Have you noticed your lawn doesn’t look like your neighbors? Have you noticed yellow-brown patches throughout your lawn? You may have a damaging insect such as the chinch bug causing the damage.

Chinch bugs are one of the more damaging lawn insects. They are capable of injecting a toxin into the root of a plant or grass preventing it from getting water.

Fertilized females will lay their eggs in the spring on leaves or within the soil at the base of a tree. The eggs will then hatch within 2 weeks and it only takes up to 30 days for a nymph to fully mature. At full maturity, chinch bugs are 3/16” long with an all-black body and frosty white wings.

Chinch bugs start damaging plants, crops and grass from the day they hatch. St. Augustine grass is a prime food source for chinch bugs. They also cause damage to rice, corn and grain crops as well as zoysia, fescue and Bermuda grasses. Most damage is done by the adult chinch in late June to September when the weather is warmer.

Unfortunately, after the damage is done, it may not be possible for your lawn to recover; you may have to reseed the area. Taking preventative measures before it starts is an important step in lawn maintenance. Watering and mowing on a regular basis and treating the soil will also help maintain your lawn.

Let Safe Earth Pest Control help you maintain your lawn with preventative treatments. Call us today. We have a plan that’s fit for you. 214-321-2847