THE CHINCH BUG IX RELATION TO ST. AUGUSTINE GRASS 5 



The following birds have been mentioned by the Bureau of Bio- 

 logical Survey as eating chinch bugs : Bobwhite, prairie chicken, 

 chimney swift, Traill's flycatcher, crow, red-winged blackbird, 

 savanna sparrow, tree sparrow, cliff swallow, tree swallow, brown 

 thrasher, Carolina wren, bluebird, flicker, kingbird, horned lark, star- 

 ling, meadowlark, seaside sparrow, song sparrow, barn swallow, 

 * mockingbird, catbird, house wren, and robin. Xo fewer than 100 

 " chinch bugs have been found in single stomachs of the bobwhite 

 and meadowlark, and in a single instance 200 were taken from the 

 stomach of a brown thrasher. 



Although it has been shown that frogs will eat chinch bugs, it is 

 readily seen that they can exert but little influence toward controlling 

 this pest. 



NATURAL CHECKS 



DISEASE 



Diseases, which in some parts of the United States are often 

 effective in controlling the chinch bug, have not been found in the 

 district over which St. Augustine grass is grown. This is true in 

 spite of the fact that much rain falls during the summer and that the 

 humidity is high, thus, it would seem, creating particularly favor- 

 able conditions for the development of fungous diseases. 



RAIN 



Rain is undoubtedly the largest natural factor concerned in bring- 

 ing about the control of this pest. Although the adult bugs are little 

 affected by water, even when submerged for several hours or days, it 

 is a well-known fact that small chinch-bug nymphs are readily killed 

 by rain. It is not unusual for rains to occur every day for several 

 days during the summer, and this gradual killing off of the young 

 nymphs eventually reduces the numbers of the insect until the injury 

 is negligible. 



CONTROL MEASURES 

 WATCHFULNESS 



VTatchfulness for the first evidence of chinch-bug injury, com- 

 bined with prompt application of remedial measures, will prevent 

 practically all loss from this pest. The damage commences in small 

 patches, as before described, and can be effectually stopped before 

 further injury occurs. A commonplace practice in some localities has 

 been to spray the grass with water, but in this way only the small 

 nymphs can be killed, and since more are continually hatching it 

 takes considerable time to bring an outbreak under control, as is 

 , j often demonstrated at times of continued rains. Cold has little ef- 

 fect on the hibernating adults, and there seems to be no practical 

 means of destroying them in their winter quarters. 



INSECTICIDES 



The quickest and most effective way of controlling chinch-bug 

 attacks on St. Augustine grass is by applying contact insecticides. 

 The most convenient and easily obtained of these for the average 



