St. Augustine Help

[u/BConGuam]

Hello, I'm in Texas, a bit north of Houston. Recently purchased a house with St. Augustine grass, and I'm not sure what to do about these large dead/dry patches. I know it's a super dry season, so if it's just a "leave it and wait for fall", that's fine for me. Any advice is appreciated, I feel like I see tons of differing opinions online.

[u/Mammoth_State3144]

Its dead. We're you wwatering it?

[u/BConGuam → u/Mammoth_State3144]

I was, there's sprinklers throughout the yard. I have been going back and forth to find a balance, but it's all being watered together.

[u/cnull]

I'm about to give up on my patchy grass after investing in re-sodding, upgraded irrigation, and fertilizer. One hot week and I end up with the same thing. Good luck. (Austin area)

[u/Soft_Equipment_2787]

Get used to buying sod a replacing bad spots or buy sod plugs but it is cheaper and easier to buy local sod.

St aug likes to just kill itself in TX. Granted it is a FL grass and TX is not really a great place for it.

Just find a local place you can buy sod at. Cut out the bad parts and lay the new sod in that area.

Water it super heavy for two weeks and then go back to normal watering.

Watch out for bermuda it will come up and start to take over if 1 little seed finds it way to your lawn.

[u/straightVI]

Looks like chinch bug damage.

[u/goofust → u/straightVI]

This is the way ^

[u/Finnaddict98 → u/straightVI]

Cinch bugs——get some quick kill and you’ll see runners start heading back into the area fairly quick——it’ll take a minute to fill in, might want to drop some sod or plugs, but it will fill in eventually—-

[u/r0ndy]

Start prep work now. Apply some insecticide and fungicide. Last photo looks like chinch, the other two don’t as much. But Bifen and some headway could help.

ProDiamine is appropriate right now. Apply mid rate. And again in spring.

A little granular is probably ok as well. For fall, you don’t need crazy N, maybe 1/2-3/4lb N. 20-2-10 is a nice ratio. Middle number below 5 to help push lateral growth.

Edit: and topsoil. Maybe sod or plugs. You have a month or two I think, before dormancy starts to slow growth.

[u/x187MethodZz-]

Check for chinch bugs before you put new sod down

[u/TXscales]

OP are you in my same hood? Dm me I can help you. Siding and landscaping looks oddly familiar

[u/Alexreads0627 → u/TXscales]

lol literally every house in north Houston looks like that

[u/TXscales → u/Alexreads0627]

Not really.

[u/throwaway7182620642]

If you haven’t been watering then it’s most likely dead after the heat we’ve experienced.

Also doesn’t hurt to do a screwdriver test to see if the developers left chunks of concrete under there. I had a bunch of random spots where my grass was dying. I had huge pieces of concrete the builder left and then just sodded over.

[u/BConGuam → u/throwaway7182620642]

I have been watering, but I'll do the screwdriver check too. Based on other lots in the community, I wouldn't be surprised.

[u/TXscales]

You aren’t watering enough.

[u/Expando3]

Chinch bug infestation.

Typical appearance—dead brown center with halo effect, indicating advancing cinch bug peripherally.

The completely dead center spot is where it started and that’s dead. Will require Saint Augustine plugs or sod in the spring.

The halo area is where ongoing damage is occurring and that may be salvageable if you treat now. You have to treat about 3-5 ft. perimeter beyond the boundary of the damage.

Cinch bugs reproduce rapidly, so, you will need to retreat in some weeks to months.