check into fungus problems. Over watering on top of the massive rain we have had this spring has fungus written all over it. (I live in Ft Myers, it rains about 1/4 to 1/2 inch a day) Ill try to find you some sites for a cure. You will find alot of people that will tell you to spread corn meal, it will work but its kind of pricy unless you know someone in Kentucky that is going to be driving down here. Copper based products will probably be the best soultion.

Hello Cathy. I have the same problem with my lawn and living in SFLA the rain is what has caused this. Stop watering right away. The rain water plus the additional water you give it will only kill it further. Do a search for my username and you will find a lot of info since any problem I have, it is posted here. From brown spots to fungus etc... Down in SFLA it has been raining almost every day so my st. Augustine is just brown in some spots, lime in color in others, etc... Hopefully all my posts help.

If you could get your camera about 3 inches away from the grass instead of 30,000 feet, I could likely confirm a fungal disease. The best pictures of grass are taken in the shade or on a cloudy day to minimize contrast caused by the sun. If you get close you'll see tan spots surrounded by dark brown spots. That's the disease. I'm guessing you live in Texas and have received more than your average share of rain in the past few weeks. If it is a fungal disease it will get better about 3 weeks after an application of ordinary corn meal at the rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get corn meal in 50-pound bags at your local feed store. If you cannot get it there look for a grocery store catering to the Hispanic community. Ask for (or find it yourself) corn flour. Don't get the premix used for making tortillas. It should come in 25 pound bags. I scatter it by hand. Flour tends to blow away, so you might want to use a drop spreader to apply it. And it tends to clog a drop spreader which is why I apply by hand. If it is a fungal disease and you live where the temps are in the mid to high 80s already, don't use anything but corn meal. If you live where it's cooler, you could use a chemical fungicide. I've never needed one, so I can't give you any hints. Corn meal has worked for my St Aug for the past 13 years. If you want to reapply after 3 weeks it won't hurt a thing. In fact if you want to reapply the next day it won't hurt anything either. This weekend is an excellent one, timingwise, to apply fertilizer anyway. Corn meal is a weak organic fertilizer. If you only use it on the affected spots, you'll have dark green grass there in a month. Corn meal works by attracting a predatory fungus as part of the decomposition. That fungus consumes the disease fungus and your grass will recover. If your lawn is in full sun, you might want to throw a couple pieces of Floratam St Aug sod down. It's a very fast growing variety that can actually outrun this particular disease. I see the disease in my Floratam, but it never seems to die out like yours is. I still hit it with corn meal because the spots are ugly.

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.