Ah, summertime. The hot days, the dry grass. Sometimes the dying
grass. But don’t
confuse grass dying from heat and lack of water with grass
killed quickly by tiny
insects’ attack.

Chinch bugs and spittlebugs invade yards and grassy areas all
over the Southeast.

“We estimate that lawn care professionals and homeowners
spend about $4 million per
year attempting to control and replace the damage caused by
chinch bugs,” said
University of Georgia scientist Beverly Sparks.

“With spittlebugs, that drops down to about $2.7 million (spent
to control them and
repair their damage),” said Sparks, a research and extension
entomologist with the
UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Both insects use piercing mouthparts to suck the sap from the
grass. That loss of liquid
and nutrients can cause grass to die in isolated areas.

Many people mistake chinch bug damage for mowing too closely or
drought damage.
Chinch bugs inject a toxin into the grass that kills it quickly.
That damage quickly
spreads as the chinch bugs move from the dead grass to other
areas in the lawn.

Sparks said St. Augustine is chinch bugs’ favorite grass, but
they’ve also been found in
centipede and Bermuda grass.

To find chinch bugs, part the grass and look closely for a fast-
moving insect about
one-sixteenth of an inch long. These tiny insects reproduce
fast. That’s part of why
their damage spreads so quickly.

“They multiply quickly, and the immature insects feed with the
adults,” she said. “As
they finish eating in one area of grass and it dies, they move
out into a fresh area. And
the damage expands across the yard.”

Homeowners can prevent chinch bug invasions, at least to a
degree.

* Don’t overfertilize. That practically invites chinch bugs into
a buffet. “They love
lush, green lawns,” Sparks said.

* Get rid of thatch. Thick thatch on the turf provides ideal
places for chinch bugs to
live while they feast on your lawn.

Sparks said spittlebugs’ damage is quickly apparent. “You’ll see
small patches dying
out and little frothy masses,” she said.

Look for spittlebugs near the soil line of the grass. The insect
nymph will be inside any
frothy masses you might find.

Spittlebugs’ damage is usually more sporadic within a
yard. “It’s not necessarily going
to kill out the turf,” she said. “But you can get some browning-
out and dying.”

Start treating spittlebug damage by mowing your grass closely.
The mowing action
picks up the masses and mixes them with the clippings. Collect
the clippings and
dispose of them. A properly maintained compost pile will kill
any nymphs in the
clippings.

Apply approved pesticides to treat either chinch bugs or
spittlebugs. Sparks said to
water your lawn first, especially if the grass is already
drought-stressed. Then apply an
approved insecticide to the entire lawn and let it dry. The
remaining insecticide is most
effective if left on the grass where it kills both the immature
and adult insects.

Don’t forget, though, that these are insects, Sparks said.

“The adults have wings, and new ones can fly into your yard from
neighbors’ yards,”
she said. “If you find these in your yard, chances are your
neighbor has them, too. And
all of you need to coordinate your control programs for them.”