Thursday, August 20, 2015

Chinch Bugs

One of the most often quoted lines from the movie Caddyshack:

"But I am studying this stuff so I know it...you know, like...chinch bugs.  You know...manganese.  A lot of people don't even know what that is...nitrogen."

Well, Chinch bugs are actually a real thing and not just in the movies. It is fairly uncommon to see them on bentgrass but we have plenty of them throughout the course as evidenced by this picture of #8 white tee.



Our irrigation technician, Rogelio, was out adjusting irrigation heads on tees to make sure the proper archs are set. When he realized this area was not dry he notified assistant superintendents Carey Bailey and Matt Smith who investigated further using a salt flush to find this insect pest. An insect control product was applied the next day to tees and the results have excellent.

Next week we will be applying the same product to all fairways as a precautionary measure. It's a cheap application to make but is not something you want to make very often as the insects could develop resistance to the product if applied too often.


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