Chich Bugs Calgary

“Chinch” is pronounced “Chin – ch” but it is also acceptable to pronounce it “Sinch”

A chinch bug is a turf grass pest that feeds on the sap of the grass plant and damages it by injecting a poison. They live in the lawn and can destroy an entire yard in as little as 3 years if the problem is not fixed.

Calgary chinch bugs primarily feed on grass blades. They extract nutrients by piercing the grass and sucking out the sap, which can lead to widespread damage to lawns if not controlled properly.

While chinch bugs aren't harmful to humans, they are harmful to lawns. These bugs can cause significant damage to grass by sucking the sap out of grass blades and injecting a toxin that disrupts water movement within the plant, leading to brown patches in the turf.

Usually, you will know that you have a chinch bug problem when the sunniest parts of your lawn are starting to brown, and the brown areas get worse even when watering your lawn adequately. Chinch bug damage looks similar to drought damage! When chinch bug infestations are bad enough, you may see black adult chinch bugs crawling on cement sidewalks and patios in the heat of the day.

You can inspect your lawn by pulling the turf apart near the brown areas and looking deep into the thatch layer. If you see bugs that look like the ones in the pictures, then you have chinch bugs.

Chinch bugs are getting to be a quite a huge issue in certain Calgary communities. They love sunny, dry areas of the lawn and can cause significant damage to your grass. If you have areas that receive a lot of sun, your property may be more susceptible to a chinch bug infestation. Chinch bugs also tend to favour lawns with a thick layer of thatch, so managing your thatch layer by proper lawn care techniques can help.

In 2023 we saw the most chinch bug damage in Southeast Calgary. The communities that were the most affected were: Mackenzie Lake, Mackenzie Towne, Auburn Lake, Cranston, New Brighton, Mahogany, Copperfield & Douglasdale. Some other nearby communities had chinch bugs, but not as prevalent of the ones mentioned above.

In North Calgary, we saw an increase in chinch bug activity over  the previous years. The Northwest communities that were most affected were: Hamptons, Edgemont, Panorama Hills, Citadel and Huntington Hills.

Typically, once you have chinch bugs, they will stay until treated. If left unchecked, the problem will get worse over the course of the summer. Adults will hibernate over the winter and the problem will get progressively worse the following year as adults come out of their over-winter spots and new eggs hatch. Harsh winters can influence chinch bug population as some adults will not survive. Mild winters can have the opposite effect and cause spikes in chinch bug populations.

By golly some people have tried, usually with limited results. We have heard of spraying dish soap, which seemed to kill the chinch bugs it touched, but could never get the ones deep in the thatch layer where they live. Also, putting that much dish soap into your lawn can’t be good for it either. Others have tried using products from box stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s, some of which were not even labelled for use in lawns, which is never recommended.