Homeowners fight back against fall armyworms’ march across the city

By Sydney Ferguson

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    WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — A familiar fall foe is back in Wichita and already destroying lawns. Not only are they back, Armyworms are marching and on the move again according to the accounts of homeowners.

It’s been about a month since K-State Research and Extension in Sedgwick County raised the alarms to say the not-so friendly caterpillars had been spotted in large numbers in west Wichita. Now, homeowners on the opposite side of town are reporting their encounters with them and feeling the effects.

Gary Steven lives on a half acre of land in East Wichita and says one of his favorite things about it is caring for his lawn.

“It’s enjoyable, and to be honest with you, it gets rid of my anxieties from work,” said Steven. “It’s my past-time to come out here and work and make sure everything’s green.”

Steven has this reason to fear armyworms, but the fall pest also has the ability to affect his work as a real estate agent.

“When you sell homes, and you pull up to a yard, it’s all ugly. It doesn’t show any effect. It turns buyers off,” said Steven.

So, when he saw patches of brown in what is usually a sea of green while riding his lawn mower last Wednesday, he immediately checked his grass.

“I saw them crawling and then before long, you see the next day that they were already taking over my yard,” said Steven.

He soon learned the same thing was happening to his neighbors — entire yards on his street turning brown overnight.

“It takes your whole yard away. It’s like, all your money you invest in it. Like I said, the more you take care of your yard, the more they like it,” said Steven. “It takes a lot [of money]. And that’s why, when armyworms come and destroy, it’s pretty devastating to have.”

Despite his concern, Steven says his first thought was treatment. Johnson’s Garden Center West says it’s seen more homeowner’s seeking the same thing. Shift lead Katie Fox says as of early last week, they’ve seen the armyworms spread across more of the Wichita area and now Haysville.

“Your first step is getting some sort of treatment out there, whether it’s a liquid application or a granular that needs to be watered in just a little bit. That’s what’s really going to make a difference on your yard,” said Fox.

Fox says the store’s organic liquid option is Spinosad, and it can be applied in various different ways. One version of it hooks directly to your hose, but it only targets caterpillar varieties. She says the Bug Blaster line is another liquid but it works on multiple insects and can even be used in a garden setting. Fox says these are the two main products recommended to customers.

Steven says he paid $300 to have his yard professionally treated on Thursday and Friday, and has already seen improvement.

“It was, like, five minutes later, they were all just crawling out on the driveway,” said Steven. “I went and had it sprayed twice, because my yard really got really got infected, and I just didn’t want to lose my lawn overnight.”

Now, Steven says he’s keeping an eye out to make sure the armyworms don’t stage a second invasion of his yard.

At the beginning of July, K-State warned of a second generation that would arrive around this time, but said homeowners should still be vigilant of armyworms because of how quickly they can lay eggs and how many.

Armyworm populations can grow in number each month through September. Homeowners are advised to check their lawns up to twice a week in the mornings and evenings.

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