More: 'Unprecedented' outbreak of armyworms are destroying lawns across the US, often overnight You're kind of leading the state as far as that goes." "The Burlington area specifically has seen what we believe to be some suspected fall armyworm damage. "This is widespread damage across the country," said Adam Thoms, a turfgrass extension specialist for Iowa State, explaining they've been seen from Georgia and Alabama to Ohio and Indiana, as well as Iowa. "They're called armyworms because they're known to come in droves and take out whole swaths of pasture, so it's like a little army of marching caterpillars," said Morgan Hoenig, coordinator of local foods and master gardener for the Des Moines County office of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.Īrmyworms typically are a problem experienced in southern states like Florida, but after a prolific breeding season, the moths that produce them have fanned out, riding storm winds and the jet stream to the Midwest. They're tiny, they're hungry and capable of decimating a lawn in just days.įall armyworms have damaged at least 40 yards in Burlington since late August as eggs laid by army moths have begun to hatch, unleashing a ravenous army of caterpillars an inch or two long.
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