Sirhornsalot
**The Official Horn Sports Landscaper and Landscap
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2013
- Messages
- 33,348
The Chinch Bug Cometh
Chinch bugs arrive on Texas lawns though much later than last year
Here we go again. For the third consecutive summer North Texans are experiencing lawns that are being attacked by Chinch bugs. Thankfully this year they didn’t get started until late July.
When I drive through neighborhoods in DFW, I see Chinch bug damage in almost every other lawn I pass. Most homeowners see the damage, but assume the grass is dying because of the heat. Some might think it’s a sprinkler problem.
What makes Chinch bugs so badly is that they are so often misdiagnosed, even by some landscape companies. In one neighborhood last year, my company obtained new customers simply because we diagnosed the issue correctly, treated it, and saw quick recovery once the damage was stopped. Other lawns continued with the deterioration, as a couple of landscape companies determined it was a lawn fungus. Folks, fungus cannot survive in 100 degree heat and certainly not when night time lows are in the 80s.
What are Chinch bugs?
Chinch bugs are little insects, looking a little like a miniature beetle but with a triangulated back. They are most often hard to see with the naked eye but mature ones can be spotted. These creatures feed on your turf when it’s hot. The hotter it is the heavier they feed and multiply. They seek out the hottest locations in your lawn. They crawl up a grass blade and chomp down on the blade and sucking the moisture from the grass plant. This moisture is called a “sap” but is actually 80% water.
You will find their damage also near concrete sidewalks and driveways, near stone and metal – these things absorb and reverberate heat from the sun, making it a hotter location.
If you see what you think could be Chinch bug damage, but it’s in the shade, then you can eliminate Chinch bugs as the culprit. You will not find them in shaded areas.
Once they get going, what started out as a small damage spot ends up growing and growing until something or someone stops them.
How do you stop them?
We treat Chinch bugs using any product containing Bifenthrin (also called “bifen”). We use the liquid form of those products and spray the turf where Chinch bugs are active – and also a 10 inch perimeter around the damaged areas. Since Chinch bugs like to hang out above ground, they make for an easy kill using this method.
You would need to treat these areas twice, a week apart. While Bifen will kill Chinch bugs, it does not kill the eggs they lay. So returning to spray a week later gets the hatchlings and does so before they can mature and lay new eggs.
These insects can be spread by lawnmowers combined with a windy day. I would refrain from mowing until the issue is resolved.
How do I know if damage I see is caused by Chinch bugs?
We have to establish one factor before I answer. Grass is at its best when we have hot weather. Hot weather, by itself, will not kill grass as long as the grass is getting the moisture it needs.
As I said previously, damage is likely to be in full sun locations and regardless of how much you water, the damaged area grows in size. So that is a clue. But the one clue that really gives them away is the bronze hue color in areas where they are actively feeding.
If you have native Bermuda turf, your turf will fully recover once the Chinch are killed and normal conditions return. I have also seen Zoysia lawns make nice recoveries from Chinch damage. But if you have St Augustine turf, the damaged area will have to be re-sodded depending on the severity.
Check on your Crape Myrtles!
While we’re talking insects, make sure you check your Crape Myrtles this month. They are so often attacked by Aphids, Scale and Spider Mites and can really have a tough time when those critters are slowly killing it in this heat. You would look at the trunk and branches for a beetle type insect (Aphids). These are often black in color but can also be green (younglings) and brown. Scale looks like a white crust on the branches or trunks.
Spider Mites can be detected by observing any type of webbing in the canopy. Spider Mites don’t want to catch insects so their webbing is different, being mostly single-strand webbing so that they can get from one place to another. There are at times a wrap around webbing with eggs located inside. You can detect this by seeing the leaves that are rolled as if to protect what’s inside.
The same Bifen product I spoke of earlier will also kill the Scale, Aphids and even the Spider Mites.
Other items on this month’s agenda . . .
– Our third application of fertilizer is done this month. Any time between Aug. 15 and Aug. 31 is a good time to do this. Since we’ll soon be entering fall, decrease your fertilizer spreading ratio to put slightly less fertilizer on the turf. Reduction of ratio helps for Fall application because we will soon enter a period where lawn fungus appears (cooler, longer nights and shorter, cooler days). The nitrogen in the fertilizer is to lawn fungus as gas is to a fire. It really makes it much worse. So less is more in this case. Reduce just slightly because we still want that big green up.
– Also to be put down on the lawn this month is your second application of pre-emergent. In this application, we would want to use Dimension or a product that features Dimension pre-emergent. This product does a good job of preventing broadleaf weeds. Remember, this product will not harm your lawn. The more you put down, the more protection you get.
Our last application will happen in November and that application is where we’ll use Prodiamide which works great at preventing winter grassy weeds during the winter months.
In addition to applying to your lawn, you may also want to apply to your landscape beds where weeds often sprout up. The product will not harm the landscape plants. However, if you have plantings that you rely on their seeds to return each year, then do not apply pre-emergent to those beds as it will stop those plants/flowers from coming back the following spring. One example would be Columbine.
– Make sure you are still beginning your watering cycles at 11 p.m. at night. Again, starting at 11 allows for the grass/plants and water to be together for many hours as opposed to morning watering. On Labor Day, we will change back to morning starts.
