How Do I Identify Chinch Bug Infestations on My Lawn?

If you notice any chinch bug damage even when your lawn is well irrigated, your lawn might have chinch bug infestations. There are some common symptoms of chinch bugs: spot chinch bugs or dry-looking grass areas. They might be similar to drought conditions; however, the shape of the brown patch is in a circular pattern, different from the irregular shape of dying grass resulting from chinch bug feeding.

The damage from the chinch bug might look like drought stress at first. However, when you do enough water movement on your lawn but do not solve any problem, that's time you know your lawn has been infested.

👉👉👉There are two ways for you to spot the bugs:

Use a magnifying glass to look closely and find chinch bugs among your grass blade when they move around. Use your hand to part the blades of grass and find chinch bugs lying on your lawn. The best place to find tiny bugs is at the edges of damaged turf, where you can look for both adult chinch bugs and immature bugs.

Another way is to conduct a tin can or float test. In this method, you should wear gloves beforehand so that the sharp edge of the metal will not cut your hand. Remove two ends of the metal cylinder and push down the metal cylinder as hard as you can to reach the soil.
Then, fill 3/4 of the can with water and maintain the water level for about 10 minutes (if you push down enough, the can will make a seal that keeps water from running out). If your lawn has chinch bugs, they will float to the top of the water surface.

Here is some information for your reference, if you have any questions, please contact GREEN ARBOR LANDSCAPING (206) 265-2940 for advice.