I was talking with a contractor today about doing some grading in the back and he said it's chinch bugs.

So I've been told "fungus" and chinch bugs. I really have no clue what to do. Thanks all.

Thanks so much for the reply!

Sorry, on follow up question to your reply goliathwired.

Will Agentine Bahia grow here in south Texas (Houston Area) in Clay Soil?

Thanks again.

Everything I told you was for central florida specific. Reduce your watering a little to your more northerly climate and check with your local sod distributor for availability of local bahia strands. May be a little too cool for argentine bahia. I have heard of texas bahia but that is mostly for pastures so it doesn't look as nice as SA or argentina.

If your committed to SA then water deeply but infrequently and put down Peet moss and insecticide control. Seriously think about creating large low maintanence planting beds.

SA in my experience is a money pit with watering, monitoring, 4 to 5 feedings and insecticide control. That usually adds up quickly especially with the size of your lawn. Don't get me wrong It looks fantastic, truly, but its not worth the upkeep unless you have the money. Ego costs money. I'd rather have a boat. Smaller yards its sometimes worth it, but by the time you recognize a problem the lawn is smoked and time to resod. Bahia in florida,has one real problem. Mole crickets. Big deal. The birds love em.

Bahia is not looked upon favorably around here, but I can agree that SA is not the best grass for those areas in the pics. Bermuda would do better with that kind of brutal sun down here in Houston, but a bed full of lantana or a big Vitex also do great in the hotspots if you like that option. Bermuda is going to infest your SA around here sooner or later anyway, so feel free to mix it up if your HOA will let you. My HOA won't let anyone switch to SA, even though the trees (they also require) are shading-out all the bermuda. dumb.

Get your clay soil amended with as much microlife/rhizogen/milorganite as you can get your hands on to get the biology back in balance & I bet those spots will start healing up.

Thanks again Reeljake and goliathwired.

Barry I'm so glad you bumped this back up. Not sure how I missed it (repeatedly), but I disagree with much of what has been said. I don't mean to confuse you, but differing opinions usually do, so sorry in advance.

St Aug should be very easy to grow in Houston. It will plow over under around and through any other grassy plants you might get including bermuda. All you have to do is mow it at the mower's highest setting every week or two. Currently it looks like you're mowing at the lowest setting. St Aug never needs to be mowed at anything lower than the highest setting. Some riding mowers will go up to 6 inches and some only go to 2-3 inches. If you're mowing at the mower's high setting now, you need a different mower. St Aug can grow up to 32 inches high and look fantastic (if you like the flowing wheat look). The taller it is the deeper the root system it gets and the (MUCH) better drought resistance you get. There is the occasional weed that will get into a thin spot, but usually you can spot spray those out with atrazine. How many thousand square feet do you have to mow?

This looks below average for a new lawn, but when the lawn is so big, anything can happen. The big problem is mowing too low, but it does look like the sod went in with some bit of fungal disease. The 3rd to last picture shows some fungal lesions. I have been using ordinary corn meal to take care of fungal disease in St Aug for the past 13 years. It works for me every time. The application rate is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. I get it at the local feed store. It takes 3 weeks to see an improvement, but since you've already applied a chemical fungicide, corn meal won't work.

Chinch bugs? You absolutely cannot see them from a photo. However, you can wipe your hand across the surface then they will flick up in the air. Put a piece of paper down and see if you can flick them up on it. There are some good YouTube videos showing how to do that. They hit the hottest part of the soil first, so that's usually next to asphalt or concrete. Then almost never begin in the middle of the yard unless you have watering issues. The first place to check would be in your last photo. And just because you might have one insect pest does not automatically make you a candidate for the full catalog of insects. And don't apply insecticide because you see bugs. Insects are not only normal, they're required for healthy soil and turf.

You do have watering issues. I assume for such a large lot you have a system in the ground. It needs to be tuned up, because it is missing spots. Place some tuna or cat food cans around in the dry spots and in the green spots. Then time how long it takes to fill the cans. Some high flow systems can fill them in 20 minutes, so keep an eye on them. But some of your cans are going to be pretty dry for a long time. Eventually you want them all to fill at about the same time. Then use the time it takes to fill them as your new watering time for every zone. That's 1 inch of water. The idea is to apply a full inch all at one time. Then wait until the grass is ready for the next drink. Generally speaking when the temps are in the 90s, water once per week. With temps in the 80s water once every 2 weeks, temps in the 70s water every 3 weeks, and once a month the rest of the year. This also promotes deep roots.

You don't have clay soil. You might not have perfect soil, but clay is not the issue. Usually the problem is a salt imbalance that causes soil to act like clay. Even sand can act like clay. If you really want to know all about your soil, send a sample to Logan Labs (not TAMU). For $25 they will send you a detailed report. Post that report here and morpheuspa will read it for you telling you what you need to apply, where to find it, how much, when, and how. That's another $200 value for free.

Fertilize in May, late September, and again in late November. Don't try to jump the gun in the spring. If you want info on organic lawn care, let me know. I think you should, but not everyone agrees. If you go to a full chemical program, then I would suggest at least once a year to use an organic fertilizer (ordinary corn meal, again) to keep your soil biology happy.

So in the long run, taking care of St Aug is easy. You water it depending on the temperature, mow at the highest setting, and fertilize 3x per year. If you do these simple things, you should never need herbicide, insecticide, or fungicide. If you see weeds in the early spring, don't use a weed-n-feed. Use a herbicide with atrazine. Read the label 2x and follow the directions carefully.

Photo tip: Take garden pictures on a cloudy day to minimize contrast between bright and shadow.

DC disagrees?!?!?! This is my shocked face! Just kidding DC, you're right SA grows like gangbusters around Houston & a soil test would be good. I can also say with certainty that the Houston area soil does in fact have a higher-than-average clay content. That said, if this house is anywhere south of I-10, like Richmond, Rosenberg, Fulshear, or Sugarland the OP can & should expect annual fungus issues right about now. A lot of the soil down there is more of weak sandy silt from the Brazos river & it seems to be an ideal mix for the various types of patch fungus. Also, many of the new neighborhoods around Houston are built on old rice farms, especially on the West/NW side around Grand Parkway & the builders don't do much to change the existing "claypan" the rice farmers spent so long building to seal the fields for flooding. That means water absorbs slower than normal with lots of runoff & the water stays in the soil for longer than normal, just something to keep in mind.

Barry L. Did you get your yard all green? Are you still having areas that are yellowing?

Hi Jeannine, if you are having a similar issue, you should probably start a new discussion (at the top of the forum). This one is pretty worn out. When you start the new one, please tell us where you live and what kind of grass you have (assuming it's St Aug in Houston at this point). Also if you want to take pictures, the best pictures of gardens are taken on cloudy or overcast days. Otherwise the contrast of shiny reflections and deep shadows makes it hard to see what you see.