| The Organic Approach to Chinch Bug (Blissus leucopterus hirtus Montandon) Recognizing the culprit If you notice roundish, yellow or brown patches developing on your lawn in mid-summer, chinch bugs may be the culprits! These bugs congregate in warm, sunny areas of turf and feed by sucking sap from grass plants causing them to die.  A simple procedure to test for chinch is to insert one end of a coffee or juice can (with both ends cut out) about 2" into the soil. Fill the can with water and refill as necessary. Wait 10 minutes; if little 1/8" bright red bugs (called nymphs) with a white stripe across the middle of the body come to the surface, then you have a chinch problem. Adults, 1/16" long, grayish black with white forewings will also be found on the fringe of damaged areas. What causes chinch? The hairy chinch bug has been described by H.F. Decker1 as " perhaps the most devastating of all turf insects...[it] will reach population levels that can kill off extensive areas of turf in a matter of a few days." Decker describes the sudden damage as: " a perplexing problem to the turf manager. On a typical suburban street some of the lawns will show extensive damage in what is almost a random pattern down the block. Many of the lawns will be completely spared, showing little or no damage. Given the same weather and the same general population, obviously some factor difficult to detect protects some lawns, which often show a marked boundary between the damaged and the protected ones." There are a lot of research reports on factors affecting chinch bug2; put together, they illustrate that the chinch bug problem is largely one created by intensive chemical management practices, especially on Kentucky bluegrass turfs that are heavily fertilized. Kentucky bluegrass varieties selected for turf since the 1950s generally require high levels of nitrogen fertilizer for early greening up and sustained high quality. The heavy use of nitrogen fertilizer increases water requirements and drought susceptibility. Turfgrass is more susceptible to chinch bug when it is drought stressed. Thus, starting with Kentucky bluegrass and N fertilization, imbalances are created that encourage chinch bug - resulting in a situation where chemical control becomes "necessary". The Organic Approach Under organic management, the chinch bug problem is dealt with by reestablishing natural balances. The Edmonds' experience has been that there is a marked reduction in chinch problems under organic management, and virtually complete elimination of chinch after several years. With time, a more diverse sward develops, natural enemies are reestablished and promoted, soil structure improves and there is a more balanced release of nutrients, all of which bring chinch bug, and most other pests, under control. In the early stages of transition, we may take some special measures (but not use of pesticides) to control chinch infestations that developed under chemical management; those measures are determined by a site assessment. To control a current outbreak, try soaking infested areas with soapy water (1 oz. Dish soap to 2 gallons water). Cover the area with a bedsheet to "capture" the bugs as they are driven from the ground by the soap solution. Vacuum or wash the sheet to remove the bugs. 1 H.F. Decker, 1988. Lawn Care: A Handbook for Professionals. Prentice Hall. 2 For an overview of factors affecting chinch bug in turfs, see M.G. Kortier Davis and D.R. Smitey, 1990.Relationship of hairy chinch bug (Hemiptera:Lygaeidae) presence and abundance to parameters of the turf environment. Journal of Economic Entomology 83:2375. |
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