WORMS IN SODDED LAWN: One of my landscape customers had a lawn which got eaten up by worms. The homeowner insists the worms came in with the sod; she saw them and reported them within two weeks after the sod was installed. The sod producer says there were no worms in the field. Who's responsible?

ANSWER: Probably the sod producer. It usually takes 6 or more weeks for webworms to develop to adults. That time frame is inconsistent with the webworms' origin from eggs laid within the two weeks after sodding.

Caterpillars (including sod webworms, armyworms, and their cousins) are an almost universal inhabitant of turf. They are not a big problem if their occasional outbreak is controlled in a timely manner. At the sod farm, the caterpillars may have been in a natural balance with their enemies, but went into an outbreak when the environment changed.

Even though the lawn may soon acquire new caterpillars from the neighbors, the consumer has a reasonable expectation to receive a product free of pests that destroy the product. If the sod producer will back the product, that's nice, but you as the landscaper are probably in the best position to deal with the problem promptly, efficiently, and with a view to attracting future business.