chinch bugs (St. Augustine, Jay: job, health, house)

[kelly3120]

I think we have them afterall

I treated w/ a lesco bug killing(chinch,grubs,ants,fles,etc). Is lesco good? My famer father said to use it, so I'm guessing it is?

How long does it take for recovery? ...6 months? And how do we know if we fixed the problem?

My husband says we need to let the grass grown, but my understanding is that St. Augustine doesn't reseed quickly.

[Prichard]

The grass where you had chinch bugs will not grow back. You need to buy some sod or grass plugs to re-plant. Personally, this time of year, I'd probably just buy a pallet of sod, or if the area is really small, just go buy some squares of sod. It will grow much faster than plugs.

Just make sure you've killed all of the chinch bugs. Basically, I'll used at least two different kinds of pesticides, putting one down one week, and then another type in another week, and make sure that I go much broader than where the obvious damage is. The last thing you want to do is put new sod down just to find chinchbug problems again. I'd go ahead and pull up the dead grass with a rake and/or shovel. put down some good topsoil after you treat, but before you plant the new sod or plugs.

St. Augustine plugs are good, but they take time to grow together. I like them for spot repairing problem areas in a lawn. Also, make sure you get the right kind of St. Augustine - some is for shady areas; some is for high sun areas.

[carolac]

We had them for the first time this year. The guy two doors down who keeps an immaculate yard resodded in a few places, the sod had these bugs. It spread to our neighbors yard and eeked into ours. We sprayed with Bug B Gone about 2 months ago, and I think they're back. I'll have to try the Lesco and whatever Prichard is using, if he doesn't mind sharing.

Originally Posted by kelly3120

I think we have them afterall

I treated w/ a lesco bug killing(chinch,grubs,ants,fles,etc). Is lesco good? My famer father said to use it, so I'm guessing it is?

How long does it take for recovery? ...6 months? And how do we know if we fixed the problem?

My husband says we need to let the grass grown, but my understanding is that St. Augustine doesn't reseed quickly.

[kelly3120]

thanks so much Prichard!

since St Augustine is a glorified crab grass, will it spread out to that area?
I understand that the dead will not come back, but just wondering about the healthy areas spreading over the dead.
I'll go buy some once I know this bug is gone.

I spread the lesco all over the lawn and hit the infected areas w/ a little extra. ....that's what my Dad said to do as well!!!

Next thing I need to do is some weed n feed(have some different grass coming in on the cities side of the walk) but home depot said weed n feed in this heat is a bad idea ....maybe they are wrong though.

What do you use on your lawn? ....brands?
I guess my next step is to find out what type of St. Augustine we have.
My neighbors hire someone to treat their lawns, but I take alot of pride in bring this lawn back on my own ....hope I don't kill it in the process!

Thanks so much! I appreciate your knowledge on this

[Prichard]

You won't be able to get what I use. I still have some concentrated liquid Diazinon that I stocked up on from before they banned it. I also use Malathyon (don't know if you can still get that either) and Sevin. It's been a while since I had to fight chinchbugs, but you really need to do an all out assault on them, with multiple types of chemicals. You really should treat your whole lawn too. They can destroy an entire lawn in about 2 months.

Here, check out the chemicals available on this website: http://msucares.com/newsletters/pest...004/bw1004.pdf

Out of the chemicals they have listed, I'd pick the Sevin and the Triazinon - preferably in liquid concentrate, if available. Spray it in HIGH concentrations over your lawn. You might want to treat with granuals after this, just to be on the safe side.

[kelly3120]

thanks
The whole lawn is treated!
my Dad is a Diazinon fan ...he pouted when they stoped making it. =)
I haveTriazinon at the other house wooo woo!


thanks for the website!
You Rock! ....are you a pest control guy? or do you just know your stuff?

I'm gonna hit it w/ the Triazinon tomorrow before it rains!
I appreciate it so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How often do you treat your lawn? Every season?

[Prichard]

No, I'm not a pest control guy - just a garrage chemist! Honestly, I got tired of chasing bugs out of my yard. I use a Massey Services to treat my lawn now. They treat the lawn about six times / year with varous fertilizers and pest control sprays.

I have to admit, they do a much better job than I do. However, I still keep my "arsenal" on hand, just in case. No chinch bugs anymore! I do get sod web worms occassionally, and Massey doesn't seem to use enough chemical to kill them off, so I go out and spray about twice during the wet summer months. Occasionally I will need to spray some fungicide to kill grass destroying mold. I also get moles now and then, so I spray Molestop about twice a year (just castor bean oil). I do have to supplement their fertilizing with some iron rich fertilizer about twice a year. Other than that, they do a real good job.

[kelly3120]

I can't say Im a chemist!
I'm a plant freak!!!!! and I'm obessed w/ my puppy!

I am really interested in orchids and roses right now.
I gave my Dad back his orchids(he was out of town) and he let them burn up.
So I took them back and they are starting to show green again! I"m also root'n for the under dog and try to bring back the plants that look like they have no hope to survive.

I bought two tea cup roses, but I really need a dark,sexy,red, velvet rose!!!!!!!!!
...plants are so fun!

you get moles?
put hot pepper in their holes ...they won't come back!!!
we put jalopenos(sp?) in their holes.

mmmmmm, maybe I will contact a lawn service once we are down to one house. My husband told me to give it a month and if the lawn still looks bad we will contact a service. I do have grass comming into my dead spots.
...maybe some of them are just dry spots ...but I treated for everything regardless!

well, I appreciate your knowledge in this subject.

Have a great night!

[TeeJayMaJay]

We have st augustine and it does drive us nuts at times in trying to keep it nice.
I do have a suggestion I heard about and tried with success re: MOLES. Find a fresh mound and stick the hose down it - run water down it for about 10-60 seconds and suddenly a little mole will come out and you just gently scoop it up in a bucket. Put a lid on the top, LIGHTLY and then we drove out to the far country wilderness, nearby, to let it go free. AWAY FROM OTHER HOMES - just find some open areas if you have any. No killing - no movement to neighbor's yards, etc. WORKS GREAT! We had two - got one on a MONDAY and WEDNESDAY got the other. Fun to actually see them, I must admit. Never saw one up close. :-O

[carolac]

That's what my hubby did with a baby mole we found in our yard. He took it to his dad's farm. Our son wanted to keep it.

Originally Posted by TeeJayMaJay

We have st augustine and it does drive us nuts at times in trying to keep it nice.
I do have a suggestion I heard about and tried with success re: MOLES. Find a fresh mound and stick the hose down it - run water down it for about 10-60 seconds and suddenly a little mole will come out and you just gently scoop it up in a bucket. Put a lid on the top, LIGHTLY and then we drove out to the far country wilderness, nearby, to let it go free. AWAY FROM OTHER HOMES - just find some open areas if you have any. No killing - no movement to neighbor's yards, etc. WORKS GREAT! We had two - got one on a MONDAY and WEDNESDAY got the other. Fun to actually see them, I must admit. Never saw one up close. :-O