Be careful for widespread garden bugs in Northwest Florida

Larry Williams
| Northwest Florida Daily News

Mole crickets, chinch bugs, and spittlebugs are some insects to watch out for in North Florida lawns.

Although mole crickets can injure the lawn grasses we grow in Florida, Bermuda, Bahia, and millipedes are the most severely damaged. But just because you have St. Augustinegrass doesn’t mean you can rule out mole crickets.

Although mole crickets can be active from spring through fall, the best time to control them is in northern Florida in June and July.

Soap rinsing is a technique used to examine or locate mole crickets. Simply mix 2 ounces of liquid dish soap into 2 gallons of water and use a shaker to apply to 4 square feet of lawn in multiple areas of suspected mole crickets. If an average of two to four moles of crickets appear on the surface within a few minutes, an inspection may be required.

Chinch bugs only damage St. Augustinegrass. So, if your lawn grass is anything other than St. Augustine, then you don’t have to worry about this insect.

Chinch bugs like hot weather. As a result, they are most often active in summer through fall, especially when it is dry. They prefer open, sunny areas of the courtyard.

Inspect a St. Augustine lawn weekly in late spring, summer, and fall. Look for non-colored areas that quickly turn yellow and then straw brown. Divide the grass along the edge of the yellowed areas and carefully examine the soil surface and base of the lawn for tiny insects. Immature chinch bugs are pink to red and about the size of the head of a pin. Adults are only 1/5-inch long and black with white wings.

Spittlebugs prefer centipede grass and St. Augustine grass. The first generation of adult spit bugs are abundant in June, and the peak population is usually between August and early September.

An early sign of spit bug activity is masses of white, frothy saliva found in the lawn. Each piece of saliva contains a single larva. The damage is similar to a chinch bug injury, but usually occurs in shady areas first. On closer inspection, discolored individual blades of grass with cream-colored and pink-purple stripes become visible over the length of the individual leaves. As the population grows, the ¼ inch long adults are abundant. While walking or mowing an infested area, numerous adult spit bugs fly short distances when disturbed. The adults are black with two orange stripes across their wings.

Correct lawn management can minimize many pest problems. If a pesticide is required to control a lawn pest, be sure to follow the directions and precautions on the product label.

For more information on lawn insects, please visit https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ig001.

Larry William is a UF / IFAS expansion agent in Okaloosa County.