Bermuda and chinch bugs taking over St. Augustine…options?

Gatorfreak – posted 03 June 2009 12:38

I’ve never liked St. Augustine. I find it difficult to walk on. Not good for toddlers (which I have) to walk on either. Chinch bugs are eating it up and bermuda grass is taking over. I’m in North-Central Florida.

I wouldn’t mind letting the bermuda take over but I don’t like the “Y” shaped things that sprout up even though it’s mowed every week.

I’ve read some about Seashore Paspalum…and that it should take over bermuda. Does the Seashore Paspalum sprout those Y things too? I just want something that’s nice to walk on and easy to care for. I’ll tell you up front that I have a weekly lawn service and I’m not going to weed nor mow. I’m also not going to re-sod, so my options are limited to what can take over on its own. Any suggestions?

tommy – posted 03 June 2009 18:28

Seashore paspalum is a good choice, but it will never completely snuff out the bermuda. You will have to spray ‘Round up’on the bermuda before you do anything else. It sounds like you don’t want to spend a lot of time establishing a new lawn, so maybe consider hiring a landscaper to re-sod the whole mess. There are some nice types of bermuda that have hardly any seed heads.

Turfguy_UF – posted 03 June 2009 20:17

Google Princess Bermuda. I believe it is one of the few Bermuda types that can be seeded.

TurfGuy

inland.pest.control – posted 03 June 2009 21:14

if you have a spray company call them and complain about the chinch bugs. when you have chinch bugs you end up with bare spots and then you have crabgrass and bermuda grass. get the bugs under control, you have a toddler, and then all the other nasty ones like fire ants and fleas will also be gone. once you get that you have half the battle done. spot sod in damage areas. then a pro pest control company that knows how to control bermuda using chemicals that are very expensive, like $500.00 a jug can control the bermuda.

Gatorfreak – posted 04 June 2009 06:47

Thanks for the replies!

Does princess bermuda stay green in Florida winter? Whatever type I have growing in my lawn goes totally brown and dead looking in the winter.

Turfguy_UF – posted 04 June 2009 11:44

I believe all Bermuda goes dormant during the winter, and of course it is that nasty brown dormant. If you want better color in the fall you can over seed with a Rye grass. Most home lawns companies will do this for you.

TurfGuy

Edit: I forgot that Princess is considered a very “high” maintenance turf. Unless your lawn care company has reel mowers, I would stay away from that choice. If you google Bermuda grass seed you might be able to find some nice verities.

[This message has been edited by Turfguy_UF (edited 04 June 2009).]

tommy – posted 04 June 2009 18:07

Also, since Princess is grown from seed, you will some times get seed heads poping up. I have never grown princess, so I don’t know how much or at what cutting height it produces seed- but normally if bermuda is cut weekly, its less of a problem.

Turfguy_UF – posted 04 June 2009 21:47

More to Tommy,

It is suggest to cut Princess at 3/4 of an inch at the highest cut. I do not see it producing seed heads at that height the question would be does it produce seed heads at 1 inch or greater, and would it be as dense and as “perfect” as mowed at 2 inches…

I would love to have a chance to plant this in a 10’x 10′ and mow it at 2 inches and see what the result is.

Turfguy

tommy – posted 05 June 2009 20:09

Yep, usually a higher cut would give you more seed head, but some of the older improved seeded bermuda types get seed heads at any cutting height! I would think that Princess would be better in that regard, but since I don’t have any experience with it….I can’t say for sure. Anybody out there have Princess in their yard?

spiva55 – posted 05 June 2009 20:32

I have a section of princess in the front and the whole back is seaspray seashore paspalum. I found the princess to have very little to no seed heads popping up. I keep it mowed at 1/2 inch. The paspalum shoots more seed heads but they are very small. I’m in central FL and the princess went full dormant and came back late, while the paspalum held onto to decent color the whole winter. Once the princess gets going it needs to be mowed a lot more than the paspalum. Overall I prefer the look and feel of the brighter green paspalum then the standard bermuda look.

tommy – posted 09 June 2009 10:34

Thanks for that! Ya, thats what I thought concerning Princess and its seed head. It would be interesting to find out what kind of seed head formation it gets at a higher cut. Most homeowners are probably cutting it at 1 1/2 to 2 inches with a rotary, and that would be cool if it got few seed heads at that height. As for Paspalum, I have never grown that either, but everything I hear about it sounds real good! I would love to see some of the newer types that are being used for putting greens.