Lawn Fungus
How To Combat Lawn Fungus
If lawn fungus has gotten a hold of your yard, you probably find yourself confused on what it is and how to treat it. Many homeowners do not even realize that the patchy places or brown spots are lawn fungus and insist on feeding it fertilizer and water hoping that they can boost the lawn's appearance. Being able to properly identify the problem and learning about treatment options will help you restore your lawn to the lush carpet you desire.
Types Of Lawn Fungus
There are several types of lawn fungus that affect lawns of homes across America.
- Pink Snow Mold – This is a pink, cottony-like, fluffy mold that is found on yellow or brown patches of grass.
- Dollar Spot – These are brown, small spots found on your lawn that are usually in groups of 15 to 20.
- Brown Patch – This type of lawn fungus will turn your beautiful green grass into a blanket of brown dry spots in as fast as 48 hours or less. Brown Patch thrives in over fertilized soils.
- Rust – This grass fungus makes itself known when the weather becomes moist and warm. Rust turns green lawns to light green to yellow to brown.
- Slime Mold – Your grass blades will have the appearance of gray or yellow slime clinging to them.
- Fairy Ring – This type of lawn fungus leaves dead grass rings where mushrooms will usually appear in the center.
Prevention And Solutions
Identifying what type of lawn fungus is plaguing your yard is the first step. Every type of fungus needs its own method of treatment to help eliminate it however, there are a few similar actions for most types of fungus that you can follow. Regardless of what type of fungus your lawn has, it thrives after heavy dew, rain or spring snow so it is essential that you keep your lawn mowed. Keeping the grass cut short allows air to penetrate it and dry out the fungus. Other lawn treatments will include applying fungicides to the area with the fungus and be sure to rake up dead grass. Every type of fungus will have specific fungicides available for treatment.
Effects Of Fungicide
The standard treatment of lawn fungus is to apply a fungicide such as a penetrant systemic or contact type.
- Penetrant – A penetrant fungicide is applied directly to the leaves where it is absorbed into the roots of the grass. This is ideal to use as a preventative treatment before you have a problem.
- Contact – A contact fungicide will stay on the grass surface and it kills spores and mold on contact.
- Systemic – A systemic fungicide is applied to the blades of the grass and it is absorbed but this type kills fungus that is currently present.
You can find various types of fungicides at nurseries, greenhouses, garden specialty stores and home improvement stores. A skilled salesperson will be able to assist you in choosing the right type of fungicide for your lawn.
Helpful Advice
There are a few things that you can do to try to prevent your lawn from being taken over by lawn fungus to start with. Fungus loves warm wet lawns so take piled up snow away in the spring so that it doesn't melt and soak the soil. Also, always water your lawn when it is sunny, not when it is cloudy, this way the sun can evaporate extra water.
A penetrant fungicide should be applied to eliminate fungus growth before it has a chance to take over your lawn and then apply a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen during appropriate times of the season since fungi do not like nitrogen. Be sure to rake the grass clippings up after you mow the lawn to prevent the fungus from spreading.