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LAWN & TREE » Turf & Tree Insects  Plant & Grass Diseases Fire Ant Treatments |
Turf & Tree Insects
Chinch Bugs
 Chinch bugs are most damaging to St. Augustine grass. You may see them on grasses such as zoysia, Bermuda, and centipede, but infestations
usually occur where high populations have built up on St. Augustine grass. Adult chinch bugs are about one-fifth of an inch long and black
with white wings folded over their backs. The insect mates early in the season when the temperature reaches 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
The female lays eggs on roots, stems, leaves, leaf sheaths or crevices in nodes and other protected places. Eggs are laid over a 2 to 3
week period, with one female laying as many as 500 eggs.
Chinch bugs have become resistant to almost every pesticide used to control them. They were even resistant to DDT in the early 1950s.
Of the many insecticides labeled for chinch bug elimination, there are two that stand out above the rest: Talstar (which contains
Bifenthrin) and Acephate. For the past several years, Acephate had been the best overall performer in eliminating chinch bugs in lawns,
giving better control than other products being used by professionals and homeowners alike. However, Talstar has suddenly become the star
performer in eliminating lawn and turf pests such as molecrickets, ants and chinch bugs.
Pine Bark Beetles
 Adults are small, cylindrical, hard-bodied beetles about the size of a grain of rice. Most species are dark red, brown, or black. Their
antennae are elbowed and the outer segments are enlarged and clublike. When viewed from above, the head is partly or completely hidden by
the thorax. They have strong, scooplike jaws (mandibles) for chewing. A buckshot pattern of holes is apparent on infested branches or on
the trunks where the new adults have emerged. Larvae of most species are off-white, robust, grublike, and may have a dark head.
The important pest species of bark beetles mine the inner bark (the phloem-cambial region) on twigs, branches, or trunks of trees and
shrubs. This activity often starts a flow of tree pitch in conifers and is accompanied by a sawdustlike material (frass). Frass accumulates
in bark crevices or may drop and be visible on the ground or in spider webs. Small emergence holes in the bark with sap weeping out of the
holes are a good indication that bark beetles have been present. Bark beetles commonly attack trees weakened or predisposed to infestation
by drought, disease, injuries, or other factors that may stress the tree. Beetles can contribute to the decline and eventual death of trees
but with a few exceptions usually are not the initial cause.
Thoroughly drenching the main trunk with a pyrethroid (e.g., Astro or Dragnet) or the carbamate carbaryl can prevent new bark beetle
infestations if applied when adults are flying. Be sure to use a product labeled for trunk applications and apply it at the proper rate
for trunk treatments. Label rates for foliage treatments will not be effective. Effective products may not be available to home users, but
are available to licensed pesticide applicators. Regardless of the insecticide used, mix only what you need. Apply the entire mix according
to the label to avoid leftover insecticide, which should never be poured down a sink or storm drain. Take special care to keep pesticides
from running off-site and into drains or waterways.
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