Green Lawn Fertilizing

Your #1 Local Lawn Care Provider

888-581-5296
Call Green Lawn Fertilizing Now! Request a Free Estimate →
  • Customer Login
  • Free Estimate
  • Service Plans
    • Lawn Care Programs
    • Green Lawn Program
    • Natural Program
    • Aeration & Seeding
    • Fungicide Program
    • Flea & Tick Program
    • Lime Applications
    • Grub Control
    • Other Services
    • Tree & Shrub Care
    • Mosquito Control
    • Spotted Lanternfly Program
    • Pest Control
    • Commercial Services
  • Why Green Lawn
    • Why Green Lawn Fertilizing?
    • About Us
    • Testimonials
    • Careers
    • Lawn FAQs
    • Special Offers
  • Service Area
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, PA
      • Montgomery County, PA
        • Pottstown
        • Royersford
        • Lansdale
        • Gilbertsville
        • Collegeville
        • Wynnewood
        • Bryn Mawr
        • More...
      • Delaware County, PA
        • Havertown
        • Media
        • Glen Mills
        • Newtown Square
        • Garnet Valley
        • Broomall
        • Chadds Ford
        • More...
      • Chester County, PA
        • West Chester
        • Downingtown
        • Phoenixville
        • Wayne
        • Chester Springs
        • Coatesville
        • West Grove
        • More...
      • Bucks County, PA
        • Bensalem
        • Perkasie
        • Newtown
        • Doylestown
        • Warrington
        • Chalfont
        • Richboro
        • More...
      • Lehigh County, PA
        • Allentown
        • Macungie
        • Whitehall
        • Schnecksville
        • Emmaus
        • Breinigsville
        • Zionsville
        • More...
      • Berks County, PA
        • Reading
        • Birdsboro
        • Morgantown
        • Douglassville
        • Mohnton
        • Blandon
        • More...
      • More...
    • New Jersey
      • Burlington County, NJ
        • Mount Laurel
        • Medford
        • Lumberton
        • Bordentown
        • Mount Holly
        • Maple Shade
        • Burlington
        • More...
      • Camden County, NJ
        • Cherry Hill
        • Clementon
        • Voorhees
        • Sicklerville
        • Pennsauken
        • Oaklyn
        • Mount Ephraim
        • More...
      • Middlesex County, NJ
        • Monroe Township
        • East Brunswick
        • North Brunswick
        • Kendall Park
        • Old Bridge
        • Edison
        • Plainsboro
        • More...
      • Mercer County, NJ
        • Princeton
        • Trenton
        • Lawrence Township
        • Ewing
        • Robbinsville
        • Princeton Junction
        • Pennington
        • More...
      • Monmouth County, NJ
        • Manalapan
        • Millstone Township
        • Freehold
        • Allentown
        • Colts Neck
        • Morganville
        • More...
      • Somerset County, NJ
        • Hillsborough
        • Belle Mead
        • Bridgewater
        • Franklin
        • Branchburg
        • Somerville
        • More...
      • Gloucester County, NJ
        • Mullica Hill
        • Swedesboro
        • Mickleton
        • Woodbury
        • Westville
        • Mantua
        • More...
      • More...
    • Delaware
      • Kent County, DE
        • Dover
        • Clayton
        • More...
      • New Castle County, DE
        • Wilmington
        • Newark
        • Hockessin
        • Claymont
        • Bear
        • More...
      • More...
  • Learning Center
    • Lawn Care Blog
    • Lawn Libraries
    • Free Lawn Care Guides
    • Lawn Care Resources
  • Customer Center
    • Write a Review
    • Refer-A-Friend
    • Customer Survey
    • Pay Online
    • Enter Offer Code
    • Contact Us
Lawn Pest Library

Chinch Bugs

Scientific Name: Blissus leucopterus

Lifespan: Less than one year

Brief description: This bug gets its name from the Spanish word chinche, or “pest.” The chinch bug has been pestering North America for centuries; records of the insect damaging crops on this continent date back to the 1700s. These tiny critters feed on stems of turfgrass, sucking the grass blades dry and then injecting a toxin into the plants that kills them.

What are Chinch Bugs?

Chinch bugs are small in size (adults are only ⅙ inch long), but they can do serious damage to a lawn. Chinch bugs seek out arid, hot, and sunny environments to live and breed, and they cause the most damage during the hottest and driest months of the year. The hairy and common chinch bugs are the predominant two species of chinch bug in the United States. The hairy chinch bug attacks northern turfgrasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fescues, and it favors lawns that are more than 50 percent Kentucky bluegrass. The common chinch also can be observed on turfgrasses, though it prefers grain crops such as corn and wheat.

Chinch bugs have three stages: egg, nymphal (young), and adult. The bugs overwinter in hedgerows, road sides, and other protected areas, then emerge in late spring to feast on grasses and breed. In mid-summer, females lay about 200 eggs in folds of grass blades, and when the nymphs hatch, they suck out the sap from the grass sheaths and stems with their needle-like mouthpieces. Both the nymph and adult chinch bugs have the needle mouthparts. As their feeding continues and intensifies, grass turns yellow and then brown.

Signs and Symptoms of Chinch Bugs

If you judiciously feed and water your lawn, only to find it showing signs of drought damage, consider the possibility of a chinch bug infestation. Turf that is truly parched will respond quickly to watering, but if it has been overtaken by chinch bugs, it will not. You may notice yellow spots of grass next to driveways, sidewalks, or the foundation of a home, areas that are naturally warmer and beckon the heat-loving chinch. Particularly in hot, dry weather, small yellow patches will gradually become large sections of damaged turf.

Find out if you are entertaining an army of chinch bugs by getting down on your hands and knees and visually inspect the grass in a suspected area of lawn. Chinch bugs can range in color from light red to orange (nymphal stage) to black (adult). Nymphs have a white stripe across their abdomen, and adults have white on their backs, between their wings. Confirm an infestation with the tin can trick. Cut both sides off of a tin can, and push one end down into the ground in a spot where the yellow-brown grass meets green grass. Then pour water into the can so that the water is above grass level, and wait ten minutes. If you have chinch bugs, they will begin to float to the surface of the water.

How to Prevent Chinch Bugs

Keep a healthy lawn by mowing at the maximum recommended height, feeding it a lean diet of fertilizer (without overdoing it), aerating the soil, and watering regularly, particularly during very hot and dry weather. Since chinch bugs congregate in turf thatch, remove excess thatch from your lawn with a special dethatching rake or by hiring a professional lawn care service.

Overfertilization with nitrogen is tied to increased chinch bug populations, so use small amounts of nitrogen fertilizer during the summer or use a slow-release formula.

A number of insecticides are available to prevent and control chinch bug populations. They are usually successful if applied early on. Synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (all of which end in “thrin”) are viable options. These include bifenthrin (Ortho Max Bug-B-Gon, Over ‘n Out and Hi-Yield Bug Blaster), cyfluthrin (Bayer Advanced), lamda-cyhalothrin (Spectracide) and permethrin (Green Light and Spectracide). All are available at garden supply stores.

Treatments come in granular and liquid form. Granular insecticides can be applied with a standard fertilizer spreader. Liquid sprays can be applied with a hose-end sprayer. Adding a small amount of dishwashing solution to your liquid spray can help improve control and coverage of the area.

If chinch bugs are damaging just a small section of the yard, apply spot treatment with insecticide first. Otherwise, you could inadvertently kill the big-eyed bug, one of the chinch bugs’ natural enemies.

Chinch bugs reproduce rapidly and can develop resistance to an active ingredient just as fast.  It can be advantageous to switch up the class of insecticide you use if you need to treat the lawn more than once.

For chronic chinch bug problems, contact your local lawn care specialist. They can determine a treatment plan that is more likely to achieve lasting control over these pests.

Free Estimate

Free Estimate
Read Unbiased Consumer Reviews Online at AngiesList.com

2 Free Applications with 8 Application Program

See Offer Details →

 
Visit Green Pest Solutions Green Pest Solutions →

Seasonal Lawn Care

  • Green Lawn Program
  • Lime Applications
  • Commercial Services

Receive occasional company news and money saving offers

From Our Blog

grass

Landscape vs. Lawn Care Services: What’s the Difference?

winter-lawn

How to Protect Your Lawn from Cold

lawncare

How Long Does Fall DIY Lawn Care Take?

grass-brown-spot

How to Treat Brown Patches on Your Lawn

Contact Us

888-581-5296

Green Lawn Fertilizing
1004 Saunders Ln
West Chester, PA 19380
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Green Lawn Fertilizing Careers

Apply Now
Green Lawn Fertilizing received an average service rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars from 1,523 ratings.

Copyright © 2019 Green Lawn Fertilizing — Privacy Policy — Web Services by Cloud Media Lab