Neem oil would work, and you can get a bottle of concentrate at Home Depot or any other big box store. Just follow the mixing instructions and apply per label instructions. Safer brand insecticidal soap is usually available at big box stores as well. The concentrate bottle isn't expensive and again, mix according to instructions and apply. There are plenty of recipes online for making your own insecticidal soap, and they do work (I generally whip up my own on the rare occasions that I need one for the cannas). In this particular case, it's critical to use an actual soap and not a detergent--shampoos are a detergent, not a soap, as are most liquid soaps. I'm a soap maker by hobby, so I always have tons of actual soap kicking around and laying hands on a pure Castille soap isn't more than the work of a moment. So for most people, making insecticidal soap is possible and workable (and cheaper than buying it), but not necessarily easy...

Brizzy, I will attempt to answer your question. First, do a search for "organic controls + chinch bug". Some good information to be found there. Now some additional thoughts: 1. It is important that organic gardeners study their property daily looking for and treating problems as spotted. Every type of mowed lawn grass, northern or southern, provides a welcoming home to chinch bug. They are not fussy. 2. The three common ways that they are transported into a yard is they are blown on the wind from a neighboring property or arrive on mowing equipment by contract lawn care companies. However, the most common way is on southern grown, balled and burlaped shrubs and trees. Usually the first signs of lawn cinch bug will be spotted during the summer heat just outside newly established landscaped beds. There is nothing you can do to prevent cinch bug from camping on your lawn except to be alert for the tell-tale signs and begin treatment early. 3. Watch your lawn very carefully for spots that appear to be "thinning", perhaps turning a bit brown. Chinch bug can easily be identified on hands and knees at high noon on a sunny day when they are most active and visible. Run a hand over the suspect lawn area, parting the grass and if the problem is chinch bug you should see zillions of very tiny, shiny black bugs running around. There is no mistaking them. On-line searching should be very helpful for identifying and treating chinch bug organically.

Yes, those are aphids. I personally think that the heavy duty broad spectrum insecticide you've mentioned is waaaay overkill, and could cause you some backlash problems in the future. Insecticidal soap would control an aphid infestation, and do much less damage to the rest of the microclimate. Aphids have plenty of natural pests out there, if only we don't kill them all. PART of the problem about spraying an entire yard with such a chemical is that once you've locked yourself into using such a broad-spectrum product, you can do such a bad number on the zillions of beneficials that you find major pest outbreaks occurring on a regular basis. SO....the more you use, the more you have to keep on using. Here is a link that might be useful:

antzy - You'll hear a lot here about avoidance of chemicals and not harming beneficial insects and the like. And believe me, all of it is good advice; after all, why kill an insect or worm if it is helping to aerate (and eventually fertilize) your lawn? However, I, for one, have suffered ant infestations that have so over-cultivated beneath the lawn that two areas dried out and died - because I was trying to leave them there after hearing they were good for the lawn (incidentally, I DO leave them in my front lawn, because they aren't creating mounds there and they aren't causing the lawn to die). Chemical control was a Godsend. Additionally, I nearly lost my front lawn to grubs (and the moles that followed) one year. Castor oil (nontoxic) successfully chased away the moles, but chemicals knocked out the grubs and saved the lawn. I now do alternating preventative treatments (Mach2 one year - Spectracide halofenozide product; Merit the next - Bayer imidacloprid product) - less toxic chemicals that replaced the more harmful "rescue" treatments necessitated by a previous avoidance of chemicals. I'm a busy man, but my lawn is a bit of a hobby and I've researched a lot of stuff, from toxicity to effectiveness. Ultimately, I've had a little experience, and continue to gain more. First, Rhizo's entirely right - Sevin's murder on earthworms. It can be a grub "rescue" treatment (admittedly, it's what I used to rescue my lawn), if necessary, but acc. to pros I've read from, Dylox (Bayer brand 24 hr. grub killer) is stronger (on grubs), breaks down more quickly in the soil, and won't cause AS MUCH harm to earthworms (though it certainly harms them). If you've determined you need some kind of control for pests, I would recommend you read the extoxnet and EPA info on the pesticides you're looking into, to see if they're good for your application. Additionally, lurk a bit on www.lawnsite.com, where professional lawn care people post regarding their experiences with different products (in the pesticide application section). For what it's worth, I've had great success with Triazicide - both granular and liquid (granules last longer) on killing ants in the lawn. Its active ingredient, lambda-cyhalothrin, is a synthetic pyrethroid - the family of chemicals used for interior insect killing in homes and restaurants. It lasts long because it bonds to the soil; however, while it's labeled for grub killing, many say it's bonding quality lessens the effectiveness (because doesn't get deep enough in the ground). As illustrated by synthetic pyrethroids' widespread approval for interior applications, it poses little if any threat to mammals when used according to directions and allowed to dry before reentry. Re earthworms, I have TONS of them after treating with Triazicide. I'm sure it's not good for them, but it hasn't changed their population noticeably. For grubs, halofenozide (Mach2 - the active ingredient in Spectracide Grub Stop) causes grubs to molt early, which in turn causes them to stop feeding and die. Imidacloprid (Merit - active ingredient in Bayer Season Long Grub Control and the new Scotts GrubEx) is brought into the roots of the lawn (systemic) and when young grubs bite, it kills them. Both are very light toxicity to mammals, but because they are so mild, their application must be timed with the grub (several beetle species, most common Japanese and June beetles) life cycle. Pros suggest you put them down in early July so that the young grubs get them right after their eggs hatch. Run a google search to learn about the grub cycle. Merit and Mach2 have virtually no effect on earthworms. If you have let the grubs mature come fall (or if your initial treatment fails), Bayer Dylox is the product to "zap" them. It uses Trichlorfon, an organophosphate insecticide, which is much more toxic to mammals so reentry rules must be observed carefully. Some suggest beneficial nematodes for grubs (and even ants, for that matter). But I've heard from many (including pros) that they are very inconsistent, die or burrow too deeply in dry weather, and are very expensive. I'm not going to use them. FINALLY, there is one product out that combines pyrethroids with Merit - Bayer's total lawn insect killer. It combines Cyfluthrin (a pyrethroid) with Merit, to get both contact killing of insects and systemic killing of pests that feed on grass roots. I may try this next season to see if it simplifies things. I share your concerns and wish you all the best.