Mushrooms in Lawns

This time of year I receive dozens of questions about the appearance of mushrooms and fairy rings in lawns. Many people try to treat mushrooms like weeds, but there is much more to consider. Hopefully, this article will give you a better understanding of mushrooms and how to handle them.

Mushrooms are nothing more than the fruiting bodies of fungus living in the soil. These fungi feed on organic matter and play a part in decomposition of materials like wood, tree roots, etc. Mushrooms usually appear if the weather has been very moist. Sometimes mushrooms in lawns assume a ringlike pattern which is known as a fairy ring. Fairy rings usually disappear once their food source has been depleted though this can take considerable time.

There are several ways to deal with mushrooms and fairy rings in lawns with the easiest being prevention. Prevention though begins at the lawn installation stage and involves removing all tree stumps, roots, and other pieces of wood from the soil prior to seeding the lawn. If this is not possible and mushrooms are appearing in your lawn, there really is no chemical way to eradicate them. You could dig up the mushroom infested areas and remove the organic material or you could just cut the tops off and wait for the organic matter to decompose.

Giving your lawn the proper care will help lessen the mushrooms in the lawn as well. Lawns which are well fed and watered usually have less of a mushroom problem.

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