Have you noticed an expanding island of dead or dying grass in your lush lawn? It could be the first sign of a serious yard pest – the chinch bug. The damage can progress rapidly in sunny places during dry, hot weather. Under these criteria, it’s easy to see how Florida lawns can be in jeopardy. Chinch bugs are coming soon so you need to know how to fight them.
These bugs are easy to mistake for another ailment like brown patch because they are so hard to see. Measuring in at only about a fifth of an inch fully grown, they are tiny and very hard to spot. If you can get close enough to see them, you’ll see the mature ones have black bodies with white wings folded across their backs. Younger bugs may be yellow or red (depending on their age) with a distinctive white stripe down their backs.
Easier to see is the damage they cause. It almost looks like a drought problem. Big, browning patches seem to come out of nowhere even if you’re watering and feeding regularly. St. Augustine and zosyia grasses are special favorites of the chinch bug but any lawn is food for a chinch bug. They are the second most costly plant-feeding arthropod in Florida.
Expect in the northern areas of the state, chinch bugs stay active year-round in Florida. They slow down a bit in the cooler months but the females will lay eggs all year long. It only takes the eggs about 1 to 2 weeks to hatch with a lifespan of 10 to 70 days depending on conditions. With such a short lifespan, they mature quickly into self-reproducing grass-eating machines.
An infested lawn will show circles of discolored grass. The damage may start in water-compromised areas but it won’t be limited to them. The whole lawn probably won’t be affected but the parts in direct sunlight will be most at risk.
You can test for chinch bugs with a simple, DIY test kit. Take both ends off of a large, aluminum can like a coffee or baked beans can. Sink the can into the section of damaged lawn about 3 inches or so. Use a sharp trowel or knife to make a trench if you need it. Flood the small sample of your yard captured in the can with water. It will probably take 5 minutes or more. If you have chinch bugs, they’ll float to the top.
Eliminating this pest starts with good residential lawn care and green pest control methods. Dethatching your lawn is a good place to start. This cuts down on chinch bug numbers and make other control methods more effective. Use a recycling or mulching mower to reduce your thatch load. If you haven’t been using this type of mower, you might need a professional dethatching treatment.
Be careful not to over-feed your lawn. Excessive fertilization leads to a heavier thatch load and a worsening chinch bug problem. Drought-stress is another condition to avoid. Chinch bugs like it a little dry so be careful to water deeply but not too long. Too much water will kill off nature’s own dethatching organisms.
If your lawn is suffering, don’t give up. You can control chinch bugs but you might need help. If your float test shows their presence, call a qualified pest control company to help you out.