Army Worm
Army worms are attracted from miles away to fresh lawn and fresh lawn shoots,
either recently acquired or recently fertilised.
(Just like throwing a fresh bale of hay in a drought ridden paddock)
Watch out for damaged / brown patches in your lawn
The moths are widespread in suburban areas as they are attracted to lights.
Use one of the following preventatives:
'Yates Grub Kill And Protect For Lawns'
‘Richgro Lawn Beetle And Grub Killa’
‘Scotts Lawn Builder + Grub and Insect Control’ only when fertilising
*Acelepryn & Bifenthrin are used to deter pests
While on the farm all turf is regularly treated for grub prevention.
Testing for Army Worms in your lawn
Check your exterior walls for moth egg casings.
Go out onto the lawn at night time and using a torch, get down low to the lawn and carefully run the torch over it looking for caterpillars feeding or crossing over it. Begin the search at the damaged area of turf, and spread outwards from there.
Leave the outside light on at night time for a few hours. Go outside every so often and check for moths flying around the light. If there is a multitude of moths, this may be a sign of possible lawn caterpillars present.
Water an area on your lawn and cover with a plastic bag (or similar) in the late afternoon. Come back during the night and check.
Mix up a bucket of soapy water with dishwashing detergent and pour over a small area of the lawn. The area is then monitored over the next 10 minutes to check for caterpillars coming to the surface.
About Army Worms
Army worms are commonly referred to as lawn grubs. This caterpillar of the Spodoptera Mauritia moth is most prevalent throughout the warmer months of the year (which Darwin has a lot of), and repeat infestations can occur.
The damage caused by Army Worms is most obvious by the speed at which damage occurs, as the caterpillars form very large numbers and behave as a colony to eat away at the green leaf of lawns.
Army Worms can vary in colour from green to brown to black, they can reach a maximum length of about 4 cm, and will become plump as they feed and mature.
These large numbers are possible due to the moth parent being able to lay up to 500 eggs in a single laying, and then repeat the same process the following night. This is where this lawn grub gets its name, it forms a large army, lays devastation to an area, and then will quickly move onto the next lawn once it has laid waste to yours.
Army Worms can also attack many other types of plants and vegetables, and the key to effective treatment is to identify and kill them as early as possible.
How to kill Army Worms
Once Army Worms are treated with a lawn insecticide which is freely available for purchase from garden stores, (eg. Bunnings) and nurseries.
The insecticide is applied to the lawn just before dusk, before the grubs are about to feed. Too early in the day and product is not as effective by the time they reach it that night.
Ensure to allow yourself enough time to finish the entire lawn treatment before night time. The poison is then ingested by the Army worms as they are feeding on the lawn.
If the product requires watering into your lawn then be careful not to over water, this will simply wash the poison away, and it will not be ingested by the caterpillars.
Repairing damage from Army Worms
Army worms will not generally kill a lawn by its feeding, but it will become heavily damaged, which if left untreated could cause patches of lawn to die. The only real thing to do at this time is to follow good practices, apply a quality fertiliser to the lawn and ensure it is getting adequate water. This will allow the lawn to best repair itself.
There is no need to either over-water, or apply excess fertiliser, doing either will not aid the lawn in repair, it may even cause further damage. Always apply fertilisers at manufacturer’s recommendations.
Please visit My Home Turf for loads of information on any care your lawn will ever need