METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) – Recently, you’ve probably noticed little moths hanging out in your grass. These moths are planting dangerous larvae called sod webworms in your lawn, and they’re killing your lawn.
News with a Twist Reporter Kenny Lopez went to Perino’s Garden Center in Metairie to find out how to fight these insects.
When there’s something strange in your front lawn, who ya gonna call?
Well, Perino’s Garden Center has been answering hundreds of those calls about sod webworms and moths that are eating up Louisiana lawns.
“Sod webworms are insects that start off as a worm inside your lawn. They eat the grass and cause big brown patches. It will take a long time for the grass to grown back, and these sod webworms can kill your entire lawn, which will be expensive to replace,” Catherine Perino at Perino’s Garden Center said.
The moths lay the larvae in the lawn.
“You’ll want to kill both stages of the insect, both the moth and the worm,” she said.
Luckily, there are ways to kill them off before they kill your lawn.
“We have sprays here at Perino’s. We have an organic one and one that is not. Both sprays have a hook up to your hose, so it makes it easier for you to spray your grass,” Madeline Perino at Perino’s said.
They also have another option called: “Bug Blaster” which comes in bags and you must spread it over the lawn.
“Right now the webworms seem to be on a 10-14 day cycle before they turn into moths, so it is very important that you treat your lawn every 10-14 days,” she said.
Experts with the LSU AgCenter say that these webworms leave trails of silky webbing as they crawl through your grass. You can spot these webs in the morning when there is dew on the ground. Another indicator that you might have webworms is if you see a lot of birds feeding on your lawn.
