My brother shared some devastating news last week that a large portion of the much-anticipated sweet corn he planted had been devoured, basically overnight.

The farm has seen damage before. I can recall the nightly raids on the sweet corn patch each August when the raccoon and skunk populations were high. My brother and I would stake out positions in the dark and wait for the sound of corn husks to be ripped open in the still night air. It would have been very eerie had we not known that it was more than likely a raccoon.

Warning shots and a dog bent on ridding the pest from her vicinity helped a little. My live-trapping skills were honed as I discovered the varmints could not pass up a raspberry jam sandwich. I could hardly give up the sandwich myself, but I knew it was for the greater good.

Then there was the year of the black bear. This was before drones could aid in looking over hundreds of acres from above. My dad was out doing some scouting and happened upon a large area stripped clean of corn and each stalk bent over. While some would go straight to the crop circle theory, Dad knew better. There in the clearing was a pile of corn cobs with kernels chewed off. It didn't take long before we were all on the lookout for the bear.

One night after milking cows, we loaded into the truck to make a lap around the field. My dad was driving and my mom was riding shotgun. As we rode along, suddenly, out of the field burst the bear. My dad hit the gas to try to get a closer look at the bear. My mom hurriedly pulled out her trusty hand-wind camera to get a shot of the bruin. Instead, the bear was under the fence and gone in a moment.

No picture, but the image of us zipping down that trail and that bear running full speed into the woods remains in my mind.

As nature would have it, the often maligned blackbird and starling are common predators of the armyworms and seem to have done a real good job cleaning up the worms on the family farm. They were still present when the damage was found and their heavy feeding was made evident based on the amount of fresh droppings left behind on the nearby irrigator.

It's a reminder that farmers are not the only ones who hope to reap a strong harvest. Pests of all shapes and sizes are ready to devour the crop at just about any stage of development. And other species are eager to chase after pests. It seems if the pests don't get to it, the weather will. Constant scouting and a knowledge of what to look for will help, but it seems pests will still find a way to thrive.

For information on armyworm management, visit the University of Minnesota armyworm page at https://extension.umn.edu/corn-pest-management/armyworm or the North Dakota State University recommendations at https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/north-dakota-field-crop-insect-management-guide .