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Controlling Chinchbugs in Kentucky
There are several chinch bugs that attack turfgrasses in North America. The hairy chinch bug (Blissus leucopterus hirtus Montandon) is the most common pest of northern turfgrasses, although the common chinch bug (Blissus leucopterus leucopterus Say) is sometimes also found in cool season lawns.
The common chinch bug is normally found from South Dakota across to Virginia and south to a line running from mid-Texas across to mid-Georgia. The hairy chinch bug cohabits some of the northern range of the common chinch bug but also extends throughout the northeastern states and into southern Canada.
The hairy chinch bug prefers turfgrass species such as fine fescues, perennial ryegrasses, Kentucky bluegrass, bentgrass and zoysiagrass. The common chinchbug prefers grain crops but will attack turfgrasses such as Bermudagrass, fescues, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, zoysiagrass and crabgrass.
Types of damage
Chinch bug damage shows up as irregular patches of grass that turn yellow then straw-like color. These straw colored areas may be completely dead. Even with watering, the patches continue to grow in size.
Chinch bugs block the water and nutrients from moving from the soil to the grass stems. By blocking the water, the leaves wither as they would in a drought. Food that is manufactured in the leaf blades cannot get to the roots. The result is plant death. Here in Kentucky, Chinchbug damage generally occurs during our hot, dry weather from late June into September.
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