Sod Webworm

About Sod Webworm

Sod webworms are the larval stage of small lawn moths — the ones you see fluttering up from the grass when you walk across your lawn at dusk. The larvae live at the soil surface in silk-lined tunnels and chew grass blades at night, creating small irregular brown patches that can be mistaken for drought stress or early disease. In Middle Tennessee, sod webworms are not a major concern. They typically never cause enough damage to kill fescue — the grass outgrows the feeding damage faster than the webworms can consume it. They are a cosmetic nuisance at worst in most residential settings. The insecticide chemistry we use for grub and armyworm prevention also controls sod webworms, though the coverage happens at different times of year as part of the overall program. The chemistry is very persistent in the plant tissue — persistent enough that you actually get carryover coverage the following year from the prior year service. This is one of the concrete ways a multi-year treatment relationship produces compounding results: each year of coverage builds on the previous one, and pest pressure decreases over time rather than requiring the same level of reactive treatment every season. If you see small moths rising from your lawn in the evening, that is the adult stage laying eggs for the next generation of webworm larvae. It looks alarming but on a well-maintained treatment plan, the larvae will be controlled before they cause meaningful damage. No additional treatment or panic call is needed.

Sod Webworm (Crambus spp.) is a turf pest commonly found in Middle Tennessee, including Columbia, Thompson's Station, Spring Hill, and the surrounding areas. This entry is part of our Turf Pests identification guide.

As lawn care and treatment specialists, we encounter Sod Webworm regularly when servicing properties across the region. Proper identification is the first step toward effective pest management that protects both your turf and your landscape plantings.