Everything You Need to Know about Killing Sod Webworms
Gardening is something most people have a passion about. It requires countless hours to grow and maintain plants and it can be frustrating when you see your garden in trouble due to pests. Killing these pests may look simple enough to do, but is a complicated task, which first requires an understanding of these worms. Sod Webworms are not like other worms. With more than 20 types, each different from the other, you must first understand their life cycle to exterminate them permanently.
As Sod Webworms are different from other types of worms, treating your garden to exterminate them requires some background about their life cycle. A Sod Webworm has 3 stages of life from an egg to pupa to a larval with a full life cycle of 5 weeks. A fully grown worm is called a moth and cannot harm your garden. However, it can lay eggs which can multiply and cause trouble. While larval is the only stage in the worm’s life cycle that can destroy your plants and in turn your garden.
The sod webworms are not big and are difficult to detect. They only measure up to.5 to .75 inches and have brown spots on their body. Each worm is different in color, ranging from tan to gray. The best place to look for webworms is near a shade. They tend to live in flower beds and turfs though they do not feed on it, they may lay eggs nearby.
A larval, which is the only stage dangerous in a Sod Webworm’s life cycle, can vary from .75 to 1 inch in length. There are many Sod worms which you can find in your garden if you are living in Florida. Their peak season is from June to August. As soon as winter arrives, these worms tend to diminish as they are unable to survive the cold weather.
Is pesticide the only option for extermination?
Although treating your garden with a spray of pesticides can be helpful, it should not be practiced. The treatment involves specific technical instruments and the use of poison which requires safety gear. That is why it is highly advised to call for a professional service to handle all the hard work. Doing a treatment yourself is not only dangerous but mostly unsuccessful as the whole termination process involves at least 2 to 3 applications of pesticides.
A single spray of pesticides may show you some results but in the long run you will see more worms in your garden that will be stronger than the previous ones. This is because the first application only kills the living caterpillar and not the eggs or pupa. The pupa usually goes underground where the caterpillar leaves a silver lining that serves as a sealant from pesticide applications. The sealant protects the worm by blocking the pesticide to enter the burrow.
The second application is the only solution to this problem. It will make sure that as soon as the egg hatches, a pesticide spray will kill them and stop further production. The newly hatched caterpillars also have a stronger immune system so killing them as soon as they are born is very important.
Considering all the reasons mentioned, a complete know how of the webworms and their life cycle is very important if you want to completely eradicate pests from your garden.
Calling a pest control company near you is the best and most viable option when you are planning to exterminate all kinds of bugs and pests from your lawn.