They’re not just crawling across your lawn — they’re on a mission. These lawn-destroying caterpillars move like a tiny, hungry army, munching on everything in their path: grass, plants, even the weeds.
Meet the armyworm, so named because they roll deep in Texas this fall, launching an all-out assault on lawns across North and Central Texas, the The Dallas Morning News reports. Social media is blowing up with photos of what used to be green lawns.
Sonja Swiger, an entomologist with Texas A&M AgriLife, said the armyworms have taken full advantage of the rainy summer and lush buffet of greenery.
“They have a very large palate and can pretty much eat anything,” Swiger said.
The worms come in shades of brown, gray, green (even a daring yellow-green combo), and are identified by the upside-down “Y” on their heads. They have four life stages: egg, caterpillar (a.k.a. the snack attack phase), pupa, and adult moth (the final form before becoming parents to a thousand more).
Armyworms can turn a football field from game-ready to “Who let the goats out?” in two to three days. Dustin Sykes, who runs Sykes Turf Management in North Texas, is getting 200 calls a week with stories of armyworm destruction. One woman’s 16-acre lawn became a no-grass zone in just 48 hours.
“You can actually see the grass moving,” said Sykes. “I’ve seen five acres wiped out overnight.”
To fight back, experts recommend checking for them in the morning or evening. If you spot two to three per square foot, it’s time to bring out the big guns: insecticide.
The good news? These tiny troops can’t handle the cold. So, come November’s first freeze, they’ll pack up and move out.
