HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Having armyworms in your lawn is nothing new but the outbreak we're seeing this year may be one of the worst Huntsville has seen according to Jeff Bennett, owner of Bennett Nurseries in Huntsville.
"Your grass may be brown as if it's drying up, that is definitely a sign that it could in fact be the armyworm," said Bennett.
Maybe your grass hasn't turned brown yet, or you want to catch them before it does, how do you know if your yard is full of armyworms?
Q: How can you find out if you have armyworms?
A: "Dawn or any type of soapy water is an irritant to the worms. And if you just don't know if you have them, I mean, one way to do it is to dig around at the base of your lawn. They're usually not buried deep in the soil, they're at the base and if you can't see them down there, then you can mix up some soapy water and pour it in one location, give it a little bit of time but if they're there, they're going to crawl up to get out of that water and then you know you can get a little more serious with the other control," said Bennett.
If you do find that your yard has been taken over, don't worry, you don't have to call someone in to take care of the job.
Q: How do you get rid of them?
A: "If you don't have a lawn service, have no fear, you can take care of it yourself. There are typically synthetic controls and organic depends on your level of comfort, there are liquid, and there are granule," said Bennett.
Liquid control kills the worms faster but granule control is easier to spread.
Bennett suggests doing both treatments to get rid of them fast and for good.
"We know exactly how to kill them and kill them fast, but their lifecycle doesn't last that long so you may consider using something to kill them fast. And then something at the same time that will be residual and lasts for another couple of weeks," said Bennett.
Q: Is there hope for your lawn after they are gone?
A: "This isn't the death of all lawns, but it certainly is a hiccup, and it's something that I would look towards controlling as quick as you can so that they [people's lawns] come back sooner rather than later," said Bennett.