News

Despite many moth flights, true army worms not a problem in Wisconsin

An entomologist says farmers should be scouting fields for true army worms since there have been an inordinate number of moth flights to the Midwest.

Emily Bick with the University of Wisconsin says, “A couple of incidents, nothing too bad, but keep a heads up. Go scout for true army worm right now.”

Bick tells Brownfield farmers in her state might have been lucky, because it appears the timing of the pests was off. “We think the flights were too early with our planting dates. We were so good at getting planting in so, so quickly this year with such good optimal conditions that we think the true army worm completely missed the window to hit corn.”

Bick says the timing of the bugs gave corn plants the edge. “This has to do with the fact that the moths are the ones that are flying and then they have to lay eggs. The eggs are subject to growing based off of the temperature, and because the temperatures were cold and we planted really, really efficiently, by the time those eggs hatch out, it’s past the time where true army worm would be a huge pest problem.”

Bick says she has not heard of any serious army worm infestations in Wisconsin’s neighboring states.  She also says the alfalfa weevil season is about over, and growers should start scouting for aphids.