It is amazing how quickly it can turn dry in South Texas. Yards and landscapes are showing signs of stress even though rains fell across the area less than two weeks ago. The brutal heat has depleted any topsoil moisture that was present only a few days earlier.

However, dry and hot conditions may not be the only force stressing landscapes. Chinch bugs thrive in hot, dry weather and feed primarily on St. Augustine grass. In fact this pest is attracted to areas of the lawn that absorb the greatest amount of heat.

The conditions of the past week have created the perfect situation for chinch bugs to feed and proliferate.

Chinch bugs will converge where the lawn meets the sidewalk, driveway or house foundation, since these areas attract and absorb the greatest amount of heat.

These landscape hot spots usually require additional supplemental irrigation even when summer conditions are more favorable then those currently being experienced.

Chances are if heat-absorbing areas continue to turn brown and die even with an abundance of supplemental water, chinch bugs are likely present.

Adult chinch bugs are typically about 0.2 inches long, black in color with white wings. Immature bugs are wingless and orange in color. These pests suck the juices out of grass and it is believed that they also insert a toxin into the plant.

Damage often looks like fungal damage with dead grass surrounded by a “halo” of yellow grass. To determine if damage is chinch bug induced, check for the pest by conducting a “cylinder” test.

Take an empty can with both ends open or a piece of PVC pipe and work it into the soil in an area where chinch bug activity is suspected.

Push the cylinder into the ground so that it will hold water. Fill the can or PVC with water and after about 10 minutes chinch bugs will float to the top if they are present in the soil.

Once the determination has been made that the pest is the problem, the lawn can be treated with an insecticide labeled for chinch bug control.

Now through the remainder of the month is the time to check areas where the lawn meets the sidewalks and driveways for chinch bug activity. It is frustrating to nurse a landscape through a South Texas summer only to lose a portion to chinch bug activity as summer draws to a close.