"Claire W. Gilbert, Ph.D." wrote:

Hi Steve,
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It's me again.
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Did I write and tell you I bought my granddaughter's house in Tampa, Florida, and now live in it?  I moved from California about a month ago.  Getting unpacked and settled is a big challenge, to say the least.
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I now have to maintain the front lawn to conform to neighborhood standards.  I don't want to stand out like a sore thumb.  I have chinch bugs, and the local lore is that only diazanon or something similar can kill them.  If I don't kill them, they will eat up the lawn, they say.
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Do you know of any nontoxic way to control these bugs?
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I haven't yet tried the bottle thing yet to capure roaches.   I found one in my sock drawer today.  Some of the sox had been in a plastic bag in the garage-office.  I just took the sox out of the drawer and took the drawer in the back yard and let the bugger go.
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I saw a roach in another room last night but didn't get it.  (DIdn't try.  I'm sick of squishing them.)  I wouldn't even know where to put the bottle-trap since these roaches are so few and very scattered.
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The woman across the street just came over and told me she is going to spread diazanon today on her (large) lawn.  At least they give me a warning, so if I'm out and the wind is blowing this way, I can wear a mask.  Well she's just applying the pellets, so until they get wet, I guess I wouldn't get fumes.
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Best wishes, and thank you very much for all the help.
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? Claire

RESPONSE:
Dear Claire,
They prefer hot, sunny areas and frequent weakened or stressed grasses.  Reduce the stress
by heavy watering and organic fertilizers.
To control them, simply water/drench the infested lawn with a hose end sprayer with either
dish soap and/or Safe Solutions' Enzyme Cleaner with Peppermint.  Then cover that portion of your lawn with large
flannel sheets.  The bugs will cling, wait 15 minutes, remove the sheet and scrape any
surviving bugs into the trash.
There also are resistant grass cultivars/varieties.  You can reseed/replug with these. You
can also discourage them by shading your lawn with trees or shrubs.
There also are many predators, e.g.. Big-eyed bugs, wasps, ladybugs, birds, and earwigs -
thay all eat chinch bugs, but, the poisons kill these allies.
Aerate and fertilize with an organic fertilizer in Spring and Fall..  Remove the thatch.
G-d Bless,  Steve.