Insects

What Is Pasture Mealybug, and Where Is It Located?

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 23:02:32 GMT

The pasture mealybug is a serious pest of forage grasses that causes “pasture dieback,” leaving expanding patches of yellowing, weakened and ultimately dead turf.

This invasive species, never before reported in North America, has been confirmed in multiple southern Texas counties since mid-April and is already causing significant damage to pasture acreage across the Lone Star State.

These fields show grass patches becoming brown or necrotic, or patches that are completely dead. There have been extreme cases where entire fields show symptoms of grass desiccation.

According to Texas A&M Agrilife Extension , pasture mealybug (Heliococcus summervillei) is an introduced pest and a newly recorded species in the U.S.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller issued an urgent alert Dec. 10 to producers across the state to inspect their pastures.

Don’t let pasture dieback take your forage by surprise; know the signs of the pasture mealybug.

The invasive pest was confirmed in nearly two dozen Texas counties. It is tied to a condition called “pasture dieback,” which causes patches of grass to yellow, redden and die.… pic.twitter.com/3CMuxSNSll
— Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (@txextension) October 9, 2025

The release says the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is working closely with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to coordinate a rapid response and protect Texas producers.

First described in Australia in 1928, it has devastated millions of acres of grazing land there and has since spread globally, causing severe financial impacts. Its rapid reproduction, hidden soil-level feeding and broad host range make it a significant threat to pasture health and livestock operations.

Shown is an adult female pasture mealybug surrounded by nymphs.

(Photo: Stephen Biles)

“This is a completely new pest to our continent, and Texas is once again on the front lines,” Miller says. “If the pasture mealybug spreads across Texas grazing lands like it has in eastern Australia, it could cost Texas agriculture dearly in lost productivity and reduced livestock capacity. TDA is working hand in hand with federal and university partners to respond swiftly and protect our producers from this unprecedented threat.”

The estimated impact area currently includes 20 counties, including: Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy, Refugio, Calhoun, Victoria, Goliad, Dewitt, Lavaca, Fayette, Jackson, Matagorda, Brazoria, Galveston, Wharton, Colorado, Austin, Washington, Burleson, Brazos and Robertson. AgriLife entomologists have submitted a formal Pest Incident Worksheet documenting significant damage to pastures and hayfields in Victoria County.

Research trials are underway to determine the best integrated pest management options. Currently, there is no known effective labeled insecticide for pasture mealybug.

Affected plants include: Bermudagrass, Bahia grass, Johnsongrass, hay grazer (sorghum–sudangrass), St. Augustine grass, various bluestem species, and other tropical or subtropical grasses. Damage can occur in leaves, stems, and roots.

Symptoms:

Yellowing and discoloration of leaves within a week of infestation.
Purpling or reddening of foliage.
Stunted growth and drought stress despite rainfall.
Poorly developed root systems.
Dieback starting at leaf tips and progressing downward.
Premature aging, making plants more vulnerable to pathogens.

Inspection tips:

Scout regularly for mealybugs on grass leaves, stems, soil surface, leaf litter and under cow patties.
Focus on unmanaged areas such as fence lines, ungrazed patches, and roadsides.
Look for fluffy, white, waxy, or “fuzzy” insects on blades and stems.
If plants appear unhealthy and insects match this description, investigate further.

“Early identification is critical, and we need every producer’s eyes on the ground,” Miller adds. “We are working diligently with our federal and state partners to determine how to best combat this novel threat and stop it in its tracks.”

If you observe suspicious symptoms or insects matching the descriptions above, contact TDA at 1-800-TELL-TDA immediately.

For more about pasture mealybug, download the factsheet .

Crickets Galore! Why the Mass Accumulation Isn't That Weird After All

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:58:19 GMT

If you’re seeing more crickets than normal this year, don’t worry. Experts say cricket swarms — thousands of field crickets assembling in one location — may be annoying, but they pass with time.

Wizzie Brown, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service integrated pest management specialist, says the annual phenomenon can be startling, but it’s nothing to fear and only temporary.

“These swarms happen every late summer and fall to some degree,” she said in a release . “The crickets don’t sting or bite, so they’re not doing anything other than being annoying, especially if a male gets in your house and is chirping to attract females.”

Cricket Coincidence
When and where cricket swarms pop up are random, Brown adds. One year you may see incredibly high cricket numbers and the next two years you don’t. The cause of these mass accumulations of field crickets isn’t so random, however.

The cricket cycle is spurred on by cool fronts, because crickets don’t like heat. They hatch in early spring, reach adulthood in three months and, by the heat of summer, are looking for places to stay cool, she explains.

They forage on dead insects and vegetation at night and keep a relatively low profile during the heat of the day. Cool fronts in the waning weeks of summer and early fall change that, Brown says.

They also like to swarm to the light. Buildings with bright, dusk-to-dawn lighting attract them.

“You’ll notice they tend to congregate around the front doors of businesses — at gas stations, car dealerships and other businesses and locations that have highly luminous lighting that is on all night,” Brown says. “If you’ve noticed crickets around your house, it’s probably in relation to lighting.”

Seasonal Swarms
If the numbers of crickets seem outlandish, Brown notes there can be multiple generations of crickets in a year, especially in warmer regions. Warm winters can also contribute to the number of cricket generations per year.

Like most insects, field crickets’ numbers rise, peak and fall seasonally. The window for crickets to gather in mass typically lasts four to six weeks before their numbers begin to decline, she says.

Turning off unnecessary lights can reduce the chance crickets will swarm around your home or business. There are also specialty bulbs that are less attractive to insects.

“Attracting crickets can lead to them getting inside structures and homes, especially with poor sealing around doors and windows,” Brown says. “A bunch of dead crickets can be a stinky mess, so it’s smart to leave the lights off as much as possible as that summer-to-fall transition happens.”

West Nile Virus Activity Spikes to 20-Year High in the Midwest

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:48:29 GMT

Scouting cornfields now might net you a different problem than the insects you might have anticipated encountering. An Iowa State University researcher says there are “very high levels” of West Nile virus (WNV) trending in Iowa and other Midwestern states currently.

“This week had the highest observed WNV activity at this point in the summer observed in over 20 years. This trend is of serious concern for the next eight weeks when WNV transmission risks are the highest,” writes Erin Hodgson , ISU Extension entomologist specialist.

To date in 2025, there have been 219 cases of WNV reported in 29 states. In 2024, there was a total of 1,466 cases of WNV reported in the U.S., according to Vector Disease Control International.

In Iowa, data is generated from ongoing mosquito surveillance efforts coordinated by Ryan Smith, ISU associate professor and entomologist. Smith has implemented an interdisciplinary approach to examine mosquito immunity and mosquito-borne disease transmission.

Leading Cause Of Mosquito-Borne Disease
West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a Culex mosquito, commonly called a house mosquito. It typically picks up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States.

In general, people do not spread the infection.

There are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat West Nile in people. Fortunately, most people infected with the virus do not feel sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 20% of people who contract the disease will experience mild symptoms like fever, headache, and body aches.

In a small percentage of cases, the virus can cause serious neuroinvasive disease issues, such as encephalitis or meningitis, which can be severe and even fatal, the CDC reports.

People older than 60 and those with weakened immune systems are at highest risk for severe illness.

The CDC offers an interactive site where you can view and track the total number of human infections of WNV reported on a county-by-county basis. See current results in your county here .

Implement The Three Rs
To prevent mosquito bites, the CDC encourages people to practice the ‘Three Rs’:

REDUCE - make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.

REPEL - when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply an EPA-registered insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, IR 3535, para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.

REPORT – report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. Your local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.

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New World Screwworm: Latest Update from USDA-APHIS

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 14:33:58 GMT

On Nov. 25, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) held a meeting to discuss the U.S. response to the news of a single case of New World Screwworm (NWS) found in a cow in Chiapas, Mexico. U.S. and Mexican officials are working closely together, but the border has been temporarily closed to live cattle imports.

“Our priority is to ensure there is no risk to our domestic industry, followed by the goal of reopening the border as soon as possible,” says Dr. Michael Watson, administrator of USDA’s APHIS.

In September, work had already begun on protocols in the event NWS was found in Mexico. Those protocols have been reviewed with Mexico for their understanding and will be made public once finalized.

Points of Protocol
Dr. Burke Healey, senior leader for policy and operations for APHIS, shared protocol will likely include pre-export inspections by Mexican veterinarians overseen by SENASICA, the equivalent to APHIS, before allowing cattle imports to resume. The inspections will make sure:

appropriate logs accompany animals coming into and leaving the facility
cattle are treated with ivermectin
there’s a seven-day quarantine period

Upon passing inspection, cattle will again be inspected by U.S. officials, along with additional inspections for tuberculosis and ticks. The cattle will be dipped, and then presented to cross the border. Healey says federal inspection sites will focus on ports in Chihuahua and Sonora.

“Those five ports are on the Mexican side, so those inspections and all of that protocol are taking place in Mexico and not on U.S. soil,” he explains.

The ports in Texas will be considered for reopening once the protocol details have been finalized and are working as expected, he adds.

Cristobal Zepeda, regional manager for North America for APHIS, says U.S. and Mexican officials maintain a close working relationship and that communication is key in this situation. Mexico had previously instituted three federal inspection points at strategic locations where cattle come into the country near the border with Guatemala and other areas.

“All animals are downloaded and inspected for wounds visually and through detector dogs,” Zepeda says. “They’re sprayed with an insecticide and receive ivermectin. The system works. That’s how it was picked up.”

Mexico has not completed its investigation but acknowledges the infested cow might have been imported from Guatemala.

While the timeline for reopening trade is tentatively estimated to be at least three weeks, it quite possibly could extend into January as Mexico typically closes ports for two weeks during Christmas and New Year’s, Healey says.

Control the Spread
The discussion also covered the potential impact on the livestock industry, which could be in the billions if NWS reaches the U.S., and the importance of sterile fly production.

The U.S. imports 1 million to 1.1 million cattle from Mexico annually. All Mexican cattle are required to have a Mexican origin ear tag and documentation of the herd of origin, TB test of that herd of origin and a TB test of the specific animals being presented for export. These requirements will remain in place.

Sterile flies from a Panama facility will be sent to Mexico to help control the spread of NWS further south and into Central America. Capacity from that facility is around 95 million per week. Mexico is also looking at retrofitting fruit fly plants to produce about 60 million sterile files a week.

The APHIS website will provide NWS updates .

Be On the Lookout
Adult screwworm flies are about the size of a common housefly (or slightly larger). They have orange eyes, a metallic blue or green body, and three dark stripes along their backs.

If you see mammals and birds with the following signs, report them to your state veterinarian:

Irritated behavior
Head shaking
Smell of decay
Evidence of fly strike
Presence of fly larvae (maggots) in wounds

Your next read: Lidocaine Infused Bands Minimize Castration Discomfort for Young Calves

APHIS Increases Import Restrictions on Animal Products from Mexico on Confirmed Case of New World Screwworm

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 00:24:54 GMT

On Nov. 22, Mexico’s Chief Veterinary Officer informed USDA about a confirmed case of New World screwworm (NWS) in Chiapas, near the Guatemala border. These fly larvae infest warm-blooded animals, including humans, causing severe infections.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has heightened import restrictions on animal products from Mexico and intensified efforts in Central America to contain the pest’s spread. APHIS is collaborating with regional partners, releasing sterile flies and maintaining vigilance along the southern U.S. border.

Producers are urged to inspect livestock and pets for signs of infection, such as wounds or larvae, and report suspected cases promptly. Human infections, though rare, require immediate medical attention.

“Although USDA eradicated NWS from the United States in 1966 using sterile insect technique, there is a constant risk of re-introduction into the United States,” APHIS stated on the agency’s website .

Market Impact:

This will primarily impact feeder cattle imports from Mexico, and feeder cattle prices popped on the news. Mexico ships around 100,000 head a month to the U.S. The trade is seasonable, and we are on the backside of the Fall season. The restrictions are estimated to be in force for at least a month, sources note.

One trade source said, “Feeder cattle supply in the January inventory could show a 1.2 million head reduction. Anything to shorten Mexico supplies is important.”

USDA’s Preventive Measures

APHIS has taken several steps to protect U.S. livestock and wildlife from the New World Screwworm:

• Enhanced import restrictions: Stricter controls have been placed on animal products entering the U.S. from Mexico.
• Increased surveillance: APHIS is likely to have intensified monitoring at border crossings and ports of entry.
• Collaboration with Mexican authorities: USDA is working closely with Mexican officials to address the situation at its source.

Impact on Trade and Travel

The detection of New World Screwworm in Mexico and the subsequent USDA actions may have significant implications:

• Trade disruptions: Importers of Mexican animal products may face delays or restrictions.
• Travel advisories: Travelers returning from Mexico might encounter additional screening measures for pets or animal-derived goods.

Background:

New World Screwworm is a serious veterinary pest that can cause severe damage to livestock and wildlife populations. Its detection in Mexico represents a potential threat to animal health in the region, necessitating swift and coordinated action from agricultural authorities on both sides of the border.

USDA’s proactive approach underscores the importance of international cooperation in preventing the spread of agricultural pests and diseases. As the situation develops, further updates from APHIS and other USDA agencies are expected to guide stakeholders and the public on necessary precautions and compliance with new regulations.

Pests Proved Costly in 2021 with Grasshoppers and Fall Armyworms Wiping Out Entire Fields Across U.S.

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 20:05:54 GMT

As drought plagued the West and Plains in 2021, grasshoppers took over many pastures and crops, which demolished grasses and hayfields.

“It’s so widespread, that I’m afraid it’s going to be pretty devastating to the industry,” southeast Oregon rancher Bob Skinner told U.S. Farm Report this past summer.

Conditions were so dire, Skinner had to pull his cattle off of federal BLM land a month and a half early, which was a hard decision considering the land is vital for grazing and feed.

“There’s no pasture anywhere, period, around here,” said Skinner. “It doesn’t matter where you go, or how much you pay for it. You can’t find pasture. So, you couple that with the drought and the grasshoppers, the lack of hay, I just don’t see anything good coming out of this thing.”

Grasshoppers Demolished Hay

A swarm of grasshoppers was a common scene across parts of Oregon, Montana and North Dakota this past year.

AgDay and U.S. Farm Report affiliate KFYR spoke about the problem with Trevor Steeke, a rancher in North Dakota. As Steeke chronicled the grasshopper damage, he said it was the first time he had seen something that extreme in his 25 years of ranching.

“They’re eating it down to nothing,” Steeke told KFYR. “You can see my 300 acres of barley, all you can see is they’ve eaten it to the ground. There’s nothing left.”

In a normal year, Steeke would get 1,500 to 3,000 bales from a 1,000-acre field. This year, he baled 53.

“It’s going to be a tough year, a lot of tough decisions are going to have to be made,” said Steeke.

A First for Fall Armyworms

In the South, farmers and ranchers battled a different type of pest.

“This fall, the armyworm outbreak is the worst I’ve seen in my career,” said Gus Lorenz, Extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas system Division of Agriculture.

What are other “Unspoken Truth About Pests”? The Farm Journal team digs into more details here.

The fall armyworm outbreak in Arkansas was one for the record books, as Arkansas farmers and entomologists worked to battle pests, 2021 was the “perfect storm” in the worst way.

“It’s from one end to the state to the other. All four directions. It’s bad everywhere,” said Lorenz in early summer. “They don’t call it fall armyworm for nothing. It usually strikes us late but this year, it started early. I’ve never seen so many fall armyworms. Anywhere you go there, everybody’s got fall armyworms.”

“In soybeans, yield losses from it vary,” said Ben Thrash, Extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture system. “A lot of times on late-planted stuff, it can range up to about 30% to 35% yield loss from defoliation on those small soybeans. Now you get later in the growing season in reproductive soybeans, and it can be a lot higher than even that.”

Ohio Farmers Faced with Unusual Battle

In early summer, Lorenz warned that the Midwest could face a similar outbreak, and that’s exactly what some areas saw. The infestation of fall armyworms was something farmers and entomologists in northern Ohio faced for the first time in their careers.

“We’ve never seen the fall armyworm really much at all before here in the fall,” Curtis Young, an entomologist and Ohio State University agricultural Extension educator for Van Wert County, Ohio, told U.S. Farm Report in early fall. “That’s what’s throwing everybody kind of for a loop.”

Since the area had never faced an armyworm problem, it was a pest they didn’t know to scout until it was too late.

“This is a 20-acre field, and they took it out in eight to 10 hours,” said Deshler, Ohio, farmer Nick Elchinger.

The Elchingers scouted an alfalfa field on Friday and saw no feeding. By Sunday, they said the entire field was gone.

“The armyworms just started along the edges of the field and then started to work their way in. And then this field, in particular, they started along the backside, and just within a matter of eight to 10 hours, they made their way across this whole field and wiped it out,” he said.

Young says by the time producers knew they had a problem on their hands, the caterpillars were too big for insecticides to effectively control.

“Suddenly, the caterpillars got large enough that they were stripping the foliage off of all kinds of plants in 24 to 48 hours,” said Young.

2021 was full of pest challenges as grasshoppers and armyworms robbed producers of crops and hay. It proved to be an unusual and costly year for pests. Now, producers are working to be prepared for pest issues in 2022.

Grasshoppers Finish off North Dakota Crops, Pastures Already Plagued by Drought, Farmers Say

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 21:51:12 GMT

Original story by KFYR television in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Heat and drought aren’t the only issues farmers in the drought-stricken North and West are dealing with. Grasshoppers are also destroying pasture grass and crops.

Jody Kerzman of AgDay affiliate KFYR in North Dakota spoke to Rhame, North Dakota producer Trevor Steeke, who has been chronicling the drought and now the grasshopper damage.

“In my 25 years of farming and ranching I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Steeke. “They’re eating it down to nothing. You can see my 300 acres of barley, all you can see is they’ve eaten it to the ground. There’s nothing left.”

In a normal year, Steeke would get 1500-3000 bales on a thousand acre field. This year, he got 53.

“It’s going to be a tough year, a lot of tough decisions are going to have to be made,” he adds.

He’s already cut his sheep herd from 150 to 38, as everything he grows, he uses for feed for his sheep, cattle and goats.

Across the border, near Wibaux, Montana, Syndi Miske’s photos and videos tell much the same story.
She says hoppers destroyed their barley. Their crop insurance adjuster approved grazing portions of their barley fields, but she’s still worried about the damage these insects could cause.

“It’s one thing on top of another this year, says Max Robison, a Bowman County Extension Agent who says the grasshoppers are the worst in the Rhame area, near Steeke’s ranch, but they’re on the move.

“They’re moving east and most of the guys that have still have some green grass or anything that’s tall enough they’re seeing a lot of small grasshoppers right now. I’ve been seeing more and more large ones from east so I think they’re just going to keep moving that way and take out whatever they can,” adds Robison.

He says the best thing producers can do, is keep a watchful eye out for the insects, and consider spraying to keep the populations down.

“It’s just it’s just historically one of the worst things that we’ve ever been through,” says Steeke.

Meanwhile, producers like Steeke are holding out hope that rain might still come.

“You have to keep your head up and keep moving forward,” he says.

As Southern Farmers Fight Fall Armyworm Damage, EPA Grants Insecticide Relief in Rice

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 14:51:09 GMT

As grasshoppers invade drought-stricken fields in North Dakota and Montana, in the South, heavy rains and flooding in late May and early June are causing a different issue, an army of fall armyworms that are demolishing crops.

“I’ve been looking at crops and doing this bug thing for well over 40 years, and I can tell you right now that this fall, armyworm outbreak is the worst I’ve seen in my career,” says Gus Lorenz, Extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture .

Fall armyworms are taking over fields, hitting everything from soybeans to rice. But until this week, growers in the nation’s leading rice-producing state only had one insecticide approved for use on fall armyworms in rice - pyrethroid - and Lorenz says they are growing resistant to it.

“Insecticides we use labeled in rice -the pyrethroids - if you’re only getting 50% control or less that’s still not killing enough worms to get the population under control, and that’s what’s needed to stop your defoliation out there,” says Ben Thrash, Extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

EPA grants crisis exemption to help #Arkansas #rice farmers fight #armyworm scourge.https://t.co/mYa9yHgV5X pic.twitter.com/aSsq2ucfnh
— UA System Div of Ag (@AginArk) July 28, 2021

That’s why University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture filed documentation with EPA on July 23 to obtain a Section 18 exemption to use Intrepid on rice. Not even a week later, EPA granted a crisis exemption , allowing Arkansas farmers to use Intrepid on their rice fields. The crisis exemption allowed farmers in the state to use Intrepid beginning July 28.

“These larvae can cause a lot of damage because there’s so many of them,” says Lorenz. “It’s not uncommon for us to go out and make just one sweep through rice or soybeans and have 20 or 30 armyworms. And with those kind of numbers, it can cause a lot of damage in a short amount of time.”

Battling Fall Armyworms Across the South

Entomologists say the outbreak has already cost growers millions of dollars in losses, not just in Arkansas, but across the South.

According to the latest Midsouth AgFax newsletter , fall armyworms are moving north with reports coming in from Louisiana to Tennessee. And even in crops where other insecticides are approved for use, insecticides are sometimes hard to find. And now, entomologists in other states are also asking EPA for emergency approval to use Intrepid on rice.

“My research counterpart, Dr. Tyler Towels, and I have submitted our Section 18 request for using Intrepid in rice for fall armyworm control to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. We are just waiting on a decision from the regulators. Hopefully we will hear something within the next week,” says Sebe Brown, Louisiana Extension field crops entomologist:

As entomologists are discovering, the later-planted crops are more at risk for a fall armyworm infestation. And as heavy rains blanked the South late spring, late-planted crops in the South became common this year.

“Insects are more of a concern in a late-planted crop,” says Ty Edwards, Edwards Ag Consulting, LLC, Water Valley, Miss. “It gives pests longer to build in the environment, and the plants are more at risk later in the season. Corn and soybeans are mostly on time, but cotton is the one we’re watching closest. In previous years, we would be looking at cotton at cutout next week (from July 27). There’s very little of that around, and I think we will be managing most cotton fields through the end of August. “

Pasture/Hay Fields at Risk

From Mississippi to Tennessee, farmers are battling armyworms, and it’s often pastures and lawns attracting pest, which is causing widespread damage in areas.

“Like everyone else, we are fighting fall armyworm infestations,” says Scott Stewart, director of West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center, Jackson, Tenn. “I’m expecting them to stick around for a while in pasture grasses, in particular. They love bermudagrass, and they’re even jumping on lawns right now. They are not in every field, but 2021 will be remembered. They have been an issue in our later-planted soybeans most of which are double-cropped after wheat. We’ve seen everything from mild to catastrophic infestations where they caused 100% defoliation of pastures and late-planted soybeans. They are showing up in late-planted milo, corn, sweet sorghum and sorghum sudangrass, really everywhere except cotton so far.”

Mississippi farmers are also watching the pest spread from hay fields to cotton fields, which is another issue in battling the pest this year. If a farmer or producer cuts a hay field or mows down ditches, it often takes away the host plant where the armyworms were feeding.

“We found fall armyworms crawling out of a cut pasture today (July 27) and into several cotton fields,” says Edwards. “The fall armyworms were climbing the stalk and knocking off leaves, squares and small bolls. This was Bollgard II cotton and was treated immediately with Diamond, and the fruit retention looks really good. “

Short on Supplies

Stewart says the issue in his area is finding the right insecticide to apply. Not only is it an issue of what insecticide you can apply on certain crops, but there’s also struggles in finding supplies.

“We’re struggling to choose when and what insecticides to apply for fall armyworm,” he says. “We’re running short of the chemistries we have the most confidence in because so many areas are spraying for them across the Midsouth. Normally the strain we get in pastures and soybeans this time of year is the grass-strain, which is generally pretty easy to control with pyrethroid insecticides, though re-infestations may occur. This year, control has been hit or miss with pyrethroids. We’re trying to avoid running straight pyrethroids, but they are working OK in some cases. “

Edwards says the biggest concern he has is with the soybeans. A combination of insecticides seems to be providing some control, but often times that insect control doesn’t prove to be 100%.

“Usually fall armyworms are associated with grass/Roundup applications, but this year I believe they’re targeting the beans,” says Edwards. “The timelines don’t add up with how long the grass has been dead versus how young the larvae are. I’ve tried about every combination out there. Of course, Prevathon and Besiege have performed the best, but they’re the most expensive option as well. Pyrethroid plus Diamond showed 90% to 95% control today (July 27) over a substantial number of acres treated over the weekend, so I expect that number to get better with time. Seven days from treatment, Pyrethroid plus 3 ounces of Dimilin provided 100% control, but this was applied to three- to five-day old larvae. Pyrethroid alone was giving 50% to 60% control earlier in the season.”

Entomologists say fall armyworm is also hitting earlier than normal. As the name suggests, the pest is typically a fall issue. This year, the infestations are happening quicker and much worse than in previous years.