Lack of iron. Iron deficiencies are apparent in lawns when the soil has a high pH or when lawns are overwatered. Ask your nurseryman about iron products that will help return pale grass to a healthier green. Try to avoid contact with drives, walkways and white trim on your home, warns landscape designer Danny McNair. Iron products stain.
Chinch bugs love hot, dry conditions.
They attack our lawns along sidewalks and drives, where it is sunny and hot. If areas of your lawn look dry, but watering doesn't help, look carefully for teeny black insects with white diamonds on their backs. If your eyes can't detect such pests, sink a bottomless coffee can into the area, fill with water and watch for swimming chinch bugs. If they appear, ask your nurseryman for the best insecticide. Migration depends on the weather, he says, and since there were no cold fronts, there were few stopovers.