P U B L I S H ED FIVE T I M ES Y E A R LY A ND D I S T R I B U T ED F R EE TO L O V E RS OF B E A U T I F UL T U RF V ol VI No. 5 Chinch Bugs Attack Turf THE Chinch Bug, notorious in the south for its damaging attacks upon St. Augustine grass, has been active in many of the northern states during the past few months. The last important rampage of the Chinch Bug was in 1925. Grain yields were greatly reduced that year as a result of the activity of this pest and during the recent summer, as if a self-appointed member of the gov- ernment's crop reduction com- mission this in- sect made great inroads into grain p r o d u c t i on through the mid- dle west. While it is less common for the Chinch Bug to attack grass, we have had numerous re- ports of lawns be- ing badly spotted with brown areas from this cause. Short-winged form C H I N CH B U GS U N S U S P E C T E D. Much of the brown, dead looking turf which followed the high temperatures of early summer was attributed to scald. There was considerable moisture in the ground as well as sap in the grass blades when Sol "turned on." It was to be ex- pected that grass would suffer. This September 1933 burning of lawns as a result of weather conditions served as a smoke screen to conceal the activities of worms and in- sects. The army worm and web worm have been active in some sections and the Japanese Beetle has put in its usual licks in New Jersey and western Pennsylvania. The Chinch Bug has been heard from in the New England states and we have examined specimens of turf from north- ern Ohio where the grass blades showed the effects of having had the life sapped out of them. Some of the live bugs were still present in one grass specimen when it was re- ceived. T WO F O R MS OF the Long-winged form C H I N CH B U G S. As illus- tration shows there are two forms of these bugs but no dif- in their ference methods of attack. One is the short- winged type which has been found to operate principally along the seacoast and in the east extends inland along the lower Great Lakes to northern Illinois. This is the type which is believed most frequently to attack grass. The long- winged species of Chinch Bug is found over most of the country between the Rocky Mountains and Allegheny Moun- tains. Both forms have black bodies with whitish wings, each having a black spot in the center. The young have no wings and are reddish in color. The body of the adult insect is about one-fifth of an inch or less in length. An easy way to distinguish the Chinch Bug is by its disa- greeable "buggy" odor. METHOD OF ATTACK. The Chinch Bug implants itself under the laterals of the close fitting blades of grass. In its feeding it imparts a reddish stain to the blades attacked and causes the death of the cells. Grass on an in- fested lawn turns brown in patches and if not promptly treated may die. Around the dead brown spots will be a circle of grass which has turned yellow. It is in this circle rather than in the dead center that the bugs are working. CONTROL. Like all true bugs the Chinch Bug does its damage by sucking the juices from the plant and therefore cannot be killed by stomach poisons but only by contact insecticides. A satisfactory con- trol dust is finely ground tobacco such as Snuff No. 2 analyzing about two per cent Nicotine. This is harmless to handle and in sections where obtainable can usually be bought for about four cents per pound. Twenty-five pounds per 1000 square feet will provide good control. Tobacco dust should be applied on a dry sunshiny day and it is well not to sprinkle the lawn for several days after application. A three per cent Nicotine Sulfate-lime dust, when used at the rate of 7 pounds per 1,000 square feet is also effective. This can be purchased al- ready made at about 20 cents per pound or can be made at home at a substantial saving by thoroughly mixing 3% pounds of 40% Nicotine Sulfate with 50 pounds of hydrated lime. One of the most easily procurable controls is Nicotine Sulfate (Black Leaf 40). The recommended solution is one pint of Nicotine Sulfate to 100 gallons of water. To make the material spread better five or six pounds of laundry soap or a quart of skim milk may be added to the water. This solution should be ap- plied to the affected turf in sufficient quantities to drench it thoroughly. It is said that spraying solution made from pyrethrum compounds may give even a better kill than the nicotine solutions. PREVENTION. As in the case of all plant life, a strong sturdy growth of grass is less apt to succumb to Chinch Bug injury than weak underfed grass. A lawn that is well fertilized and watered correctly during dry seasons will be able to hold its own against most insect pests. Close mowing should be avoided during dry weather, particularly during an attack of Chinch Bugs. Applies Turf Builder With a Sprayer "T APPLY Turf Builder by making a solution of it and applying with a sprinkling can. Better yet, if you have a power spray or a barrel spray with a long hose you can open the nozzle so a coarse spray will emit. All of the ingre- dients in Turf Builder I find will come right out through the hose and leave no settlings in the bottom. This makes it possible to put Turf Builder on much more evenly and with no danger at all of burning. "I look after a great many lawns and have had wonderful success with Turf Builder. It would be very difficult to sell me any other kind of fertilizer."—H. A. BRADLEY, JR., 126 Hough St., Morgan- town, W. Va. Terrace Problem Solved interest you to know ^ TT M I G HT that for five years I tried without success to grow good grass on the terrace from sidewalk to curb, about two feet drop in eight, all under trees with heavy foliage. The terrace was slightly convex and washed off continually. Last August I had it dug up, enough earth hauled away to make it slightly concave, well fertilized and sowed with Scott's Shady Mixture. Today it is the most beautiful portion of my lawn. Notwithstanding numerous heavy rains and the fact that the ground was soft (I did not roll but slightly) there has been no wash. I be- lieve the "concaving" had much to do with it. It was interesting to read in a recent L A WN CARE this suggestion of slightly concaving a terrace, after I had struck on the idea myself. One loves to have his complimented by c o n f i r m a t i o n . " — W I L L I AM H. DOUBLER, Commercial Trust Bldg., Philadelphia, Penna. ingenuity ANOTHER TERRACE SUGGESTION. "I recommend using a small rake, with teeth filed sharp and rather thin, on the bare places on terraces. Then plant grass seed which roots deep, roll, then cover with damp peat, and roll again. This should prevent the seed being washed out by rains before it has had time to sprout and grow."—BERNARD P. G R U N- AUER, 11425 Glenwood Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Ants Killed by Scalding "For the benefit of your readers, I would like to submit my remedy for ants. For the past three or four years I have been troubled by three or four ant hills, which I tried to destroy with vari- ous dope, etc., but did not meet with much success. "If the ant hill is in the lawn, dig sod out to depth of three or four inches, pour scalding hot water in hole being careful not to let it overflow, as scalding water will ruin the lawn. Usually one application is sufficient. The sod may then be replaced."—HERBERT W . L I N D E- MANN, Chicago, 111. How to Kill Toadstools I 'HE best method of eliminating toadstools from a lawn is to soak thoroughly the infested area with Bor- deaux Mixture using the commonly sug- gested strength and proportion for this product. "The soaking must be thorough and to a depth of about four inches to be com- pletely effective; however, a more shal- low soaking is usually sufficient to dis- courage the pest. "Where the mushrooms are the thick- est I would suggest that a fork be used and the soil loosened somewhat to let the Bordeaux Mixture enter more freely. "There are other materials used in the elimination of this pest but all of them have more or less injurious effects upon the grass."—L. S. DICKINSON, Amherst, Mass. — Black Ants Chased " We are bothered with large black ants, and I find that by putting a few drops of turpentine in each ant hill and repeating the process the following day then spraying around the ant hill with a solution of Arsenate of Lead, the pests will leave."—FRED I. OBERTING, 8 58 S. Cassingham Rd., Columbus, Ohio. No Modesty Here "In 1927 I ordered a great many pounds of your Bent seed. I have the finest lawn in Franklin County."—JAMES CAMPBELL ESTATE, 40 Brae Burn Road, South Deerfield, Mass. Home-Made Ammonium Sulfate Distributor ^ TN THE March-April issue of L A WN -L C A RE I note your request for de- scriptions of simple devices used for ap- plying fertilizer to small lawns. In dis- tributing such materials as sulfate of am- monia I have used a tin can of the push- top variety with holes punched in the bottom of it. The holes should be punched from the inside, which may be done by reaching through the open top with a long spike or sharpened rod with the can setting on a block of wood. After filling the can, the top may be pushed tightly into place and the device used like a salt shaker as one walks back and forth across the lawn, pausing here and there to bestow a destructive dose on a weed. The holes should be made large enough to let the material pass freely and a stone may be placed in the can to break up lumps if one does not mind at- tracting attention."—E. N. JENNISON, 1599 Northland Ave., Lakewood, Ohio. We contend that anyone who works at his lawn diligently ought to have the right to attract a little attention to his efforts. Pitchfork Used on Moles To the What Do You Think Editor— J. B. Eyres—Dear Mr. Eyres: — "I had some time last summer at my home on Lake Ontario with moles. I used camphor balls and many other things—but I found as soon as the mole came to the balls or other things he started out on another track. "I found there were four moles work- ing on different parts of the lawn and just had to do something and right quick or my lawn would be spoiled. I went to the tool shed, got a four-tined fork used to spade the ground and each morning would go out on the lawn spade in hand to the end of these tracks and stand there a few minutes. "Moles work early in the morning, say from 7 to 8 o'clock, and I would soon see the ground move up and down (they are looking for grubs and roots). Down I would force the tines three or four inches deep and in a few mornings I had the moles (four of them) cleaned up. I hope you will have the same luck."— E D W IN P. FAILING. The above item was clipped from the New York Sun and sent to us by a reader of L A WN C A R E. Scott Publications Lawns, a small booklet of condensed facts about the making of a new lawn and the improvement of an old one. Bent Lawns, an illustrated booklet which tells how to make and maintain a Creeping Bent Lawn. Converting to Creeping Bent, folder explaining four methods of remaking and improving an old lawn by using Bent. Lawn Making and Maintenance. Sixty pages of specific information that will be especially helpful in the building or care of large lawn areas. The Putting Green. An illustrated book telling how to construct and main- tain grass greens. There have been twenty-five previous issues of Lawn Care and the following lawn pests have been discussed: Plantain, Crab Grass, Dandelions, Moss, Grubs and Beetles, Chickweed, Buckhorn, Ground Ivy, Yarrow, Earthworms, Heal- all, Ants, Speedwell Creeping Butter- cup, Sod Web-Worms, Moles, Knot- Grass, Sorrel, Quack-Grass, Spotted Spurge, Yellow Trefoil, Goose Grass, Nimble Will, Knawel, and Shepherd's Purse. The June-July issue explained how to grow grass on terraces. For the complete series please allow 10 cents to cover mailing costs.