Plant Gardens 101

Adult Chinch Bugs usually appear in your lawn in March, but their life cycle in the turf begins long before that as larvae. They have black bodies and legs, white wings with a black triangular spot on each wing. Also known as Blissus leucopterus leucopterus, and B. insularis, Lygaeidae, a Chinch Bug is a beetle that the size of a grain of rice, and the larvae can be as small as the head of a pin. But don’t let their small size fool you, the power of a Chinch Bug infestation to destroy your lawn should not be underestimated, especially if your grass is currently experiencing a drought or consistently dry conditions year round. These pests live deep in the thatch throughout the fall and winter and steadily eat away the root system of your grass and other plants.

But it gets worse. Much worse.

Chinch Bugs don’t just eat your grass, they actually inject poison into the plant as they eat, causing your grass to turn yellow and die in large patches. These patches are usually circular, with the center looking much worse than the outer perimeter. (more…)

In 1912 a small box of Iris bulbs was shipped to the United States from Japan. It found its way quietly across the ocean and was delivered to an unsuspecting home gardener somewhere in New Jersey. Unknown to the shipping company, the postal worker, and the gardner, this small box of iris bulbs also contained a tiny beetle which would eventually cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to plants throughout the United States.

By the 1970s, infestations of this beetle were reported in 22 States, mostly east of the Mississippi. These beetle infestations continue to spread southward and westward, leaving massive damage in their wake.

This notorious pest is called the Japanese Beetle. Today, these beetles destroy more lawns than any other pest, costing more than $460 per year. They also destroy trees, shrubs, and many kinds of plants. (more…)