Seeing that this pest is still a huge problem in the many farmlands in the country and I’m seeing very dumb agricultural officers informing people with not so smart methods. I’m here to educate my fellow shamba brethren on how to kill and eradicate fall armyworms.
For starters DO NOT USE PESTICIDES! I repeat DO NOT USE PESTICIDES!!!
Using pesticides is not going to kill the worms. The first line of defense against the worms and their eggs are other insects that don’t damage plants. Like ladybugs, lacewings, Minute Pirate Bug, Trichogramma
Wasp etc. These are your first line of defense that pesticides end up killing, leading to the growth of the worms so stop using those nasty dangerous pesticides.
The worms are spread by moths ones with a distinctive white dot on their forewings. These are how these worms have ended up everywhere and the best solution to stop these moths is to lay pheromone traps which are very simple and cheap for farmers and contain no pesticides, insect traps use visual cues like colors and shapes that are attractive to insects making easier to get rid of them.
Manually collecting the worms and larvae is a very tedious cycle but its all very effective. But do not crush the worms on the ground as it will release smell signals from the caterpillar to the larvae eggs which will fall to the ground and wait to hatch. The best method is to put them in a soapy bucket of water which will drown and destroy the eggs/caterpillars.
After the season has advanced an easy method is spraying the crops with organic horticultural oil must be mixed with water and will help by smothering the target pests, and are only effective if applied directly to the pests. So one could mix vegetable oil with water go out on the farm with his spray equipment and be able to kill some of the worms cheaply.
Another way nature helps is birds they love these worms early in the morning but it seems we have forgotten that and we have become pesticide spraying robots thinking that it will solve our problems. Let us give the birds a chance.
In a moist, dark environment Beneficial Nematodes kill almost all pests. Therefore, they are ideally suited to combat insects in and on the soil and those that bore into wood, trees, and shrubs. These microscopic, worm-like parasites actively hunt, penetrate and destroy over 230 different pests including fleas, fungus gnats, black vine weevils and white grubs. Naturally occurring, they are not harmful to people, pets, plants or earthworms and will continue working for 18 months.
If all has failed then you are encouraged to use organic insecticide like Safer Garden Dust which is a highly selective biological pesticide containing Bacillus thuringiensis to control leaf-eating caterpillars and worms. After ingesting a treated portion of the leaf, caterpillars stop feeding within a few hours. Death occurs in a few days. Will not harm beneficial insects or honey bees.
Spinosad, the active ingredient in Monterey Garden Insect Spray, Spinosad can be used on outdoor ornamentals, lawns, vegetables, and fruit trees to control caterpillars, thrips, leafminers, borers, fruit flies and more! Works fast! After ingesting Spinosad, insect pests die within 1 to 2 days. Will NOT persist in the environment.
Most agricultural officers are clueless about these things and you wonder how they got their qualifications in a world of internet where knowledge is almost infinite.