Chinch Bugs vs. Sod Webworms: Spotting the Difference in Your Florida Lawn

Whether you’re a new homeowner in Florida or a long-time resident, you already know that conditions in the Sunshine State can make maintaining your lawn a difficult proposition. Weeds and invasive grasses that can germinate and sprout throughout the year are a significant problem.

But even worse are pests that thrive in Florida, and two of the worst culprits are chinch bugs and sod webworms. These two pests can wreak havoc on your lawn, and being able to spot the difference between them is the first step toward getting rid of them fast.

Below, we’ll go over everything you need to know to control chinch bugs and sod webworms on your Florida property.

How to Spot Chinch Bugs in Your Lawn

Chinch bugs are tiny insects that thrive in Florida’s hot summers, particularly May through September. But despite their tiny size, they have an appetite that can quickly suck the life out of your lawn.

Chinch bugs measure about one-fifth of an inch in length, on average. Adult chinch bugs will have a distinctive black body with white wings folded over their back. Younger nymphs will appear reddish-orange in color and will have a small white band across their abdomen.

What makes chinch bugs so destructive is that they feed by sucking the liquid out of individual blades of grass. They then inject their saliva, which interferes with the grass’s vascular system, causing the blades to turn yellow (mostly at the ends) before the grass ultimately dies.

Generally, chinch bugs will first appear in the hottest and driest areas of your lawn. Typically, this means you’ll spot them along driveways, sidewalks, and south-facing areas where reflected heat intensifies during the hottest part of the day.

Other than a visual examination, a “float test” is also used to diagnose an infestation. Cutting a small area of turf and placing it in a water-filled bucket will cause the chinch bugs to float to the surface, confirming their presence.

Identifying Sod Webworms and Their Impact

Sod webworms are a bit more seasonal than chinch bugs, and usually appear as a problem during transitional months between the seasons. Mature sod webworms are small, tan-covered moths that you can see hovering low over your grassy areas in the early evening.

But it’s the immature stage of sod webworms that does the damage. Sod webworm larvae are plump and grayish brown or green in color. They measure about three-quarters of an inch in length at full size and will have small dots along their body.

The larvae exist in the thatch area of your grass, within silk-lined tunnels. They’re nocturnal and emerge at night to chew on the crown area of your grass blades. A telltale sign that they’ve been feeding is the irregular and ragged pattern of chew marks left over.

Another sign is if you notice an increase in birds congregating on your lawn. Several species of birds in Florida like to feed on sod webworm larvae.

Sod webworms also tend to prefer thicker turf, which generally helps prevent most pests and weeds. But sod webworm larvae prefer the shading it provides, making them hard to deal with, even in the most well-manicured Florida lawns.

How to Tell Chinch Bugs Apart from Sod Webworms

Other than their very different appearance, you can tell by the type of damage left behind. Chinch bugs will leave behind yellowing grass areas that slowly expand from hot and dry areas of the lawn. Sod webworm damage will appear almost like the area of grass has been unevenly mowed, with a ragged or “chipped” appearance from the chewing of the larvae.

The most active times of each insect also differ. Chinch bugs prefer the hottest periods during the summer, while sod webworms operate in the transitional seasons between spring, summer, and fall.

Treatment Options for Both Pests

For both chinch bugs and sod webworms, you’ll need to apply an insecticide if they’ve already taken hold and your lawn is showing damage. However, spotting them early allows you to do spot treatments within a small area instead of applying product to the entire lawn.

Chinch Bug Treatment

For chinch bugs, insecticidal treatments containing bifenthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, or carbaryl are the most common treatments. Always follow the product’s instructions, but they generally require a light watering before treatment, and then again afterward to help distribute the insecticide lower toward the soil.

Reapplication is sometimes needed if the damage continues, but with most products, you will want to wait a few weeks in between to notice any change.

Beneficial insects like big-eyed bugs and lady beetles naturally prey on chinch bugs. Minimizing broad-spectrum insecticide use or covering too large an area helps these allies thrive to maintain natural insect control.

To control chinch bugs, consider using:

• Caravan G is a granular insecticide that provides long-lasting control.
• Dome is a versatile product that targets a wide range of pests, including chinch bugs, without harming beneficial insects.
• Entrapment utilizes a physical mode of action to entrap, engulf, and immobilize the insect. This helps reduce resistance issues.

Sod Webworm Treatment

Sod webworm control requires products containing spinosad, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), or synthetic pyrethroids. Most notably, when fighting sod webworms with insecticide, you don’t want to water afterward. The insecticide must remain on the grass blades when the larvae feed on them.

If you’ve caught these pests early, make sure to only treat the areas necessary. Spot treatment is often enough to deal with these pests if you otherwise have a healthy lawn. Overuse of pesticides or insecticides can upset the natural balance of beneficial insects, leading to worse outbreaks of damaging pests.

To control chinch bugs, consider using Leave 30WDG, a water-dispersible granular insecticide containing 30% indoxacarb, designed to control lepidopterous larvae such as sod webworms

Learn More About Chinch Bugs vs Sod Webworms in Florida

If you suspect your lawn is showing any of the signs we’ve outlined, such as yellowing grass blades or ragged tips, you want to act fast to avoid further damage.

You can contact our local Florida lawn care experts with any questions you have about dealing with chinch bugs or sod webworms. We’ll help you find the right treatment to eradicate these pests while leaving the rest of your lawn healthy and natural.