If you’re like many Austinites, you use St. Augustine grass for your landscaping because it’s drought resistant. But many St. Augustine varieties – including Bitterblue, Floratine, Delmar, Palmetto and Jade – are also susceptible to damaging infestations of a pest known as the southern chinch bug.

Adult chinches are black and oval in shape and are approximately 1/6 of an inch long. Females live two months, but lay many eggs during their lifetime. The nymphs that emerge from these eggs mature within just 4 to 5 weeks. Chinch bugs feed on St. Augustine by extracting plant juices from grass blades with their piercing beaks.

These pests typically congregate in one area of a lawn. St. Augustine grass infested with chinch bugs usually turns yellow, grows slowly and then becomes brownish-red just before it dies. Chinch bug damage occurs near the soil’s surface and is most common in sunny areas near driveways.

The way to discourage chinch bug infestations is to avoid overwatering. You should also stay away from nitrogen rich fertilizers. To help get rid of this pest, you should use insecticides that are specifically for the treatment of chinches, which you can find at your local nursery or garden center.

One thing to remember is that while you may be able to control the chinch bug population in your lawn, you’ll never entirely eliminate this pest. If you can decrease chinch bug presence by 80%, consider your efforts a success.

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The heat of summer can burn bare patches into even the best-kept lawns. But the good news is that early fall – which is now only a month away – is prime sodding season.

Sod is essentially a mature grass cover that has been professionally cultivated and cut into easy-to-lay-down squares. What makes it so popular is that it allows you to see the results of grass landscaping much more quickly than if you planted seeds.

The first thing to determine is how you will use your sod. It is just as effective for “patch jobs” as it is for redoing entire grassy areas. Once you’ve done that, then you can begin the actual work of laying it down.

Step 1: Turn over the soil

Do this to a depth of 4 or so inches. If you are only working a small area, use a pitchfork. Otherwise– and especially those covered in hard soil – us a rototiller for large areas.

Step 2: Prepare the planting area

Rake the soil using a garden a garden rake to create an even surface. Wet the soil thoroughly with a soaker hose or sprinkler 2 to 3 days before planting the sod, which needs dampness to get established.

Step 3: Begin sodding at a landmark

This is important so that you will have as straight a pattern to work with as possible. For example, if the sod will abut a driveway, sidewalk or path, begin sodding against these pre-established landmarks.

Step 4: Treat sod squares like bricks

Lay squares of sod side-by-side. Build the first row and then move on to the next. Use a carpet knife to cut pieces of side to different lengths and don’t forget to stagger the joints as though you were laying down bricks.

Step 5: Water newly sodded areas

Use a soaker hose to wet newly laid sod to a depth of four inches. After that, be sure to water daily for the first two weeks. Sod takes approximately 3 to 4 weeks to get established. Because Austin is still under stage 2 water restrictions, you will need to water it once or twice a week.

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