Sod farmers, athletic field managers, and landscapers in the southern United States are used to seeing their fair share of Fall armyworms, but this year seems different. According to several entomologists at various universities, the outbreak and damage this year is much more widespread than usual. Fall armyworms have made it much farther north this year into Ohio, Michigan, the northeast U.S., and as their name suggest the damage is done quickly. Be sure to be on the lookout for brown grass with defoliated leaf blades, and if possible treat quickly to avoid the worst damage. Warm-season grasses typically recover due to their stoloniferous and rhizomatous growth habits, but cool-season grasses can often be more susceptible to irreversible injury. Click the link below to learn more about this cumbersome pest, how to identify injury, and how to treat it.
