Oh wow, I'm terribly sorry to hear about that! BTW, welcome to TLF, sorry this is your introductory post.

Have you contacted the contractor that installed the sod to see if you can get any remedy? 3 months seems like a pretty short window to have your yard infested with a nuisance pest like army worms.

 

We have contacted and been in routine communication with the company that installed the sod. Not sure where in GA the TIFTUF came from.

 

Red clay tifftuf is the worst sod I've ever encountered and sold at a premium over regular sod.

Super sod delivered 2 pallets in April for me, all of it was dead within 3 weeks. I wrote a review on their facebook page, and they shipped me 2 more pallets free of charge. I just installed it Saturday. Again what was delivered was half dead and essentially the worst looking sod I'd ever seen. All the while they are asking every day for me to remove my review.

I can ensure you that the worm infestation came from Murphy Ga where the red clay farm is located.

 

Red clay tifftuf is the worst sod I've ever encountered and sold at a premium over regular sod.

Super sod delivered 2 pallets in April for me, all of it was dead within 3 weeks. I wrote a review on their facebook page, and they shipped me 2 more pallets free of charge. I just installed it Saturday. Again what was delivered was half dead and essentially the worst looking sod I'd ever seen. All the while they are asking every day for me to remove my review.

I can ensure you that the worm infestation came from Murphy Ga where the red clay farm is located.

I really don't understand why it's sold at a premium; licensing arrangement maybe? I'm under the impression it spreads quicker than 419 and needs less water so I would think it would undercut the cost of 419.

 

I am not sure which sod farm in GA my TIFTUF came from. My sod came on pallets tightly rolled up and stacked. After a week or so it turned bright green and then the worms came last month. I tried to post a picture of my grass but this website doesn't allow it for some reason. My $11500.00 worth of grass is mostly brown and thinned out and infested with worms.

 

Red clay tifftuf is the worst sod I've ever encountered and sold at a premium over regular sod.

Super sod delivered 2 pallets in April for me, all of it was dead within 3 weeks. I wrote a review on their facebook page, and they shipped me 2 more pallets free of charge. I just installed it Saturday. Again what was delivered was half dead and essentially the worst looking sod I'd ever seen. All the while they are asking every day for me to remove my review.

I can ensure you that the worm infestation came from Murphy Ga where the red clay farm is located.

If I find out this is where the sod came from then your review won't be the only one there.

 

I am not sure which sod farm in GA my TIFTUF came from because a sod company had it delivered. I am trying to find out though.
My sod came on pallets tightly rolled up and stacked. After a week or so it turned bright green and then the worms came last month. I tried to post a picture of my grass but this website doesn't allow it for some reason. My $11500.00 worth of grass is mostly brown and thinned out and infested with worms.

If it's just worms, you'll be ok...assuming you can get them under control. I use Sevin SL for breakouts, but I'm not sure it's available to homeowners.

How long after the install did it take for you to notice the worms? It seems like quite a bit of time; too long for the worms to be in the sod.

The old stuff that they took out may have been more insect resistant / or may have bren less than ideal for the worms and that's why you've never encountered this before.

 

I am not sure which sod farm in GA my TIFTUF came from because a sod company had it delivered. I am trying to find out though.
My sod came on pallets tightly rolled up and stacked. After a week or so it turned bright green and then the worms came last month. I tried to post a picture of my grass but this website doesn't allow it for some reason. My $11500.00 worth of grass is mostly brown and thinned out and infested with worms.

If it's just worms, you'll be ok...assuming you can get them under control. I use Sevin SL for breakouts, but I'm not sure it's available to homeowners.

How long after the install did it take for you to notice the worms? It seems like quite a bit of time; too long for the worms to be in the sod.

The old stuff that they took out may have been more insect resistant / or may have bren less than ideal for the worms and that's why you've never encountered this before.

Sod was on the ground mid April and we noticed the worms mid June after a heavy rain so about 2 months.

 

I am not sure which sod farm in GA my TIFTUF came from because a sod company had it delivered. I am trying to find out though.
My sod came on pallets tightly rolled up and stacked. After a week or so it turned bright green and then the worms came last month. I tried to post a picture of my grass but this website doesn't allow it for some reason. My $11500.00 worth of grass is mostly brown and thinned out and infested with worms.

If it's just worms, you'll be ok...assuming you can get them under control. I use Sevin SL for breakouts, but I'm not sure it's available to homeowners.

How long after the install did it take for you to notice the worms? It seems like quite a bit of time; too long for the worms to be in the sod.

The old stuff that they took out may have been more insect resistant / or may have bren less than ideal for the worms and that's why you've never encountered this before.

Sod was on the ground mid April and we noticed the worms mid June after a heavy rain so about 2 months.

2 months is well outside of their typical lifecycle. Your old stuff just wasn't ideal for their diet, but now you have something that they like. Sevin SL is a great curative product and Acelepryn ($$$) is a great preventative product - check labels for homeowners.

These worms didn't come in the sod, nor did their eggs.

 

Carbaryl or trichlorfon for immediate kill, then Imidacloprid for long-term (rest of season) control.

 

Sod installer included spraying fertilizer and insecticide right after it was put down. We then paid Weedman to do monthly maintenance spraying May and June and still have worms. Frustrated and angry to watch $12000 worth of grass being eaten up. Before I agreed to install TIFTUF there was never any mention of nor had I ever heard of an Army Worm.

 

Sod installer included spraying fertilizer and insecticide right after it was put down. We then paid Weedman to do monthly maintenance spraying May and June and still have worms. Frustrated and angry to watch $12000 worth of grass being eaten up. Before I agreed to install TIFTUF there was never any mention of nor had I ever heard of an Army Worm.

Don't worry too much. Yes, it sucks, but it's bermuda, and it will recover. I used to fight worms quite frequently, but then Acelepryn hit the market and I haven't had to make a curative application in 3-4 years.

 

Sod installer included spraying fertilizer and insecticide right after it was put down. We then paid Weedman to do monthly maintenance spraying May and June and still have worms. Frustrated and angry to watch $12000 worth of grass being eaten up. Before I agreed to install TIFTUF there was never any mention of nor had I ever heard of an Army Worm.

I would ask whoever has sprayed most recently what they used and make sure the guy spraying is putting down insecticide. I had worms eat up my yard and it sprang back fairly quickly once I got rid of the worms, but I keep seeing moths in my yard so I know they are still there. I have put down 2 apps of ortho bug-b-gone, the first app killed the worms that were currently living and the second was to kill any new ones that were still small and had just hatched. I also put down grub-ex which will get in the soil and kill them when they burrow to pupate.

 

@viva_oldtrafford
@Greendoc

You can order sevin sl off of domyown. It is a little pricey though.

Would permethrin offer just as good a nock down of armyworms at a better price?

After I would use Dominion 2l (imidacloprid) as a preventative.

 

I had them hit my TifTuf last year and a stout round of Bifen XTS, a liquid spray mixed with water, killed 99% of the worms overnight. You just have to let the insecticide sit on the grass without rain or irrigation for 24 hours so the worms eat the treated grass. Then water it in, that kills the tiny worms at the base of the grass. Then in 2 weeks do another treatment to hit the next generation of worms and you should be good for some time. That worked for me. You can't delay though, if you see the caterpillars out early in the morning then you're still infested. Every day they are active is big damage as I'm sure you've seen.

 

OP, @viva_oldtrafford knows his stuff, and I can really empathize with you that you're absolutely sick to your stomach after forking out that much scratch and you're watching your money literally fly away. His explanation as to why you're having a breakout is very plausible, and I'd trust his knowledge from both an entomological and curative standpoint. Find out what chemicals were applied and at what rates so you're not overapplying one control to your turf if you do take this on yourself.

 

I do not count on pests being that susceptible to pyrethroid pesticides. They are overused and misused by both individuals and commercial people. As a commercial applicator, my go to for Armyworm is Dylox 420 SL + either Merit or Arena. Never Bifenthrin. As I was telling @thegrassfactor insects eat my lunch 12 months out of the year. I remember answering calls from concerned homeowners in October and November. They just had some Tifgrand installed and the Armyworms and Tropical Sod Webworms were eating. To the tune of $7 per sq ft. Acelepryn is out for me. Hawaii Department of Agriculture will not allow that product into the state. It is a ground water pollutant.

 

My wife suggested spraying the entire yard with soapy water and when they come to the surface then spray them with insecticide to kill the worms. Maybe even a mixture of soapy water and insecticide. Not sure if it would work but sounds plausible.

Super Sod recommended only using Bifenthrrin to kill the Army Worms.

 

What fertilizer do I put down to help the grass recover after the worms are dead?

 

What fertilizer do I put down to help the grass recover after the worms are dead?

My vote would be any kind of fast release N, timed with pending rain, so as to avoid burning the turf.

 

Does anyone on here think that aeration of the turf and then spraying to kill the worms would work? The aeration helping the insecticide penetrate deep into the clay soil.

Also if it is Super Sod, and they offer to re-sod again, then ask them if they would pull the next batch from the Orangeburg, SC farm. Orangeburg is on the coastal plain (pre-historic times the ocean covered it,) and it is as much a sandy soil as you will find. I know they grow Tif-Tuff there as well. Tif-Tuff wasn't available when my new home was built in 2015 and TifGrand was put in from their Orangeburg farm. No army worms. Only dollar spot. But that was due to it being put down in April, and water the heck out of the new sod.

I've had army worms on 419 about 16 years ago. One application of Diazanon (no longer made) with a miracle gro garden sprayer over the whole property and 419 was good as new in two weeks. So you can recover from this.

 

Does anyone on here think that aeration of the turf and then spraying to kill the worms would work? The aeration helping the insecticide penetrate deep into the clay soil.

Also if it is Super Sod, and they offer to re-sod again, then ask them if they would pull the next batch from the Orangeburg, SC farm. Orangeburg is on the coastal plain (pre-historic times the ocean covered it,) and it is as much a sandy soil as you will find. I know they grow Tif-Tuff there as well. Tif-Tuff wasn't available when my new home was built in 2015 and TifGrand was put in from their Orangeburg farm. No army worms. Only dollar spot. But that was due to it being put down in April, and water the heck out of the new sod.

I've had army worms on 419 about 16 years ago. One application of Diazanon (no longer made) with a miracle gro garden sprayer over the whole property and 419 was good as new in two weeks. So you can recover from this.

Armyworms dwell/eat in the canopy. We need the product readily available to them (or on them) in order to get control. Put the product down and do not water it in.

If we were dealing with mole crickets, sure add water. But we're dealing with canopy/crown pests, not subsurface.

 

I am in the process of contacting the company who has sprayed my yard 3 times with the last time being this past Friday. I am trying to determine what chemical they are using only because it does NOT work. Definition of insanity is spraying the same chemical over and over with the same result. Late afternoon yesterday we had a down pour of rain which left about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of standing water over the top of my sod. Live Army Worms floating everywhere. Aside from the worms the standing water also makes me call into question the grading for proper water runoff the sod installer was paid to do. So far I regret ever paying to have this sod installed!

 

Maybe while waiting on that company you could spray the stuff @Greendoc or @viva_oldtrafford suggested. Couldn't hurt to slow down the damage. It sucks but it beats waiting on someone else to come around. They seem to know exactly how to treat and rid this issue.

 

I have no idea where to find the chemical @Greendoc or @viva_oldtrafford suggested?

Where I live there are a couple of big box stores and a Tractor Supply.