The accumulation of plant parts often exceeds the rate at which the material breaks down. Thatch is the area where the lawn sloughs-off old stems and roots and replaces them with new plant parts. Then watch for bugs floating to the surface of the solution. You can also take a plug of grass from the damaged area and dip it into the soapy water. To really investigate, you may need to get down on your knees and look around in the thatch. If chinch bugs are present you, will see them climbing up the grass blades. After pouring the solution over a small area, wait for five minutes. To make the solution, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon-scented dish soap to a gallon of water. If you suspect chinch bugs are to blame for the damage in your lawn, try confirming this suspicion by using a lemon-scented soap mixed in water and poured on the brown area. These insects are rather difficult to detect because they so tiny and often are not readily visible in the lawn from our viewpoint looking down. If you do not stop chinch bug activity quickly, they can spread into new turf, causing large areas of damage.Ĭhinch bugs reproduce quickly, as the female deposits 15 to 20 eggs per day for 20 to 30 days on a blade of grass. This toxin can be quite damaging, and the grass cannot recover. It then injects a toxin and extracts the plant juices. The immature insects hatch from eggs and are red and a band of white across the back juts out behind the pads where the adult wings will later develop.Ĭhinch bugs do their damage with a piercing-sucking mouthpart by inserting a slender beak into the grass at the base of the plant.
It has white wings that are marked with a triangular black patch in the middle. So what exactly is a chinch bug? It is a slender, black insect that is about 1/8 inch long when fully grown. The brown spots will be more random, and the grass will have jagged edges that will turn yellow before fully dying and going brown. This often misleads folks into believing it is caused by drought.Īnother definitive clue that you may have chinch bug problems is that the damage does not occur in circular patterns like many of the fungal turf diseases. One key sign of chinch bugs is that the symptoms first appear as patches of dead grass in areas where heat is radiated from storm drains near streets and around sidewalks and driveways. You’ve got to do some investigating to get to the root of the problem. However, it can also be a sign of chinch bug damage. The lawn will look like it has not been watered because of the curling and shriveling up of the grass blades that eventually turn brown and die. Augustine grass.Ĭhinch bug damage can be easily mistaken for lack of water and overall heat-stressed turf. One thing that thrives in the hot and dry climate in our lawns and can become a real issue this time of year is chinch bugs. (08/16/19) We are continuing to experience a heat wave this August without much relief.