

How Do Armyworms Operate

Armyworm is a destructive gardens pest. Their mouth is located at their feet so they can eat as they move through your lawn or garden plants all day long, destroying whatever vegetation stands in its path. The armyworm moth is not harmful to humans but can be destructive to lawns, so it’s important to control this pest before it’s too late.

How To Identify Armyworms

The armyworm has a dark brown body with three white stripes along its back. They look very similar to other lawn care pests like cutworms and loopers. Still, they can be distinguished by their characteristic sickle-shaped mouthparts that are used for chewing on vegetation.

Armyworms: The Damage to Your Lawn

Armyworms can be a killer for your lawn if you don’t notice them on time. Some things that armyworms do to your lawn are:

• They eat lawn grasses and garden plants. They also feed on leaves, stems, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
• They can lead the lawn to burn the brown and dry areas due to a lack of food for your lawn or garden plants.
• This pest can destroy lawns in just a few days if you don’t take care of them quickly.
• They chew off the leaf edges of your lawn plants.
• They can reduce lawn grasses yields by up to 50%.

How To Get Rid Of Armyworms

It is important to take action and get rid of armyworms once you’ve identified them. Follow these tips to get rid of armyworms:

• Avoid using harmful pesticides that would destroy beneficial insects, your first line of natural defense.
• Use a biological control method that involves using beneficial nematodes to infect the larvae of armyworms and other lawn care pests.
• If you don’t want chemicals in your lawn, apply organic mulch like wood chips around lawn plants.
• If pest levels become intolerable, use fast-acting organic insecticides.
• Plant to attract beneficial insects such as birds.

Armyworms: Prevention Tips

Once you get rid of armyworms, you must keep on taking care of them in order to prevent lawn damage in the future. Some tips are:

• Apply a good lawn fertilizer that contains phosphorus and potassium every some.
• Mow your lawn often to keep it in good shape, avoiding leaving tall grasses behind.
• Aerate if needed from time to time due to soil compaction caused by rainwater accumulation. 
• Use lawn care products that keep lawns protected from lawn pests and diseases.
• Avoid watering lawns at night, as it increases the humidity level in grass plants, which is perfect for armyworms to breed.

Kueker’s Nursery and Landscaping Helps You to Get Rid of Armyworms

At Kueker’s Nursery and Landscaping, we offer lawn care services that help you get rid of armyworms. We are experts in lawn care, and we have the knowledge required to help you take care of your lawn before they get any damage. Don’t hesitate and call us today.