Treat Chinch Bugs Without Chemicals

True chinch bug adults are about ⅓" (8½ mm) long, and usually black with white wings (though they change colors several times as nymphs). If left alone, the chinch bugs will suck the sap out of your grass, leaving solid yellow patches on your lawn. Natural methods of pest control and lawn health maintenance are an excellent response to chinch bugs. Non-organic pesticides can kill the chinch bugs' predators and lead to second infestation later.

Steps

Treating the Infestation

1. Check the chinch bug population. Before you begin, get an idea of how bad the problem is, and whether chinch bugs are the ones responsible. Cut the base off a coffee can and push it two inches (5 cm) into the turf. Pour in soapy water until it stays filled. Repeat in several areas of your lawn, especially at the border of yellow patches. Return after ten minutes and count chinch bugs floating on the surface:
   • 5+ chinch bugs per can: a serious infestation. Continue to the next step for treatment.
   • 2–4 chinch bugs per can: low-level infestation. and test again later. Treat immediately if your lawn is in poor health.
   • 0–1 chinch bug per can: no treatment necessary. If your lawn is in poor health, there is probably another cause.
2. Vacuum the lawn. This can be effective if you catch the chinch bug infestation early, before they've spread throughout your lawn:
   • Rake the lawn vigorously for 2 ft (60 cm) on all sides of the damaged area, toward the center.
   • Vacuum the damaged area and surroundings.
   • Water thoroughly.
3. Buy or make a soap treatment. Insecticidal soaps are considered safe and appropriate for organic farming. A homemade soap treatment is actually more likely to damage your garden, but pure castille soap or mild Ivory or Dawn products (not extra-strength, grease-cutting, or anti-bacterial) are usually safe in a solution of 2½ tbsp dishwashing liquid per 1 gallon water (40 mL per 4 L). Mix in a clean sprayer, then shake or stir vigorously to combine. If using an insecticidal soap, dilute it following label instructions instead.
   • If you have hard water in your area, the soap may fail to mix in, leaving a scum on the surface after the water settles. If this happens, make a new mix using distilled or bottled water instead.
   • Using a commercial insecticidal soap for chinch bugs is not legal in Canada, although this may just be an oversight. Homemade soap treatments are allowed.
   • Any soap can cause damage to aquatic life. Do not apply it where the water could run off into a storm drain.
4. Spray the soapy water onto your lawn. Drench the damaged area of your lawn using a spray bottle or hose attachment. For best results, do this on a cool, still morning or evening. In windy or hot weather (especially above 90ºF / 32ºC), there is a much higher chance of damaging your plants.
   • Try to avoid getting the soap in contact with nearby plants. Some trees and flowers are particularly vulnerable to soap damage, especially during times of drought.
   • If you're concerned about potential damage, test a corner of your lawn first and check on it after 24 hours.
5. Spread a flannel sheet over the soapy area. The chinch bugs will run for cover and get caught in the nap of the flannel. Return after ten or fifteen minutes to vacuum up the pests, or drown them in a bucket of water.
6. Repeat as needed. Monitor your lawn to check for more chinch bugs or expanding damage. If necessary, repeat the soap treatment once a week, or once every three or four days for severe infestations. The soap breaks down quickly, so your lawn should be back to normal soon.
   • You may want to check your soil pH after treatment is finished, since soap is alkaline.
7. Encourage big-eyed bugs. These predators are not available for purchase, but they often arrive during an infestation to feed on chinch bugs. Providing a variety of flowering plants encourages them by giving them places to hide and feed.
   • These predators look very similar to chinch bugs. They tend to be smaller and faster, with larger eyes. If you're still seeing a lot of chinch bugs but your lawn seems healthy, you might be misidentifying this predator species.
8. Purchase other predatory insects. Ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps all feed on chinch bugs or their eggs. While they do not target chinch bugs as effectively as big-eyed bugs, they are all widely available for purchase.
9. Try natural oil treatments. A neem oil product can control chinch bugs with little effect on plants and beneficial insects. Spray on the oil during cool, humid evenings, since it can break down or burn plants in direct sunlight.
   • Some essential oils such as rosemary, lemongrass, cinnamon, or citrus oils can also help, but have not been studied as thoroughly. Dilute about 20 drops of oil in 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water, then spray onto your lawn.
10. Sprinkle on diatomaceous earth. This can kill beneficial insects and earthworms and can take weeks or months to solve the problem, so use it only as a last resort. Wear safety goggles and a dust mask to avoid irritation, and try not to create too much dust. Wash your hands after applying.
    • Use garden-grade or food-grade DE only. Swimming pool grade DE is a more significant respiratory hazard. Non-heated DE containing less than one percent crystalline silica is the safest option.

Improving Lawn Health

1. Water deeply but infrequently. Dry, sunny lawns are the chinch bugs' ideal home, and drought stress will make it harder for your turf to resist them. The ideal watering schedule depends on your climate and grass species, but start with 1 inch (2.5 cm) a week divided among one to three sessions. A healthy lawn receiving enough moisture should bounce back after you step on it.
   • Too much water can backfire and make the problem worse, especially with hair chinch bug infestations (found mostly in the northern US and Canada). If you think your lawn is too wet, delay watering until the grass edges just begin to curl.
   • Moist conditions also encourage naturally occurring Beauveria fungus, a parasite that kills chinch bugs.
2. Provide shade. Chinch bugs are not partial to shaded areas. Put up a shade cloth, or plant trees and bushes to reduce the amount of direct sunlight your lawn gets each day. If your lawn is a light-loving variety, consider shading just the most vulnerable areas: the green grass at the border of expanding yellow patches.
   • St. Augustine grass, the southern chinch bug's favorite food, has excellent shade tolerance. It should thrive under a 30% shade cloth.
3. Keep your grass tall. In general, grass is at its healthiest when allowed to grow to a height of 3–4 inches (7.5–10 cm). This is especially true during a chinch bug infestation, since tall grass will keep the ground dark and moist — two qualities this pest dislikes. If your lawn is in particularly bad shape, you could skip mowing entirely until it recovers.
   • To reduce stress on your grass, use a sharp lawn mower blade and remove no more than ⅓ of the grass blade each mowing.
4. Reduce thatch on your lawn. Thatch is the spongy, brown layer of organic material that forms between grass blades and soil. Chinch bugs live in thatch and hibernate in it during cold winters. Aerate your yard once or twice a year to keep thatch levels to ½" (1.25 cm) thick or less. If the thatch is more than an inch thick (2.5 cm), Dethatch-a-Lawn with a vertical mower or dethatching rake.
   • This is especially important in fall, to reduce areas where chinch bugs can overwinter.
5. Avoid over-fertilizing the lawn. Chinch bugs and other sap-drinking insects thrive on plants with high levels of nitrogen. Switch to an organic slow-release fertilizer, or a fertilizer with only 5 or 10% nitrogen (N).
   • You can probably add significantly less fertilizer than the label recommends without causing harm. Try this, and increase the amount again if the grass turns light green.
6. Clear debris in winter. In cold climates, chinch bugs overwinter underneath leaf litter or debris. Some of them will likely survive under the thatch even on a clear lawn, but raking up leaves is an easy way to make it harder for them.
7. Control-Weeds. If the bugs are grey-brown or blackish-brown and tiny (about ⅛" or 4 mm long), you probably have "false chinch bugs." These only swarm turf in the summer, after the weeds they prefer to feed on have died. To keep their numbers down, keep your lawn and surrounding areas clear of weeds in spring, especially London rocket, other mustard plants, Russian thistle, and sagebrush.
   • False chinch bugs are most common west of the Mississippi in dry regions, but can be found throughout the United States, southern Canada, Mexico, and the West Indies.
8. Adjust lawn pH. The ideal soil pH for most turf is between 6.5 and 7.0. Test your soil with a pH kit from a garden store, and get it within this range by adding lime (to raise pH) or sulfur (to lower it). Keeping pH within this range will keep your lawn healthy and able to absorb nutrients, helping it survive pest damage.
   • For best results, send a Take-an-Accurate-Soil-Sample to a soil testing laboratory to find out the exact nutrients your soil is missing.

Tips

• Drought damage looks very similar to chinch bug damage, but tends to be patchier. If the yellow or brown area expands outward steadily instead of in patches and clumps, you probably have chinch bugs.
• If the worst happens and you need to plant a new lawn, consider an "endophytic" grass. These are fescue or rye grasses enhanced with a beneficial fungus that discourages chinch bugs. Be aware that endophytic grasses are poisonous to livestock. Insect-resistant strains of St. Augustine grasses are also available (Floratam and Floralawn), but chinch bugs in Florida have recently adapted to eat them.
• If you are in the southern or southwestern United States, the southern chinch bug is the most common species. This species can devastate St. Augustine grass, but rarely causes serious harm in other types of turf.
• Big-eyed bugs are a relative of the chinch bug and often mistaken for them. These harmless insects have wider bodies and larger, more widely spaced eyes than chinch bugs, and only show up in small numbers.

Warnings

• Be sure to use pure soap flakes for the sake of the environment.

Things You'll Need

• Soap flakes
• Water
• Flannel sheet
• Predatory wasp

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