[DrgnSlayer1289]

Hello everyone! First time poster, joining to pick the minds of people more knowledgeable than myself in this.

I purchased a new house last October and had beautifully/newly set Sod which was so vibrant and green. We have a sprinkler system which waters every morning, and the ground seems to be hydrated well. But all of a sudden my grass started turning yellow. I thought it was my mower which cause it to feather at the tip and dry it out or got a disease but unsure if it is an issue with thatch... I am able to rake up quite a bit of dead grass, but didn't want to spread it if it was infact a disease.

I'm hoping someone can give me ideas of how to combat this so that my beautiful own doesn't die completely and

 

[Spammage]

My first guess -- dormancy. The unusual cold weather likely has just affected enough of it to give you that appearance. You shouldn't have any fungus or insect issues this time of year.

BTW, you shouldn't be watering every day. Your new sod should have rooted well by now. I'm in DFW and haven't watered in a couple of months. During the growing season, the grass will need about an inch of water per week from rain or irrigation.

 

[DrgnSlayer1289]

Whoops, I definately don't have my sprinkler system set daily, it's currently set to 3 days a week, 30min interval.

Is this excessive?

Also, in south Texas we have seen a rare case of cold weather ( live near border) as most winters dip into 40s or 50s normally. But it appears to have not happened throughout the entire lawn (you'll see beautifully green and lush grass in the top left corner). Is this common with dormancy?

I replaced my lawn mower blade also as I had my nephew cut my yard to develop responsibility and he managed to run into everything possible causing some good damage to the blade, thinking he might have cause some damage during this process to the lawn.

Would raking up the dead grass help?
I was able to rake up 2 33gal bags in just the section pictured of dead grass with a normal rake, so I even considered thatch an issue and was about to rent a dethatcher this weekend.

Thanks again for the help in advance!

 

[Spammage]

The house could have shielded the still green area from frost or high winds during the cold weather, but if you are that far South, it may be possible that it could still be a pest. Chinch bugs are a major concern for St Augustine and it is prone to fungal issues when soil temps are 60+ ish. Search for pics of chinch bugs and try a soapy water test to see what comes up. I wouldn't rake up to much as St Augustine grows via runners on the soil surface known as stolons. Removing them could really set you back for the next season.

 

[g-man]

How is your neighbors lawn? and other areas of your town? Do those lawns looks like yours?

 

[Spammage]

Whoops, I definately don't have my sprinkler system set daily, it's currently set to 3 days a week, 30min interval.

I would still say that is excessive for this time of year, but you can check the soil to see if there is moisture present. No sense watering if it isn't necessary. The best watering philosophy is deep and infrequent. That will help to train the roots to grow deeper in search of water and allow the grass to be more drought tolerant.

As far as "30min interval", that doesn't really tell you what you need to know. You have to know how much water is going out in that 30 minutes. A sprinkler audit can be performed by using straight sided containers like tuna cans to measure the water output.

 

[DrgnSlayer1289]

My neighbors lawn varies throughout my subdivision, but closest ones to me seem to be similar sporadically throughout their lawn.

I did check this morning for chinch bugs, and it does appear I have them. I would have never guessed this to be the issue, so I thank everyone for helping me to find them.

Is there a specific brand, or product people would suggest to treat the bugs? I looked up a few online with varying reviews, so hoping someone has used a product which has had great success.

Thanks again for everything!