If you decide to try insecticides, carefully read and follow the label instructions.

The eggs, which are covered by a cottony or fibrous mass, are susceptible to treatment with petroleum oils.

These caterpillars are resistant to most chemical insecticides that are available to the home gardener, but neem oil products are sometimes effective. Drop the caterpillars into a container of soapy water to kill them and then bag and discard the carcasses.īacillus thuringiensis (Bt-azaiwi strain) and spinosad are natural insecticides that are effective against young armyworms and don’t harm the environment. Beet Armyworm Controlīeet armyworm control in the home garden begins with handpicking. Watch for masses of eggs covered with fluff, small caterpillars feeding in groups, or single large caterpillars with a yellow stripe running down their sides. Beet armyworms also leave gouges in tender fruit, especially tomatoes.Įarly detection aids in preventing armyworms. They burrow into heading vegetables, such as lettuce and cabbage. They can eat tender young transplants to the ground and defoliate older plants. Identifying Beet Armyworm Damageīeet armyworms eat irregular holes in foliage, eventually skeletonizing the leaves. The larvae slowly move to the ground to pupate on the soil. They lay fluffy masses of up to 80 eggs on the crowns of seedlings or on the tender leaves of older plants where the young caterpillars will have plenty of food when they hatch. The adult form is a medium-sized moth with mottled gray and brown upper wings and white or pale gray lower wings. They are normally found only in southern states and warm, coastal climates where the host plants survive through the winter. What are Beet Armyworms?īeet armyworms ( Spodoptera exigua) are caterpillars that feed on tender vegetable crops and a few ornamentals. Keep reading to learn more on identifying a beet armyworm infestation and preventing armyworms in the garden. It is important to detect and treat a beet armyworm infestation early because these older caterpillars are resistant to most insecticides. However, older larvae develop a yellow stripe that runs from head to tail, making it easy to identify them. The young larvae feed in groups and usually don’t have any unique markings to distinguish them from other caterpillars. Beet armyworms are green caterpillars that feed on a wide range of ornamental and vegetable plants.

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