Managing Chinch bugs can be difficult.  Especially in the summer months.  Since they like to be in the full sun the damage they cause is usually passed off as drought stress.  You wont typically see them in the shade and since they are very small they are easily overlooked.  

In the summer of 2018 there was a large outbreak that occurred in the summer.  We began to receive many phone calls from customers and remediation was paramount.  Since lawns were in a state of drought stress it wouldn’t take long for many lawns to be ruined. 

Treatment is simple and very effective.  However, recovery can sometimes be difficult due to the toxin they inject into the plant after sucking the sugars out of the leaf blades.  Since they love the heat and sunlight, they will feed on already weakened grasses.  This can be a death sentence if left unmanaged. 

Preventative treatments are done typically around late June and July and can continue into September and August depending upon weather conditions and the generations that have matured. 

The photos and video below illustrate what damage they can cause and what they look like.