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Chinch bugs are the most serious insect pests of St. Augustine Grass in Central Florida. These sap-sucking pests can be found infesting lawns year-round, but cause the most damage in the hotter months of the year (June through October). Chinch Bugs tend to be attracted to stressed grass first, particularly areas that tend to dry-out intermittently between waterings. Management of Chinch Bugs using insecticides can sometimes be difficult as these pests have developed resistance to every insecticide chemical class currently on the market. The keys to keeping Chinch Bugs from inflicting significant injury to your lawn is to keep your lawn well-hydrated, ensure proper fertility, monitor for Chinch Bugs populations often, and apply appropriate insecticides when needed.

Even with the best-maintained St. Augustine Grass lawns, Chinch Bugs sometimes become a problem. If Chinch Bugs are causing damage to your lawn, then insecticide application is required to kill the Chinch Bugs and stop further injury to the lawn. The lawn will likely continue to decline in the infested area for about two weeks after the application. All label directions must be carefully followed when using any pesticide to ensure the safety of the applicator and environment.

The Neonicotinoid class of insecticides is the most effective and environmentally sound insecticide class for Chinch Bugs management, as compared to other insecticide classes. These systemic insecticides are uptaken by the grass following application and kill Chinch Bugs as they feed. Since these insecticides do not target insects through contact, toxicity to beneficial insects is drastically lower than compared to contact-kill insecticides. Neonicotinoid active ingredients used for Chinch Bug management include Imidacloprid, Clothianidin, and Dinotefuran.

While other insecticide classes are available and labeled for Chinch Bugs management, we do not recommend using them alone for severe Chinch Bug infestations.

The Pyrethroid class of insecticides encompasses contact-kill insecticides that are commonly-used for pest management. Over the past 10-15 years Chinch Bug populations have developed significant insecticide resistance to Pyrethroid insecticides. The additional use of this class of insecticides for the management of Chinch Bugs only exacerbates resistance and often does not manage Chinch Bugs populations sufficiently to provide satisfactory control. Common Pyrethroid active ingredients are Bifenthrin, Cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Lambda-Cyhalothrin, and Permethrin. Most of the box-store brands of insecticides labeled for Chinch Bugs management contain one or more Pyrethroid insecticides.

The Organophosphate class of insecticides, which includes active ingredients such as Malathion, are not labeled for Chinch Bugs management in lawns.

• Drought and intermittent lack of water – areas of St. Augustinegrass that are under water-stress are absolutely irresistible for Chinch Bugs. If we find Chinch Bugs causing injury in a lawn, the area affected is almost always too dry to maintain healthy St. Augustine Grass.
• Excessive moisture and/or poor drainage – lawns that grow in soils that remain too wet often have issues with root-rot diseases and Chinch Bugs.
• Previously-Infested Areas – Chinch Bugs tend to re-infest the same areas of the lawn seasonally. This is likely related to water stress (lack of- or excessive-water) in those areas.

Over years of insecticide use for Chinch Bugs management by both homeowners and the pest control industry, Chinch Bugs populations have developed resistance to every class of insecticides used today. These include Neonicotinoids, Pyrethroids, and Organophosphates. For this reason, Chinch Bug management – both preventive and curative – may not always be successful. In such cases, additional treatments with alternate chemistries may be required.

Chinch Bugs are really small insects – adults measure only about six millimeters (about 1/4 inch) long. They can easily be confused with other insects that live in your lawn, most of which are beneficial and should not be treated with insecticides. Two of such important insects are the False Chinch Bug, which mainly feeds on seeds of plants in the mustard family, and the Big Eyed Bug, which is a predator of other insects, including many lawn pests such as Chinch Bugs, Sod Webworms, and Armyworms.

Chinch Bugs are the most serious pests of St. Augustine Grass because they cause lawn injury quickly and may be difficult to manage. At Environmental Pest & Lawn Services we take pride in our amazing technicians, who are well-trained in identifying Chinch Bugs infestations early. We use the most environmentally-sound systemic insecticides available to maximize treatment efficacy both preventively and curatively. We have the passion and the know-how to keep your lawn healthy!