Chinch Bug
Tiny turf pests that kill St. Augustine lawns in expanding yellow-brown patches.
Chinch Bug (Blissus insularis) is a Florida pest we rate as a high concern. Rhino Pest Management provides lawn & ornamental service in Florida's Treasure & Space Coast — licensed (#JB242881) & insured technicians, rated 5.0★ from 16 Google reviews. Estimates are free: (772) 589-6842.
Photo: no rights reserved (CC0) · iNaturalist (research grade)
Very small (3–4 mm); adults are black with white wings folded over the back, nymphs are reddish-orange with a white band. Usually found at the edge of dying grass.
Sunny, water-stressed areas of St. Augustine and Zoysia lawns, especially along driveways, sidewalks and south-facing edges.
- Irregular yellow-to-brown patches that expand in sunny, dry areas
- Damage that looks like drought but doesn't recover with water
- Tiny black-and-white bugs in the thatch when you part the grass
Chinch bugs are the #1 insect killer of St. Augustine grass in Florida, capable of destroying large sections of lawn in weeks during the hot season.
Should I call today?
Yes, get it looked at promptly. Chinch Bug causes damage or health problems that compound while you wait, and the cost of that damage is the part that actually gets expensive — not the treatment. An inspection is free, so there's no reason to guess.
Rhino's lawn & ornamental program treats chinch bugs alongside webworms, grubs, fungus and weeds, with the fertilization the turf needs to recover and stay green.
Our Lawn & Ornamental Service serviceMore lawn, tree & shrub pests
Scientific source
For the biology behind this page, the University of Florida's IFAS Extension publishes a detailed Featured Creatures profile of this species — free to read, and written by entomologists in this state:
Southern Chinch Bug, Blissus insularis Barber — UF/IFAS Extension