BLACKSBURG, Va. – In the Commonwealth, gardeners and community members are coming across a creepy crawler now more than ever thanks to the Atlantic storm season.
According to Virginia Tech, storms in the Atlantic have pushed fall armyworms, also known as Spodoptera frugiperda, north into Virginia. Virginia Tech entomology professor, Tom Kuhar, said this is the worst season he’s ever seen for fall armyworms in his 20 years at the university.
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Fall armyworms, which are the larvae of tropical moths native to warm climates of the western hemisphere, are known to be quite destructive when in large numbers. With female fall armyworm moths laying up to 1,500 eggs in their 31-day lifetime, the species can eat all of the grass in their path, destroying a grass lawn in the process.
“This year, the moths arrived as early as we might see them,” said Kuhar, who began to get reports of fall armyworm outbreaks in Richmond during the last week of August. These worms were likely brought to Virginia on storm fronts in mid-August.
Experts say you can tell the destructive pest is present if bird-feeding activity increases.
If you find that fall armyworms have severely damaged your grass, Virginia Tech recommends that you replace your grass with fall seeding or sodding.
