Chinch bugs multiply rapidly in warm weather, and their feeding causes St. Augustine grass to look like drought stress. No treatment is needed until symptoms first appear. Look for wilting grass which does not respond to water. The grass will continue to dry, giving it a burned look. Flooding the perimeter area with water, or soaking the edge with soapy will drive them up from the thatch onto the grass blades where they are more easily seen.
Damage usually occurs first in the hottest and driest parts of the lawn.
July and August is also the time to treat for white grubs if there is a problem. Treatment is based on whether grubs are present in the turf and the way to find out is to dig a few test areas and look for the small grubs in the soil. Not all lawns will have grubs and excessive use of pesticides can lead to other turf problem and contamination of sewer discharge, so it is better to check first rather than automatically treat. Letting squash turn as big as baseball bats will cause production to go down. Harvest vegetables at their peak of maturity for maximum nutrition and quality.