Fall Armyworms present a significant threat to food security and the livelihoods of individuals in many developing countries, particularly among smallholder farmers who cultivate cereal crops like maize for food, as a cash crop and as a significant export crop. This study formulates and analyzes a mathematical model to investigate the dynamics of Fall Armyworms in presence of susceptible maize biomass, aiming to identify key parameters that influence pests’ growth and propose the effective control strategy. We employ the next generation method to compute the basic reproduction numbers \(R_{0A}\) and \(R_{0S}\) , which indicates whether the pest population will diminish or persist. Our findings reveal the existence of both pest-free and endemic equilibria: the pest-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when both \(R_{0A}<1\) and \(R_{0S}<1\) , while the endemic equilibrium is stable when \(R_{0A}>1\) and \(R_{0S}>1\) . Utilizing the normalized forward sensitivity index, we identify critical parameters affecting the pests’ growth, including the intrinsic egg-laying rate, the number of females fertilized by a single male, the transition rate from unfertilized to fertilized females, the proportion of pupae developing into unfertilized females, and the natural mortality rate of adult Fall Armyworms. To mitigate pests’ impacts, we formulated a mathematical model that incorporates the use of environmentally friendly artificial female pheromone traps to disrupt mating patterns. Numerical simulations demonstrate that without pheromone traps, the pest population thrives, leading to substantial losses in susceptible maize biomass. Conversely, the implementation of pheromone traps results in a significant decline of the pest population within a short time-frame, thereby promoting sustainable harvests of matured maize crops. This study underscores the effectiveness of pheromone traps as a viable management strategy for controlling Fall Armyworms infestations in maize production.
