Chinch Bugs in Florida Grass

Chinch bug is the most devastating pest in our popular St. Augustine grass. St. Augustine is our grass of choice for many reasons. It has low maintenance costs and looks great when fertilized and freshly cut. It easily patched and blends in quickly. It also grows fast in the heat and rain of summer but slows considerably in the winter month allowing bi-weekly service to be adequate for most seasonal residents.

Chinch bugs insert their beak and suck the juices from the horizontal growing grass and the grass then grows patches of yellow, then brown and eventually kills the grass. If left untreated it can devastate an entire section of a yard. Chemical treatment and re-sodding is the recommended course of action. Chinch bugs have become resistant to almost every pesticide. The current product being used with great success is “Arena”.

Chinch bugs are hard to see but their damage is easily identifiable. A mature patched surrounded by green grass with a pattern of yellow, brown or dead grass in the middle. The bug itself can be found in the perimeter of the slightly damaged turf. Like in snakes, Mother Nature helps us identify danger by having what looks like a colored strip across the back. It is small so get out your reading glasses. Young chinch bugs are yellow in color and turn red to brown but all appear to have the distinctive mark on them. Chinch bugs never invade shady areas and rarely attack healthy, well-fed and irrigated turf. Instead, Chinch bugs prefer hot spots on the edge of paved areas or by weak, full sun grass caused by poor irrigation, poor nutrition or poor subsurface soil conditions. Scalping turf can stress areas and stressed grass is a welcome mat for pests like Chinch bug.

Chinch bugs can be seen year-round in South Florida but are predominantly a summer pest and win the war with St. Augustine growth in dryer weeks of summer months. It often comes in the same area of your yard, year after year so fix irrigation, top dress with a rich sand soil mix, re-sod with a strong soil base or make a planting of low water, full sun plants.

Feel free to consult with Reef Topical to help you learn about your yards, landscape appropriately and identify pests and treat with safe pesticides with our licensed professional.