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General Pest Control – Lawn Armyworm (Lawn Grub)

By Chris Nelson

Business Development Manager

Accurate Pest Management

The above photo could just about be any home on the Sunshine Coast at present.

With the ideal weather conditions this year the Lawn Armyworm or Lawn Grub has literally exploded all over the Coast and South East Queensland.

 

I have never experienced this phenomenon before, but like most of us Sunshine Coast resident’s, brown patches started to appear in my lawn.  At first I thought the dog was killing off the grass with her so called potent urine, but alas more brown patches appeared and then I noticed furry like marks on the pergola ceiling and the flyscreens!

Turns out I have Lawn Armyworm or Lawn Grub!

So what is this lawn-savaging destroyer of people’s back yards?

This is a bit like the egg before the chicken or is that the chicken before the egg!

The Lawn Armyworm
(Spodoptera Mauritia)

Lawn Armyworm (Lawn Grub) is a destructive pest when in the larval stage. The larvae are a soft-bodied caterpillar with a dark coloured body up to 45 mm long, they generally have a unique white and yellow-striped pattern along the length of the back making them relatively easy to identify. When feeding the larvae often appear in congregations, clumping around stems and foliage of the turf plant. 

Once mature, the caterpillar metamorphoses into a pale brown moth with a wingspan to 40 mm & possesses a distinct white spot in the centre of the forewing.

Life Cycle

The female Lawn Armyworm moth can lay more than 1000 eggs, sporadically in clusters within 4 to 10 days, depending on temperature. The newly hatched armyworms stay together feeding on the same plant until it is devoured. 
The larvae are usually most active in the evening or at night, except in overcast weather conditions.  During the day they hide under the safety of the lower grass leaves. An armyworm will undergo 6 to 9 instar stages before it is fully developed. This will take 21-35 days and at a mature instar stage the insect will reach 3-4 cm in length. When fully fed, the armyworm will work its way into the soil where it pupates. 10-14 days later the moths emerge. There could be 2 or 3 generations of armyworm during the summer and autumn period.

If you need or want any advise and would like to book in a Lawn Armyworm (Lawn Grub) treatment or General Pest Control, please call Accurate Pest Management on
1300 787 415 or go to our website www.accurate-pest.com.au