Mine is floritam st augustine - resistant to chinch bugs. I had two big chinch bug attacks before I started mowing my lawn more often and stopped using a mulcher. I bought whatever they had down at the farm and ranch store to kill them, applied it at almost double the recommended amount, applied again in 2 weeks...no problems and a beautiful lawn.
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An alternative sampling method to simply parting the grass and looking for the insects is the flotation method. A coffee can (with the top and bottom lids removed) should be pushed into the ground with a twisting motion. Use a knife, if necessary, to cut the grass around the rim. Fill the can with water for about 10 minutes and check for chinch bugs as they float to the surface. Action thresholds for samples taken with 4-inch and 6-inch diameter coffee cans are an average of two, and four to five chinch bugs per sample, respectively. Several samples should be taken from different locations in the damaged (not dead) grass.
I used this method to find out that I had a chinch bug problem. It worked well. Always do it at damaged but not dead grass sections because the chinch bugs have left that part of your lawn by the time it's dead. I would try this myself even after the professional opinion as I don't trust exterminators, etc.
[This message has been edited by wunderbrad01 (edited 4/17/2008 5:10p).]
