hey,
I am a graduate student and I study the southern chinch bug (Blissus insularis) I need as many locations of them as possible. If you know anyone who works on a golf course and can tell me the type of grass they have (St, Augustinegrass most likely), please PM me .

Also if you know of any St. Augustinegrass sites then please let me know as well. good day.

5/2/2012 11:33:56 AM

i don't spend a lot of time at golf courses but the few i've been to haven't had st. augustine. it was a much much finer bladed grass. maybe that says something about the courses i've been too, idk, i know nothing about golf or golf courses.

anyway, like 85% of the lawns in rocky mount and probably a good chunk of the eastern part of the state are st. augustine. my back yard is.

5/2/2012 11:40:41 AM

yea, I am pretty sure that st. aug is not that common for golf courses, but they identify their pests sooner and with some accuracy (though not all the time).

It is really hard to find homeowners that know they have chinch bugs and have not sprayed for them yet. BUT if you know anyone, or someone near Raleigh that wouldn't mind me poking around in their yard for a few hours.... let me know

5/2/2012 11:45:07 AM

how do you know if you have them? something is killing my grass but i don't have the time to investigate or treat right now, so i'm just gonna let it go to crap then nuke it or something later.

5/2/2012 11:56:56 AM

well if it is insect problem you should do a spot check of a few different spots in your yard. Pull the grass apart so you can see the ground and if you blow some air and see movement. They run away quickly when they are stimulated. Look for the adults bc they are the easiest to spot, and I know that as a non entomologist a lot of insects look the same, but you will see white on their wings(they don't fly or bite) and the wings are folded over on their backs.




however you may find other insects... billbugs, cutworms, sugar cane beetles are all pests that could also affect your lawn.


You said you have large yellowing spots, it could be large patch disease, check for water collection and/or rotting grass stolons.

Symptoms of large patch appear in roughly circular patches from 2 feet up to 10 feet or more in diameter. The affected turf will initially be orange, yellow, or reddish-brown in color but will then turn tan and collapse to the ground. The disease can spread rapidly to encompass large areas of turf, and distinct circular patches may not be obvious in these cases.

Fungicides are not very effective in the spring once the symptoms of large patch appear. If you still have this fungus you should spray in the fall (more effective in the fall as well).

Curative applications will help to reduce further spread of the disease, but the affected turf will be very slow to recover.

5/2/2012 12:08:14 PM

I've never seen a golf course that used St. Augustine grass.

bermuda and bentgrass tend to be the most common, at least in NC.

5/2/2012 1:32:38 PM

I've got St. Aug's in my yard in North Raleigh. Not completely, but like a quarter of my yard. And there's bugs. You're welcome to come over and blow on them if you want.

5/2/2012 9:39:38 PM