The hot climate and drought situations in the Southern U.S. this year produced higher than usual numbers of these moths and the storms have carried them north to us. Adult moths are generally gray in color, with a 1½-inch wingspan and white underwings. The larval stage of Armyworms can cause rapid, significant loss of leaf tissue in turfgrass. They feed primarily on bermudagrass, ryegrass, fescue, and bluegrass, but can also be important pests of agricultural crops.

Infestations sometimes resemble an army as these worms move across large areas of grass. A turf as large as a football field can easily be consumed in the course of 2-3 days. By the time a lawn turns brown, the worm-like larvae have already been camped out there for three weeks to a month. They eventually become moths -- a single female can lay as many as 1,500 eggs and destroy another lawn quickly.

How to Spot Armyworms

• Large areas of your lawn become discolored.
• The presence of a lot of birds on your lawn may be sign of Armyworms since they are an excellent food source for birds.
• You notice these brown worm-like larvae on your lawns or sidewalks.

The image below shows Armyworms trying to scurry away and escape to the sidewalk when the lawn was treated.

Recent storms have carried Armyworms, a grass-destroying pest, from the South to our region. Almstead lawn care technicians have already found them on several properties we service. This caterpillar-looking worm is not typically an insect we usually encounter in the Northeast — but they can be very destructive to our lawns in a very short period of time.

Armyworms are aptly named for the military-like method by which thousands of these worms quickly munch their way through lush lawns — leaving them brown and devoid of grass in as little as a single day (see image below by David J. Shetlar, professor emeritus of entomology, College of Ohio).