What happened to my lawn? Hundreds of Islanders have been left wondering what they can do to repair their gardens from the ravages of the Chinch bug, a tiny rice sized insect known for destroying Bermuda grass.

If you have been wondering where the yellow and brown patches in your garden have come from, your grass could be infected with the chinch bug, a tiny insect which is slightly smaller than a grain of rice and is known for turning a green lawn into annoying yellow and brown patches.

Yesterday, Terry-Lynn Thompson, Government's Senior Plant Protection Officer, gave a speech to Hamilton Rotarians about steps residents can take to battle the ravages of the chinch bug.

Ms Thompson said salt sprays from Hurricane Fabian and the Chinch bug, which was imported to Bermuda in 1979, have caused the demise of grass around the Island.

She is advising what residents can do to find chinch bug and non-toxic methods to stop the chinch from feeding on your lawn with its needle like mouth parts.

She said the Chinch bug can inject toxins which cause the grass to die more quickly, and allow the bug to move from dead patches to the new fresh patches of grass.

Factors that promote chinch damage are hot dry weather, excessive thatch and lawn clippings, little or too much irrigation, and over-use of fertiliser. Ms Thompson said the nitrogen in fertiliser helps the chinch to produce more quickly.

Adult chinch bugs are grey-white with white wings that fold over their bodies, while very young chinch bugs are distinctly red.

In order to control the chinch, Ms Thompson suggested several options, including leaving the bug, applying insecticide, or re-plugging the lawn with chinch resistant grass called Floratam.

Another method to keep grass less stressed and more resistant to the bug are mowing your grass three to four inches to encourage good root growth, keeping the mower blade sharp and watering the grass regularly.

While using the new Floratam grass can be expensive, it is a permanent solution to the problem.

One audience member said the grass had worked in his lawn, but he advised the audience to search out a particular kind of 'Weed and Feed' which suits this type of grass, otherwise you can end up with another burned out lawn.

If children play on the grass Ms Thompson advised using a non-toxic insecticide. And, if you don't share the information with your neighbours, the bug can return from a nearby lawn or through gardening equipment.

How to find Chinch

in your lawn

Identify a yellowing area somewhere between the dead patch and the healthy grass

Get on your hands and knees and spread the grass down to the soil.

Or

Cut the top and bottom off a coffee can with a can opener

Press one end into the soil about four inches down

Fill the can up with water and wait

Chinch, if present, will float to the top of the can