Drought stress or chinch bugs? Here's how to identify the culprit of your dying lawn

Ongoing outdoor water restrictions mean many Calgarians haven't watered their lawns in weeks.

But lawn maintenance companies and entomologists say if your grass looks like it's dying, it's possible it isn't drought stress and instead could be caused by tiny, six-legged culprits chinch bugs.

The four-millimetre-long insect is harmless to humans and pets, but it feeds on the sap of grass and injects its saliva, which effectively kills the plant.

Chinch bugs used to be more common in Eastern Canada, but James Szojka of Yard Dawgs Lawn Care says they've been spreading throughout Calgary in recent years.

"Originally, they were just in the southeast communities of Calgary. However, over the past couple of years, that has changed. They definitely spread to the southwest and northwest in particular," said Szojka.

He says his advice is usually to keep lawns cool and hydrated. But that isn't the case this yearwith Stage 3 water restrictions in effect, which prohibits Calgarians from using sprinklers and watering with a hose unless they have new sod or lawn seed.

With temperatures expected to hit at least 30 C through the rest of the week, Szojka says he's worried homeowners will think their lawns are just dehydrated, when they could really be infested with chinch bugs.

He says multiple brown or yellow dead spots across your lawn is a telltale sign chinch bugs could be present.

Worst of damage is yet to come

Ken Fry, an entomology instructor at Olds College's School of Life Science and Business, says adult chinch bugs don't die over the winter.

Instead, they find sheltered areas until it's warm enough for them to emerge in the spring when the temperature hits around 15 to 17 C in order tomate, lay eggs and feed.

With the late spring this year, Fry says they likely weren't active until late June this year, so the worst of the damage is likely yet to come.

"Even in an average year, say not such a slow start like this year, you're not going to see real appreciable damage until late July, into August," said Fry.

However, the heat mixed with water restrictions doesn't necessarily mean chinch bug infestations will get worse, he says. Instead, he says it could push grass into early dormancy, which could reduce the success rate of nymphs developing into adults and surviving the winter.

But if you're worried, Fry says there are ways to confirm whether your lawn has fallen victim to the insects, using equipment you might already have at home.

Finding chinch bugs with coffee cans

Szjoka says an easy way to check for the bugs is to scratch at the area of concern with a rake and get down on all fours to look for small black bugs with grey stripes or red bugs if they're still nymphs.

If that doesn't work, Fry says to grab a coffee can and cut the bottom out.

He says to find a spot where the grass isn't totally dead, but is in a transition zone where it's just starting to turn yellow.

Then, force the coffee can roughly five centimetres (two inches) into the ground, until it hits the soil. He says to fill the can with water, leave it for a few minutes and if there are chinch bugs, they'll float to the top of the water.

"If you have that smoking gun like the pest is there, then you know, OK, I have something more than just an environmental or weather problem. I have an actual pest problem," said Fry.

"Then it's worthwhile to contact a pest control company to come out and take the lawn to treat it."

The Government of Canada also recommends not to over-fertilize your lawn, and not to cut grass too short.