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Another bad armyworm year?

May 7, 2009, Ridgetown, Ont. – Last year’s armyworm outbreak in Ontario was quite something.

May 7, 2009, Ridgetown, Ont. – Last year’s armyworm outbreak in Ontario was quite something.

An armyworm nest.

The large number of acres and high infestations across several counties was unprecedented. No other states or provinces reported anything like it.

The only signs that indicated the province could have a problem came from the high trap catch reports coming from Kentucky. Storm fronts brought the moths up to Ontario, while skipping over many of the other states in between.

Unfortunately this year, Kentucky and Missouri have both reported catching true armyworm moths at reasonable numbers again this year. Other states are starting to see a trickling of moths in their traps too.

The blacklight trap at Ridgetown has been up since the beginning of April and started to catch the first armyworm moths on April 20th, though numbers have been quite low with only a total of four moths captured so far.