What are Chinch Bugs and How Do I Get Rid of Them?

Chich bugs are known for ravaging otherwise healthy lawns. Their damage becomes apparent when a lawn takes on drought-like symptoms (regardless of the amount of rain your area has received). Only upon close inspection of the grass are chinch bugs visible. The damage they cause is from sucking the moisture out of the grass blades before injecting them with a poisonous toxin. This destruction can be contained to patches, but it can kill entire lawns, too. To save your lawn, it’s important to act immediately once you’ve discovered an infestation. Here’s more about identification and how to get rid of chinch bugs.

What are Chinch Bugs?

Chinch bugs are tiny, measuring about 1/5″ in length. This makes them difficult to spot with the naked eye. Here are two methods for confirming the presence of chinch bugs in your lawn:

• Get down! No, don’t dance. Get on your hands and knees to look eye level with where your grass meets the soil. This is where you’ll spot chinch bugs at work, eating away at the base of your grass blades.
• Use a coffee can. If getting on your hands and knees isn’t an option, there is another way to detect a chinch bug presence. Create a tube by cutting off both ends of a coffee can and push it into the soil so it goes a few inches into the ground. Next, fill it with water. If there are chinch bugs in your soil they’ll eventually start to float to the surface.

How to Get Rid of Chinch Bugs

When treating chinch bugs yourself, liquid insecticides are your best bet. Late summer is the best time to apply a treatment. First, remove thatch so the product can reach the roots, then read the product label thoroughly. Many products require a good watering after application, but every insecticide is different, so be sure to follow the instructions given.

We Can Help

At Green Lawn Fertilizing, we’ve seen first-hand the damage that chinch bugs can do. Let us help you identify and fight an infestation. Give us a call at 888-581-5296 for a free estimate today.

Lawn Insect Guide

Certain insects are beneficial to a lawn; others are annoying or downright dangerous. Here are some of the most common bugs to this area and what you need to know about them.

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