Tag

dethatching

Irregular yellow and brown patch spreading through a sunny St. Augustine lawn beside a concrete sidewalk

Chinch Bugs: How to Spot and Treat Them

Chinch bugs are tiny black-and-white bugs that suck sap from grass and leave yellow-to-brown patches that don't green up with water. Confirm them with a can test at the edge of the damage, fix thatch and watering, and spot-treat only if you count about 20 or more per square foot.

September 30, 2026

Rows of raked-up brown thatch across a suburban lawn next to a power rake

Lawn Care

Dethatching: Does Your Lawn Need It?

Thatch over about 1/2 inch needs managing, and core aeration often handles it. Several extension services save mechanical dethatching for about 1 inch or more: do it in early fall or spring for cool-season grass and late spring to midsummer for warm-season grass.

September 3, 2026