Armyworms Plaguing Muskingum County Grass, Clifton Martin Shares When This Shall Pass

DOWNTOWN ZANESVILLE, Ohio- You may not realize it but Muskingum County is currently under attack and from a foe who is oh so slow and doesn’t let the grass grow.   

We’re talking about armyworms, which as scary as they sound, are really only dangerous to crop growers and a nuisance to the lawns of homeowners. The problem isn’t that they’re invading persay. Just that they came unusually early this year allowing for an armyworm season unseen in recent memory. 

“I’ve been told that in some places this is the worst they’ve seen it in 30 years. I’ve had folks around here in Muskingum County tell me they haven’t seen this since they were kids all on their farm, and that would’ve been back in the 1960s or so. Several many decades ago,” Clifton Martin, extension educator for the OSU Agriculture and Natural Resources stated.

Typically adult armyworm moths will be swept north by tropical systems during the peak of hurricane season in September and begin ravaging the land with only a short window before the first autumn frosts kill them off. Because hurricane seasons are becoming increasingly active earlier in the season -especially this one, adult armyworm moths were able to hitch a ride on tropical cyclones like Fred and Ida which brought them to the Buckeye State earlier in the summer than usual. With an earlier arrival they have been given a headstart on helping themselves to an all you can eat grass buffett.  

“They eat the vegetative growth of the grass blade and it actually leaves the growing part of the grass intact so that’s why lawns can recover because the roots are safe. And as long as the weather is suitable the crown -which is the growing point- will survive,” Martin said.

While not a death sentence for any lawn or farm, the conditions this year have allowed one of the worst armyworm infestations as of recent. Some remedies for an armyworm infestation include pouring a bucket of water with a little bit of soap over the patch and that will flush the worms out, and a standard insecticide treatment. The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a warm start to the fall for the Midwest, and so our first freeze may happen later than usual. But once it does, a good ole fashioned freeze will tell the worms their time up north has run out for the year.