What do they look like? These pests cause extensive damage very quickly, including killing St Augustine turf, during the hot days of July, August and well into September. Choose a spot along the edges of the damaged area, rather than in the middle of a dead spot. The hairy chinch bug is a common type of chinch bug in Eastern Canada. Find information on control, plant damage, and infestation removal. (See References 2, page 10) Adults are about 3/16 inch long and are black with white patches on the wings. The Chinch Bug Test. Take the lid off a coffee can and then remove the bottom with a can opener. There's probably other ways, but I cut it off with tin snips. Fortunately there’s a quick and easy way to quickly tell if your problem is chinch bugs. Chinch bugs overwinter in thatch (fibrous mat of old grass and undecomposed organic material) and thrive in warm dry … Chinch bugs are black with a white spot on their back between their wing pads. Test for chinch bugs to make sure you have an infestation. Chinch bug damage is so complete, there is no recovery - the lawn is dead and must be replaced. Cultural Control. Call Orkin for service. Chinch bugs go through five life stages (instars) ranging in size from approximately 0.2 to 3 mm. Although they don't attack all grasses, some of the most common warm- and cool-season turfgrass species are likely chinch-bug targets. Figure 4. Alternatively, you can remove a puck-sized piece of turf and sink it in a bucket of water and watch for bugs to rise up. Chinch bugs are small pests that can damage your lawn, leaving patches of dry, dead grass throughout your turf. Chinch bugs will eat up your grass so that it looks like patches of yellow grass. Drought damage can be differentiated from chinch bugs as drought damage leaves an evenly damaged, brownish grassed area. Though small, they are still visible to the naked eye (Figure 4). Grab a coffee can, soup can or other metal can and open it at both ends. Despite the fact that chinch bugs are tiny and almost invisible to the naked eye, they are fully capable of causing large areas of damage in your lawn. If you’ve ever seen your lawn in a drought, damage to it forms these pests look very similar. With their piercing-sucking mouthparts, they feed on the sap of grass plants. Chinch bugs can also be forced out of turfgrass thatch by sprinkling an infested area with a dilute liquid dishwashing soap solution (1 oz. Southern chinch bugs are small and slender with white wings with distinctive black triangular marks. The southern chinch bug is the most common one found throughout the Southeast. 1. Read our guide on what chinch bugs look like for more information. Suspect chinch bugs when you see large, distinct, circular patches, primarily in the sunny areas of your lawn, that turn yellow, then brown, and then die. It will also be the focus of this particular Sod University blog, although treatment usually remains consistent between the differing varieties. 2. Chinch bugs are small, little 1/8" bugs that live in your lawn near the base of the leaf. Various life stages of southern chinch bugs. Prevention is simple: Keep your lawn well watered and don't fertilize too heavily before the warm season . Why are they so troublesome, because they are lethal. Despite the fact that chinch bugs are tiny and almost invisible to the naked eye, they are fully capable of causing large areas of damage in your lawn. Most of the chinch bugs in the sampled area will float to the top. Chinch bugs are easy to recognize, but hard to see. Chinch bugs prefer hot, dry, overfertilized and stressed-out lawns. CHINCH BUGS. Controlling Chinch Bugs. Methods to minimize the occurrence of chinch bugs exist, but once they're on the rise, you can't turn your head. Chinch bugs can cause a lot of damage to a lawn. Chinch Bugs Defined. Chinch bugs have become resistant to almost every pesticide used to control them. Adult chinch bugs have white wings folded over their backs, and are 4 mm (.16 inches) in length. Here's How to Check for Them. By cutting off the rim you make the can sharp so it is easer to proceed with the next step. Learn how to get rid of chinch bugs in the lawn and get info on around the house treatments. The southern chinch bug is the most common one found throughout the Southeast. The southern chinch bug displays a preference for St. Augustinegrass, and this preference has elevated the southern chinch bug to the second most expensive plant feeding arthropod in Florida (Cherry and Nagata 1997, Kerr 1966). They were even resistant to DDT in the early 1950s. The bugs are likely to be most active where … Symptoms Chinch bugs do their worst damage in the heat of the summer in August and early September. Southern Chinch Bug. If you have chinch bugs, read the rest of this guide to learn how to get rid of these grass-destroying critters.