The Kajiado County government has started taking action to stop the spread of African armyworms in a number of the county's regions.

The pest was initially discovered in Kajiado on December 17, 2022, in the Nkama and Poka areas in the Kajiado East Sub County.

Since that time, bands of the pest have also been discovered in the Kajiado South and Central Sub counties.

County Director for Agriculture, Victoria Nthenya said several hectares of pastureland and maize plantations have been affected.

Further, Nthenya said that immediately reports of invasion emerged, the department requested for equipment and agrochemicals from the Plant Protection and Food Safety Directorate of the State Department for Agriculture and is currently undertaking control measures in several parts of the county.

The highly infested areas already sprayed in Kajiado East Sub county include; Enkasiti, Olooloitikoshi, Kisaju, Ilpolosat, Oloosidan, Nkama and Poka locations.

However, in some areas like Erankau where invasion was minor, the pests died naturally due to the prevailing dry and sunny conditions.

Ilasit, Entarara, Oloolopon, Kiwanja, Olkaria, Entonet, and Murtot districts in Kajiado South Sub County have been sprayed on pastures and maize plantings.

While reconnaissance and mapping for the location of Eiti are ongoing, the Nkoile, Iseuri, and Sajiloni areas in Kajiado Central Sub County have been sprayed.

The director gave homeowners the advice to keep their animals off of sprayed regions for a week to allow the chemicals' potency to wane, stressing that both livestock and people cannot safely consume the toxins.