SHELBY COUNTY, Ky. — Farmers and homeowners across the country are experiencing devastation like no other. Armyworms are on the march destroying fields and crops and one Kentucky farmer has seen the worst of it.

For 62 years, Bobby Jamison has spent his days on the farm. Jamison grew up in a family of farmers, being a third generation farmer behind his father and grandfather.

“It's in my blood, it's something you can't quit. I'm 82 years old it's hard to quit,” Jamison said.

Jamison grows everything from soybeans to corn, but his expertise is growing quality hay. 

“Well some days, 12-14 hours, 7 days a week when I'm in hay. I do all of my hay myself, I cut it, tether it, rake it and I bail it,” Jamison said.

Right up until fall, armyworms marched into the Shelby County fields.

“Anywhere from an inch to two inches long and they’re kind of brown and maybe partly black and have a yellow streak all the way down their side,” Jamison said, describing the pests.

Armyworms are destructive pests that consume turf grasses but will feed on other vegetables and plants when food is scarce. They feed around the clock, but are most active during the hours of early morning and late evening.

In just a matter of hours, the armyworms did a number on Jamison, turning fields of bright green grass a dull brown.

“I went down the road on Friday and it looked funny so the next day I stopped and they ate it up,” Jamison said.

In his years of farming experience, Jamison said he’s never seen devastation quite like this. It's destroyed more than half of his 85 acres of hay.

“Well yeah, it bothered me, it's aggravating so it makes you feel like just quitting,” Jamison said. “I told my wife, 'Well I got 45 acres I don't have to cut, they cut it for me.'”

Jamison has since sprayed his fields to get rid of the armyworms and is now ready for anything that might come his way. He lost close to $6,000 worth of hay due to the pests.

“They lay their eggs so they say it's a good possibility we'll have them next year but next year I'm going to be ready, I'm going to keep my eye on them. They usually come in the spring, we don't have them in the fall, nobody has seen them in the fall,” Jamison said.

Armyworms can be controlled by different “insect killer” sprays. Armyworms also attract skunks and rodents that feed on larvae hidden in turf.