Chinch bugs are another least-wanted pest. These black and white bugs have reddish legs and grow at most a fifth of an inch long. They attack cool-season grasses in early summer, with the worst seige by a second generation in September. A serious problem for St. Augustine grass, these insects inject a fluid that disrupts water conduction, causing the grass to wilt or die. You can detect them by pressing a bottomless can into the lawn and filling it with water. Discourage chinch bugs by keeping your lawn well fed. Try gypsum and soapy water on the lawn. Control thatch. Treat your lawn in June and August with bendiocarb, diazinon, ethoprop, or chlorpyrifos.
