By Clint Thompson
Insect pests continue to increase in numbers across Alabama. According to the Alabama Insect Pest Monitoring Report, as of Saturday, Aug. 21, moth numbers collected at 19 locations across the state continue to be high for fall armyworm, southern armyworm, tobacco budworm and squash vine borer.
There were 1,230 fall armyworm moths, compared to 252 this time last year. There were 524 southern armyworm moths, compared to 395 this time a year ago.
There were 115 tobacco budworm moths, compared to just 41 in 2020. There were also 714 squash vine borer moths collected, compared to 440 last season.
Also of note, there were 749 beet armyworm moths, compared to 981 this time last year. Corn earworm activity is also up, as 268 moths were collected, compared to 204 last year.
“You may need to spray the young plants just to have a good crop stand, especially in Southwest and Southeast Alabama where multiple generations of caterpillars are active,” says the Alabama Vegetable IPM Facebook page to growers switching to fall crops.