Are you seeing these Armyworms in your yard and sidewalks? So are many in Deer Creek and Edmond
EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — If you've braved the heat by going outside on your back porch or lawn, maybe you've noticed armyworms. Local lawn companies said they're getting bombarded with calls about them.
They're only about an inch long, or less, marching through your yard or creeping along the concrete. You can tell what they are by their coloring, black and green.
"They're Armyworms!" said Alex Daviee.
Before rising through the ranks to migratory moths, Armyworms go full battle mode on fescue or Bermuda grass.
"Then they start going to town on your yard. They just eat it up," said Daviee.
Daviee is the owner of Nature's Truth Fertilization and Weed Control.
He said they see an infestation every four years. This week, they first noticed the invasion in Deer Creek. Now, their phones won't stop ringing.
"We've gotten maybe 400 in, I don't know, 36 to 72 hours," said Daivee. "They're just saying, what are all these worms in my yard?"
That's when they immediately bought up as much product as possible to take out the army of worms.
Julia Laughlin, a horticulturist with OSU Extension, said they've also been fielding a lot of questions. Why so many? Why Now? She said that's the strange part.
"It's usually dry years, which is why this is kind of different because it's a wet year," said Laughlin. "If everything goes right, their egg laying period and everything, we have kind of an explosion of them in the late summer or early Fall."
Laughlin said you may notice some damage to your lawn this month, but it's too early to tell if it's a true infestation. We should know by August. By then, maybe natural predators will take care of the problem.
"They're probably just going to get knocked out normally," said Laughlin.
"Well, they're here. Time to get ready for them," said Daviee.
For now, Daviee's troops are busy treating up to 100 lawns a day.
"We've placed our armies up here in Deer Creek trying to stay ahead of the curve," said Daviee.
Laughlin says you can also use organic methods to get rid of the armyworms.
To see if you have armyworms in your yard, put a tablespoon of Lemon Joy Dish Soap in a gallon of water, pour it over your lawn, and see if the armyworms come to the surface.