Sod Webworm is overwhelmingly a pest problem for cool season grasses and as such will not affect the overwhelming majority of Australian lawns which are comprised of warm season grasses like Couch, Buffalo, Zoysia and Kikuyu. Having said that though, there have been cases where Sod Webworm has infected warm season turf, though again it is very uncommon.
Sod Webworm is the larvae stage of a Crambus moth, which would have laid its eggs within the turf itself, later to hatch into larvae to then feed on our grass. While the lawn itself can become very damaged as a result of the infestation of Sod Webworm, it will never die away because the caterpillar only feeds on the leaf of the lawn and never on the crowns of the sod which produces the leaves, so in this aspect a lawn should recover from any damages so long as it’s well maintained.
The damage caused by Sod Webworm will appear as yellow straw coloured patches on the lawn which can then later turn brown. The damage done to healthy lawns will be most apparent, while damage done to lawns in worse condition will be less noticeable.
Spotting the culprit as being a Sod Webworm will be a little difficult, though it is the same as checking for other types of caterpillars which eat away at our lawns. Whereby we would go out at night with a torch to inspect the lawn for these nasties. This time however we don’t just want to check the leaf of the lawn, we want to look into the thatch layer of the turf, lower down the leaf.
The larvae will appear as many different colours dependent on life stage, usually looking some type of shade between a green to a brown. The head will most often be a different colour which is closer to black.
How To Treat Sod Webworm
A standard lawn insecticide treatment will also work with Sod Webworm. The lawn is generally treated very late afternoon to dusk, with the lawn being watered lightly either before or after treatment dependent upon the pesticide manufacturers recommendations.
Be sure to follow manufacturers recommendations for the effective treatment of this lawn pest and for the safety of our homes, children and pets.
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