NATCHEZ — Even though they have been beaten back for the moment, Adams County Extension Service Director David Carter said he believes armyworms may launch a second offensive on the area this year.

That’s because the armyworms made an appearance sooner this year than usual when they showed up in early August.

The pests did their damage then, but for the most part were stopped with pesticides.

“This year was the worst I’ve seen since I came here,” Carter said.

The problem is that, because of their early arrival, they have time to complete a full life cycle, Carter said.

“With everybody planting food plots for their deer camps in the next few weeks, in a month people need to be on the lookout,” he said.

Armyworms are so-named because they travel in large numbers and, like an army, start eating and eat everything in their path, Carter said.

The worms’ diet consists of grasses and some grains, and when they reach full maturity the worms become moths.

Once the worms arrive on the scene, it’s essential to treat for them right away, Carter said.

“If you have them on Tuesday and say, ‘I am going to wait to spray them on the weekend, you missed the boat,’” he said.

The good news is they’re easy to spot, and easy to treat.

“They are obvious if they are there, you can glance down and see them,” Carter said.

The treatments for armyworms are common pesticides found at most farmer’s cooperatives, he said.

Making sure the worms don’t get to grasses when they’re newly planted will be important.

“Their target number one will be rye grass, and in the early stages it will be worse,” Carter said. “With a food plot, you won’t have enough of a root system for it to sprout out again.

But if the worms get to established food plots, while they may cause some damage, not all will be lost.

“If it has a good root system, it will grow back,” he said.

And the threat won’t last forever.

“Once we get our first frost or the temperature gets below 45, (the armyworms) won’t be a problem anymore,” Carter said.