Mushroom growth in your turf is frustrating. The mushrooms pop up out of the ground quickly, and they can spread overnight. The best way to deal with mushrooms is to prevent them. Luckily your mushroom problem should not be all that hard to fix. In our guide outlining how to get rid of mushrooms in your lawn, we provide:
- 8 simple ways to get rid of mushrooms
- Some helpful tips about mushroom growth
- And the reasons why you may have mushrooms in your yard
Why Are Mushrooms Growing in My Yard?
The scientific reason why you have lawn mushrooms is that you have a lot of organic material in your lawn. However, there are landscaping practices that can encourage more mushroom growth and make it difficult for you to stay on top of the mushroom situation. Mushrooms tend to thrive on wet soil with dead grass, grass clippings, and even mulch surrounding it. New mushrooms love how this organic material keeps the area moist with very little airflow.
Are Yard Mushrooms Dangerous?
Most yard mushrooms are not dangerous to you, your children, or your pets. However, there is no reason to consume or get too close to yard mushrooms. If you are tasked with the removal process and worried about skin sensitivity, wearing a good pair of gardening gloves should help. When pets consume yard mushrooms, it is typically not a poison situation, but keeping a healthy lawn will ensure you don’t have to worry about any impact the mushroom has on your pet.
8 Ways to Get Rid of Mushrooms in Your Yard
Getting rid of mushrooms in your yard is going to be more of a preventative measure than anything else. The best ways to do this are to fix lawn drainage issues, improve airflow in the turf, and control the amount of organic material in your lawn. Although we will give you ideas to remove the mushroom itself, if you want this problem to go away, you must treat why it is happening. Taking the lawn mower and running over the mushrooms may have them disappear for the night, but they will likely be back.
1) Fix Lawn Drainage Issues
Lawn drainage issues that create moist soil will be a breeding ground for mushrooms. If you are overwatering your lawn, the chance of mushrooms popping up overnight is incredibly high. Sometimes you can adjust the watering schedule; other times, you may need to install a drain or add some sand to the soil. Aeration can also increase the turf’s ability to move water into the ground.
2) Increase Airflow
By now, you should know that mushrooms like moist and still environments. This is where they can quickly grow and thrive off of their food source of organic plant material. Soil can become compacted over time, especially when it is overwatered. To fix this issue, dethatching and aeration are the best methods.
3) Let The Sun In
If you have noticed that the issues with mushrooms are much more prevalent around tree stumps, tree roots, and in the shady areas of your lawn, you are not alone in seeking solutions like adjusting grass choices for shady areas. Areas that do not receive much sunlight will tend to grow mushrooms much quicker. Trimming some tree branches and pruning back plant material may bring enough light to your turf to help it grow without mushrooms.
4) Set The Sprinkler Schedule
When are you watering your lawn? If youwater your grass at night, you are opening the doors for all types of fungi to make their way into your grass. Watering at night promotes hours of dark and moist conditions. However, if you water in the morning, the sun will soon be out, and it will get the soil dried up and keep it mushroom-free. Explore our article to discover more about the ideal time to water grass.
5) Proper Fertilization
Having a yard that is mushroom free often takes preventative measures like fertilization. If you are using a nitrogen fertilizer according to the fertilization schedule for your area, the decomposition of plant and organic matter will be considerably faster. Chances are it will be fast enough that even if you get a mushroom or two, they will likely not last all that long. Fertilization should be done at least once per year, but typically more like 2-3 times.
6) Proper Mowing Practices
Sometimes it is beneficial to your turf to leave the grass clippings in place; however, this is not the recommended process every time. In fact, it’s a good idea to have a compost pile where you collect this organic material and have it turn back into soil for your home. Removing grass clippings, animal waste, and other debris from your grass will keep mushrooms away.
7) Natural Spray Treatment
Spraying mushrooms will treat them on the spot but won’t necessarily prevent them from showing up again. There are fungicides you can use to treat mushrooms, but some very common household products also do a great job. You can use baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, and even lemon to treat the mushroom itself; it is always important to look out for grass surrounding the plant as you won’t want to spray and kill that. Dish soap is the most common treatment, and this includes taking just a few drops of soap and putting it in a spray bottle that holds one pint of water.
8) Dig Them Out
If you have tried everything else and seem to have no results, you can dig out mushrooms growing in the yard, but this process is not easy. As soon as the mushrooms are disturbed, the spores will spread, and you could end up with many more mushrooms the next day.
Remember that if you knock down or spray the top of the mushroom, it will not always penetrate down to the surface and kill the roots. Therefore your mushroom pops back up again a day or two later. If you have an area of the yard that is really bad, dig out the mushrooms, turn over the soil and ensure that area does not get much extra water.
Killing Mushrooms with Fungicide
Killing mushrooms with fungicide can be a great way to get rid of the current mushrooms, but it won’t do much to stop future mushroom growth. Remember, after treating with fungicide, you may want to follow additional steps to get rid of mushrooms in the yard.
With these additional steps, you may find that it’s worth saving your money on fungicide and simply working on preventing mushrooms. Fungicides do not penetrate the soil enough to create an environment where mushrooms will not grow.
Why Fungi Can be Beneficial
Seeing mushrooms pop up over the lawn feels like there is a problem. However, fungi can sometimes be beneficial as they can provide nutrients to the soil and surrounding plants. Mushrooms will essentially digest the organic matter in your lawn and keep it from continuing to pile up. These fruiting bodies have quite a bit of work going on under the grass line and are an important part of the ecosystem. However, keeping them out of your turf can be a good thing for aesthetics.
How Fast Do Mushrooms Grow and Spread?
Have you ever felt like you went to bed with a perfect lawn and woke up with small mushrooms covering it? Chances are you did! Small mushrooms can grow overnight, while larger ones take three or four days to grow. The growth rate of a mushroom is fast as most of it is growing under the turf’s surface before you can see it.
Common Yard Mushrooms
Depending on where you live, the different types of yard mushrooms that frequent your area will vary. As we mentioned, most of theseare not poisonous mushroomsand are typically quite harmless. If you are curious about which mushrooms you have, using an app like iNaturalist will help you identify the mushroom quickly. Common mushrooms that can pop up in your yard are:
- Fairy Ring Mushroom
- Field or Meadow Mushroom
- Common Stinkhorn
- Mower’s Mushrooms
- Shaggy Ink Cap
- Fly Agaric
- Ringless Honey Mushroom
Professional Lawn Care Services to Help Get Rid of Mushrooms
If the mushroom problem gets to a point where you can no longer control it on your own, there areprofessional lawn care servicesthat can help. These services will ensure you are not overwatering, help create airflow throughout the turf again and ensure that thegrass is properly fertilized.Homeowners in search of a green lawn can attest to the fact that keeping lawn fungus and lawn diseases away can be a very time-consuming process.
Our Top Recommended Lawn Care Professional
TruGreenis the best lawn service for keeping all types of mushrooms from growing in your turf. TruGreen is a large company servicing areas across the entire United States. They will assess any issues you have with organic build-up and start working to fix the situation. TruGreen offers everything from aeration to shrub trimming to mosquito spraying around property.
Final Thoughts
We hope you now know how to get rid of mushrooms in the yard. This process is not something to be overly concerned about and indeed not as serious as some lawn diseases. Chances are you have drainage problems and lots of decomposing plant matter that are causing you the issues. Check out our comprehensive review of TruGreen to learn more about their services
Frequently Asked Questions
What kills mushrooms and not grass?
Some of our more natural solutions, like dish soap or baking soda, will kill mushrooms, but you will want to be sure that you have a fine spray bottle that only hits the mushroom and not the turf around it.
How do you stop mushrooms from growing in your yard?
To stop mushrooms from growing in your yard
- Remove organic plant material from the turf
- Aerate and dethatch to improve overall airflow
- Do not overwater your turf
How do I get rid of mushrooms in my yard naturally?
Some of the best natural treatments for mushrooms include dish soap and water, baking soda and water, and even vinegar. These treatments will kill the mushrooms as they have now surfaced, but you will need additional preventative measures to keep them away.
How do I permanently get rid of mushrooms?
Following recommended yard maintenance procedures will help you get rid of mushrooms for good. If this process of adequately treating the lawn is a bit more than you can handle, a company like TruGreen can make a big difference.
