Army Worm Caterpillars Threaten Golf Courses, Lawns

Army Worm Caterpillars Threaten Golf Courses, Lawns

An advisory from Michigan State University warns that army worm caterpillars are at war with your grass.

The army worms (Spodoptera frugiperda) typically are a pest in the Southern US and do not survive Michigan winters. Outbreaks here are the result of moths flying north in the spring and summer.

This year, there apparently was a lot of migration.

Evidence of infestation can be seen in brown and scalped areas of grass. The worms will eat their way down to the grass’ base. The caterpillars can be seen upon inspection.

The solution: apply an insecticide with bifenthrin, sumithrin, deltamethrin, cyfluthrin or another synthetic pyrethroid. 

MSU entomology professor David Smitley writes:

Fall armyworm caterpillars are appearing in large numbers in field crops, pastures and sometimes in lawns, athletic fields or golf courses. In some cases, the caterpillars are eating grass plants down to the base. This type of scalping can damage to lawns and fairways, particularly if lawns are sunny and dry. Grass in moist soils may recover from the scalping injury.

If you see some brown or scalped areas of your lawn or fairway, look closely for the armyworm caterpillars. When damage is obvious, you will see hundreds of caterpillars. More damage can be prevented by applying a pyrethroid insecticide labeled for use on turfgrass with one of the following active ingredients: bifenthrin, cypermethrin, sumithrin, deltamethrin, cyfluthrin or another synthetic pyrethroid. Sevin Insect Killer no longer has carbaryl as the active ingredient. It now contains cypermethrin, which should work well. For all of these, use the label rate and wait until the spray is dry before allowing use of the treated turfgrass

For those that would like a safe insecticide that does not harm beneficial insects including pollinators and predators, Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) will work on the small caterpillars but it may not work well when they are more than 0.5 inches long. Also, it only lasts one or two days after it is sprayed, so caterpillars could move back into a treated area from surrounding areas.

An insecticide treatment is not recommended unless some turf damage is observed. However, because of the large scale of the outbreak, which includes most of Michigan, it would be wise to check high value, managed turfgrass sites sometime in the next few days, and be prepared to spray hotspots.

Fall army worm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is mostly a pest in the southern United States, rarely reaching Michigan in large enough numbers to become a problem. It does not survive the winter in midwestern states, so infestation depends on moths flying north each spring and summer. This is an unusual year, with heavy infestations appearing in most midwestern states.