How To Kill Lawn Fungus

The Problems It Causes

One of the primary problems that lawn rust creates is when the blades are coated with spores.

These coated blades minimize the capability of the grass to photosynthesize. Grass blades collect solar energy from the sun which they transform into plant sugar/ carbohydrates which fuels the growth of the sod.

However, if these blades are coated with spores, they are unable to capture enough solar energy to photosynthesize and their growth and energy become inadequate.

It is much like if a person were unable to gain sustenance through food.

If you do detect grass rust on your lawn, do not fret.

So long as the rust is not dire, it will be simple enough to deal with, much like with humans, as long as the grass is healthy, you can assist it to fight off the rust itself. Heres how

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How To Tell If Your Lawn Has Been Infected By Fungus

There are a few sure-fire ways to find out if your lawn mower is spreading fungus.

The most common signs of fungal disease are:

• Discolored patches of grass
• Brown, yellow, or white rings that increase in size
• Orange, black or grey spots found on the blades of grass
• Slimy looking areas of the grass
• Small web-like parts on the grass and
• Orange, yellow, or rust-like powder on the grass.

How To Identify Lawn Diseases

Something looking not quite right on your lawn, but you’re not sure what it is? Use this guide to common lawn diseases to help you ID it and learn how to treat it.

Anytime you grow a bunch of the same plants together, disease problems can take hold and begin to spread before you even notice theyre happening. This can be a real challenge for lawns, because lawns are made of hundreds of thousands of the same type of grass plants. Even when you give your lawn excellent care, the grass can still become infected with various lawn diseases that can lead to dead or discolored areas. Disease spores can float by in the air or hide in the soil, and when conditions are right, they multiply. Thats why its a good idea to protect your lawn, or fight back if disease has already taken hold, with Scotts® DiseaseEX Lawn Fungicide. It starts to work in just 24 hours to prevent and control 26 different lawn diseases for up to 4 weeks .

Here are some of the most common lawn diseases and how to identify them.

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Do You Have To Sanitize Your Lawn Mower

Of course, one of the ways to keep fungus from spreading to your lawn is by sanitizing your lawn mower. If things are definitely getting out of control, this may be a necessary action you need to take each time you are going to mow a different lawn.

However, let me point your focus back to the three main conditions fungus needs to spread.

Maintaining a healthy environment is vital in order to maintain a fungus-free lawn. In which case, your lawn mower may not necessarily need to be sanitized or disinfected.

Bioadvanced Fungus Control For Lawns

Fungus Control for Lawns from BioAdvanced is a liquid fungicide designed to cure and prevent the common lawn fungal diseases such as Brown Patch, Powdery Mildew, Dollar Spot, Anthracnose, Fusarium Patch, Red Thread, Stripe Smut, Summer Patch, Rust, Snow Mold, Gray Leaf Spot, and more.

According to the product info, this fungicide has a weatherproof formula that provides long protection for your turf after it is applied .

This product can easily be connected to the water hose and sprinkled over your lawn.

As mentioned before, the downside of the liquid fungicides that are spread using the water hose is that these are not very economical in terms of the quantity used.

Even though its specified that the product can be used for up to 5,000 square feet, if youre not careful and you use too high water pressure, you can quickly waste a big portion of the liquid.

Thats why I personally prefer the granular or the liquid fungicides that you manually have to dilute with water and spray them using a manual hose sprayer.

• PROS

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Black Lawn Fungus Prevention

Keeping a well-maintained lawn goes a long way toward preventing slime mold from forming. Lawns with poor drainage and excess thatch are more likely to develop slime mold. Aerating and dethatching your lawn annually will improve drainage and remove the organic debris building up on the grass blade.

Make sure your lawn gets plenty of sunlight. Trim back tree and bush branches if necessary to reduce shady areas in the lawn.

References

Know What Youre Dealing With

Lawn rust is the common name for a type of fungus, usually the Puccinia or Uromyces species, that grows most frequently on Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.

Because it thrives in warm, humid conditions with intermittent bright sunlight, it usually shows up in late summer or early autumn, particularly during wet years. Any time the grass stays damp for 6 hours or longer, lawn rust can take hold.

Before you start trying to get rid of lawn rust, make sure thats actually what youre dealing with. The gentle approach required for this fungus doesnt always help with other types of lawn diseases and damage.

If lawn rust is your problem, youll notice certain common symptoms.

• Areas of your lawn have taken on a sickly color ranging from yellowed green to orange-red or brown. The discoloration is more or less evenly distributed with undefined edges, rather than concentrated in distinct patches.
• In affected areas, the grass coverage is thin and the blades break easily, but the grass isnt dying off completely.
• Individual grass blades are coated with a powdery orange-red to yellowish brown dust that you can rub off with your fingers. This is where the fungus gets its rust name. You might also find this dust clinging to your shoes or clothes after you walk through the lawn.
• If the lawn has been affected for several weeks, you might find small pustules that have broken through the surfaces of the grass blades. These start off orange, but turn black as winter approaches.

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Diy Lawn Fungus Control Vs Professional Treatment

If you discover fungus on your lawn, you want to address it right away. But should you DIY it or call a professional for help?

If the issue is a simple fix, and you know exactly what it is and how to go about killing the disease, doing it yourself can save time and money. However, if you dont choose the correct treatment, you could do more harm than good, and end up spending more in the long run. Not to mention, lawn fungus treatment products designed for consumer use arent always as powerful as those used by professionals, so it may take longer to solve the problem on your own.

Lawn fungus and disease is a common problem, and it doesnt have to mean that all of your hard work was in vain. Sometimes its due to factors out of your control, but taking the right steps to prevent and treat disease can keep your grass looking beautiful all season long.

Have You Noticed A Yellowish

Grass rust is a common visitor to residential lawns beginning in August and persisting through the fall months. It is a fungus that feels right at home when visiting stressed Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass in the North and tall fescue and zoysiagrass in the mid-South. No need to sweat, its generally just a nuisance and causes no serious damage to your lawn.

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Is Baking Soda Good For Your Yard

Baking soda can be good for your yard, but it can also be harmful. An infrequent application of a mild baking soda spray can effectively kill fungus and mildew, and harmful grasses.

However, the qualities that make baking soda an effective pesticide will eventually end up damaging your healthy plants as well. Spraying too much, too often, will begin to corrode the plants.

Too much baking soda can begin to effect the pH balance of the soil as well. When the pH balance falls off, then the soil can become inhospitable. This stops new plants from sprouting, and kills well established plants.

As one of the primary components of baking soda is sodium, over spraying can lead to a build up of salt on plants. In the short term this is okay, and will have no repercussions for edible plants, but can be harmful in the long run.

Always check on a small patch first. As a homemade solution you may want to try different formulas to achieve different results. Hardier plants will withstand a greater application of baking soda, where new growth may find it overwhelming.

Spray a small area first to see how the plants react, and adjust the formula as necessary. Take care not to over spray, as too much may damage.

Other homemade options include apple cider vinegar solutions, mouthwash solutions, and milk solutions.

What Does Dollar Spot Fungus Look Like

Dollar spot fungus first appears in your grass as spots about the size of a silver dollar that are tan or light brown in color. Straw-colored spots on the grass blade may be ringed with reddish-brown. When viewed closely, especially when moisture is present in the grass, you may be able to see fuzzy, cobweb-like white strands on grass blades. This is the Sclerotinia fungus itself.

If not treated early, the small straw-colored spots can grow to 6 inches or larger in diameter. Large patches of grass can be killed by the fungus if left unchecked.

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Mow Regularly At The Right Height

Mowing too short weakens the grass plant, making it more susceptible to infection. Most grass types should be mowed using a high mowing setting. Bermudagrass grass in the south should be mowed using a lower mower setting and zoysiagrass should be mowed using a middle setting. Mow often enough so that no more than the height of the grass blade is removed at one time.

What Are Lawn Fungus And Disease

• Lawn fungus and disease are ailments to lawns caused by pathogens that take hold on grass and can range from cosmetic damage to your lawn to grass death.
• There are a large variety of different lawn diseases and fungi which can affect a lawn. Observe your lawn closely and view the symptoms to figure out what disease is present.

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Killing Mushrooms With Vinegar

Buy vinegar with high concentration mix just 1/4 part of the vinegar into the water. A high concentration of vinegar will kill off the mushrooms faster. Youll be spraying just the surface of the mushroom the underground root mass root is allowed to continue breaking down the dead plant matter that your lawn depends on for nutrients.

As usual, try to strike a balance because excess vinegar will increase acidity in your lawn which is bad for other useful grasses. Mushroom vinegar is the most effective means of getting rid of mushrooms. However, it would help if you were careful about how you apply it.

Will Baking Soda Kill Lawn Fungus

In yard maintenance everyone seems to have a different way of doing things. From spraying milk to high-end herbicides, there are numerous suggestions for how to treat your lawn. Knowing whats best for your plants can be tricky, especially as so many variables can affect the health of a lawn.

Baking soda, otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate, is a common household item. As you may guess from the name, its mostly used in baking.

However, this kitchen product may have uses beyond cakes. Baking soda is a popular fungicide for those who like homemade solutions. A small amount mixed with water is an easy way to tackle lawn fungus.

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Dow Eagle 20ew Fungicide Liquid Formula

DOW Eagle 20EW is my first option in terms of lawn fungicides. Ive used it many times when my lawn was affected by the Brown patch and always had the best results.

According to the product label, DOW Eagle 20EW fungicide can be effectively used for a great variety of established turfgrass, landscape ornamentals, fruit trees, and vines.

I find a positive thing the fact that it can be also for fruit trees and vines because if any solution is left after the lawn treatment, I can use it at any time for these plants.

Keep in mind that the fungicide can also be used for prevention, not only when the plant is already affected by fungus. As a matter of fact, when it comes to fungal infections, prevention is always preferred.

If uses according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer, a good fungicide should never harm the grass .

DOW Eagle 20EW Fungicide is effective against all major lawn fungal infections, such as:

• Brown patch

Feed Your Lawn Throughout The Year To Develop Strong Roots To Help Stand Up To Lawn Disease

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Taking Care Of The Environment

It is always better to treat a problem at its roots.

This is why the best course of action here is to start by making sure you are taking good care of your lawn at all times.

Sometimes unfavorable weather conditions can throw a spanner in the works, but we need to be mindful and prepared for that.

To make the lawn less susceptible to fungal disease, we need to ensure proper watering and fertilizing, and also, the mowing process needs to be timed right.

A great many people use their lawn mowers for mulching as well. Much can also be a good place for the fungus to grow. The main reason it happens is because of mulching wet grass.

Some fungal pathogens actually prefer living in the mulch. The good thing is that mulch fungus, although not very pretty to look at, is usually not dangerous.

Does Soapy Water Kill Lawn Fungus

Lets face it- no homeowner wants unsightly fungi growing all over their green and beautiful lawn. Not only is it unsightly, but some types of fungi such as toadstool are poisonous. You need to get rid of fungi on your lawn as soon as you notice an invasion. Can laundry detergent get rid of such lawn fungus?

Dawn dish soap kills lawn fungus when applied repeatedly for a few days. Mix 2 tablespoons of laundry detergent with a gallon of water and spray it over the fungus infested areas on your lawn to kill it.

For some types of fungi such as mushrooms, there are no commercial chemical products approved to eliminate them. As such, you may need to rely on homemade alternatives such as Dawn dish detergent. But how effective dish soap is at killing lawn fungus? How can you use it?

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Nering With A Lawn Care Pro In The Battle Against Turf Disease

When it comes to beating lawn fungus, your best course of action is to partner with a professional that will employ preventative techniques but also be on the lookout for the first signs of trouble so that swift action can be taken when needed.

At Master Lawn, we value a true partnership with our clientsand that includes open communication. If you notice a problem, we want to hear from you right away. We know that fungal disease can move fast and time is often of the essence. Thats why we even give out our teams mobile phone numbers to our customers. Often times they can text them a picture of what theyre seeing and get some answers quickly.

You can also count on us to keep you in the loop of exactly whats going on with your lawn. After all, you deserve to have the fantastic lawn that you desire and shouldnt have to worry about it being ruined by disease. Fortunately, by making the wise choice in lawn care companies, you can rest assured that those worries will be taken care of for you.

Ready to have a lush green lawn, free from disease, at your Memphis, TN or Olive Branch, MS home? Talk to a lawn care expert,choose from 3 program options, and become the master of your lawn.