CHINCH BUGS IN YOUR LAWN

How does your lawn look if we have an extremely hot summer combined with zero rain? In Michigan we often see the grass will turn a yellow-brown color, it looks crazy dry and dead. We know drought stress can cause this damage to your grass but there is actually an insect that can what looks like drought damage to your lawn. Who is the culprit? Chinch bugs! Chinch bugs are easy to recognize, but really hard to see. These pests are 1/5" long with black bodies and white wings folded across their back. These insects take several weeks to mature. After hatching they start out yellow, but gradually turn pink, then reddish in color.

When a chinch bug sees your lawn their mouths start to salivate like ours do over a juicy piece of steak. Chinch bugs honestly think of our lawns as dinner! You could do everything there is to do to ensure your lawn is going to be healthy and nice looking and these bugs will still show up.

I know you're wondering how exactly do these bugs create this much damage to your lawn? Well, chinch bugs suck your grass blades dry by feeding on the liquid in a grass plant. They can kill small patches (if you’re lucky) or move all the way around your entire lawn, leaving large brown patches in your lawn. Many people become furious at the lawn damage caused by chinch bugs. There is hope, and there is a solution to help guarantee your lawn will be looking top notch this summer. Owen Lawn Care can apply lawn insect control treatments to stop chinch bugs, sod webworms and grubs from damaging your lawn.

Instead of trying to diagnose lawn problems on your own, give Owen Lawn Care a call so people aren't staring at your lawn for all the wrong reasons.