Armyworms on the move

The western yellow striped armyworms appear to be marching south toward Vernon.

The worms, which have been impacting farms in the Armstrong and Spallumcheen area have recently been spotted in the outskirts of Vernon, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed.

“I’ve had two reports from the Vernon area, which is more on the outskirts and that was this week along the Highway 97 north area and then there was another report on Old Kamloops Road,” Susanna Acheampong, entomologist with the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture said.

The ministry also received two reports of the armyworms in Lumby.

Despite the sightings, officials with the ministry said it is too early to say if communities south of Spallumcheen are in for a worm infestation.

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“We are still trying to figure out how they got there,” Acheampong said.

About 30 traps were set up in 20 farms to monitor the armyworms, which turn into moths and lay eggs between March and May and from late August to early September.

“The traps at least give us an indication as to when the moths are flying and when we expect to see the next crop,” Acheampong said.

The worms only started appearing in the Armstrong and Spallumcheen area last year, causing devastation for farmers and backyard gardeners.

“It’s wide sweeping, they devastate the crops, they eat everything, and they basically swarm through within two to three days. This year they are anticipating waves of them,” Spallumcheen Mayor Christine Fraser said at a Regional District of North Okanagan board meeting this week.

Farmers have been resorting to pesticides to protect their crops, but concerns remain about how the pesticides will impact the local bee population.

Other remedies include harvesting early and controlling the weeds in the spring to limit host plants for worm larvae.

The Ministry of Agriculture is asking anyone who spots an armyworm to report it at: AgriServiceBC@gov.bc.ca or by calling 1-250-861-7681

More information on the Western Yellowstriped Armyworm can be found here.