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How To Patch Bald Spots In Lawn

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Cultivate The New Grass

How to Fix BALD SPOTS in your Lawn

Once you have made the repairs, youll need to be sure to do the necessary upkeep to ensure your lawn grows properly.

At the outset, water three times a day for 7-10 days. Use a fine spray from a hose to avoid washing away any seed or soil. Once the grass starts growing, water once a day with a fine spray. By keeping the soil moist you make it easier for the roots to penetrate the ground.

Monitor the area closely during the first year, and if you see any problems cropping back up, investigate the area to see what the problem is.

A Lush Lawn Can Still Be Prone To Bare Spots We Take A Look At The Causes How To Repair Them And Cover The Bare Spots

You finally have your lawn just how you want it green and lush and thriving. Then, all of a sudden, a bare spot appears. What to do? To find out why bare spots occur, and how to fix them to return your lawn to its splendor, we checked in with Joe Churchill, senior turf specialist with Reinders, Inc. to share his insights and tips.

Lawn Diseases Are A Common Cause Of Bald Patches In Your Lawn

It might sound scary but lawn or fungal diseases in most cases just require proper maintenance to eliminate and are often just a cause of a temporary change to the environment in your garden. They come in many forms but are generally caused by fungus taking the vital nutrients from your grass and spreading, hence the name fungal disease.

Since all lawns have fungal spores which are ready to germinate should the right conditions be met, a good lawn maintenance regime will be a good idea to keep these fungal spores at bay. Possible causes for fungus diseases include

  • Damp conditions or too much watering
  • Not cutting the grass regularly and letting it get too long
  • Cutting the grass too short, 2.5 inches is a good height
  • High humidity
  • Too much fertiliser could give the fungus spores the energy needed to thrive

If your worried that you may have a type of lawn disease then some common signs to look out for include

  • White, yellow or brown patches of grass as opposed to bald patches entirely
  • A wet, slimy looking lawn
  • Orange, red, grey or black spots on your grass blades
  • White webbing over your lawn is a popular sign of fungus disease

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How To Repair A Lawn With Seed

  • Using a sharp spade or shovel, cut the area around the dead turf.
  • Use the flat part of the spade to lift off the dead turf.
  • Because you are removing at least a couple of inches of thatch and grass, fill in the area with some clean topsoil to keep it level with the rest of the yard.
  • Rake out the area until it is smooth and there are no big clumps in the soil.
  • Cast a thin layer of seeds on the area, and then gently rake the seeds into the topsoil.
  • Cover it with straw to hold in moisture and protect the seeds from birds.
  • If your lawn seems thin all over, try overseeding it. The basics are the same as patching.

    Patching Your Lawn05:58

    Investigate To Figure Out Why You Have Bald Spots In The Lawn

    How to repair bald spots in your lawn

    First and foremost, you need to figure out whats going on. There are reasons why you have bare spots in the first place and you need to figure out why .

    The possibilities are really varied.

    • Was it a lawn fungus that ravaged the area?
    • Was it attacked by a lawn pest?
    • Are you dealing with bad lawn soil?
    • Was there a chemical spill that caused a burn?
    • Did a child leave a toy in the yard and the grass died beneath it?

    Or, maybe its just a matter of being a shaded area. Growing grass in the shade is not an easy endeavor. If the lawn is dying in these shaded areas, youre going to need a solution before you try to restore the lawn in those spots.

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    Plant At The Right Time Of Year

    The goal is to get the roots established before environmental conditions become too harsh for the baby grass to survive. The best time to repair bare patches is when the grass is actively growing, says Waltz. That depends on where you live. Warm season grasses grow during the warm times of year, which is about May to mid-September. Cool season grasses grow during the cooler times of year until the soil freezes, which is roughly December to February. If youre not sure what you have, talk to your local university coop extension service. Both seed and sod are good options for patching.

    Remove All The Grass In The Problem Spot

    Dig up and remove the grass in the problem area. I find it easiest to wet the soil briefly first to make the soil easier to work with. Outline the problem area with a flat spade shovel. Enlarge the area slightly to make work easier and to ensure entire problem area is removed.

    Using the same flat spade shovel remove the top layer of remaining turf and soil. Work from the middle out until the shovel hits the deep edge you created when making the border.

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    How To Repair A Bare Patch Of Lawn

    wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 41,942 times.Learn more…

    Bare patches can be a nuisance and usually let the garden down. But there are certain tricks that can be useful in these circumstances. From shade to compaction, there is a solution for most bare patches. This article provides some suggestions for repairing a bare patch of lawn.

    What To Do If Your Bare Spot Has Thatch Or Dead Grass Overtop

    Lawn Care Tips : How to Repair Bald Spots on Grass
  • If you have any Heavy Thatch, or dead grass on top of the soil, you will need to loosen up these additional layers to expose the real dirt.
  • Once you do this, you want to seed into, or spread a light layer of real topsoil, not Peat Moss.
  • Spread the seed on the fresh topsoil or freshly prepared ground and lightly work it into the top 1/4 inch of soil, making sure everything is integrated.
  • Lastly, cover the area with a light layer of Compost or Pelletized Newspaper Mulch.
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    Water New Seed Or Sod

    Keep the area moist, not soaking wet. In some cases, you may need to water two or three times a day. And be patient! Depending on the type of grass, it can take a few days to a few weeks for it to germinate. Let the grass grow about four or five inches before its first mowing, so the seedlings dont get yanked out. And dont mow while the sprawl is wet to avoid creating tire ruts. Follow the same irrigation rules for sod, but dont mow it until you can gently pull on the pieces and feel that it has rooted.

    How To Successfully Eliminate Brown Or Bald Spots In Your Lawn

    For many of us with lawns, there tends to be at least one patch that has been damaged by the sun, our pets, or an attack by pests. Not to worry though, these front or backyard eyesores are relatively easy to tackle. There are a variety of tried and tested methods some far more unique than others to return these dead spots back to their lush green state. The following are just a few of the most common ways to successfully eliminate brown or bald spots in your beautiful lawn.

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    What Causes Bare Spots In Lawns

    Bare spots in lawn areas can be caused by a number of things, and knowing how to fix patchy grass starts with identifying your lawn issues. Take the time to investigate, and try to get to the bottom of your bare spot mystery before taking the steps necessary to correct the problem. Otherwise, you may continue to repair bare spots without addressing the actual cause.

    Bare spots are often the result of:

    • Excessive foot traffic
    • Chinch bugs and other insects
    • Fungal disease

    Dont worry if you cant narrow down the exact cause of the bare spots right away. Just paying attention to the location and size before you begin to repair spots can make a huge difference. If the spot returns, then continue to investigate the cause.

    Need Help Let The Professionals Take Care Of Your Bald Spots

    How to Make Grass Grow Fast &  Fix Bald Spots

    If you are a homeowner that cares about having a healthy, thick carpet of green grass all year round, Evergreen can help. We offer lawn services that will keep your lawn green, and let you spend more time with your family rather than working in your yard. With over 30 years in the lawn care industry, we know how to get the job done right, and we love seeing the results of our work. Dont let bald spots take over your lawn! If you have any questions about fixing dead patches of grass or want a professional to take care of it for you, feel free to give us a call at !

    Want to know more about lawn maintenance?

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    How To Fix Bare Spots In My Lawn

    Once you have identified and resolved the cause of the Bare Spots, it’s time to repair the damage. Typically, you would only seed in the late Summer, during the months of August or September, as seeds germinate in the Fall so as to sprout in the Spring. In the case of Bare Patches however, we recommend that you seed the area right away, rather than leave it exposed. Read more about how to fix these areas, depending on their condition.

    Why Are There Bare Spots In My Grass

    There are several possibilities, Churchill says, and chief among them are dogs, turf disease and human error.

    If a dog is relieving itself on your lawn, that can create so-called dog spots, or dead patches of grass that turn into bare spots. And turf diseases such as patch diseases kill grass in circular shapes. Over-fertilizing in one spot, spilling gas while filling the mower and using a grill hot enough to toast the grass underneath are all typical ways you might accidentally cause bare spots yourself.

    Generally, spots dont just show up without any reason, explains Churchill. A bare spot is a dead spot, and its a remnant of something else thats gone wrong its almost like bare spots are scars.

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    Water Alone Won’t Work

    Most of us know that wishing and hoping bare spots fill in on their own is futile. Did you also know that watering those bare spots and doing nothing else won’t work either? Sure, water is essential for growing a green, healthy looking lawn. But water’s only a part of what you need to fix those dead spots in your lawn and keep them from coming back.

    Fix Any Issues Before You Repair Bare Spots In The Lawn

    How to Reseed Your Lawn- Fix Bald Spots- Gardening Tips Tricks Hacks

    You probably knew this one was coming.

    The next step in the process would be to fix any issue that was responsible for causing the bare spots in the first place. We mentioned a bunch of different scenarios above and it could even be a combination of these. Its not uncommon for a single lawn to deal with multiple issues at the same time.

    Perhaps you had a chemical burn in one area but you also have a shaded spot where grass struggles to grow.

    Different lawn problems are going to require different approaches so a proper diagnosis is key. And as we mentioned, depending upon whats happening on your lawn, you may require more than one solution.

    Sometimes making a proper lawn diagnosis can be difficult as many problems tend to mimic one another. But bringing in a lawn care professional can help ensure you get on the right track.

    Whatever you do, you definitely want to get to the bottom of whats going on before you spend money on replacing the lawn. The last thing that you want is to see your lawn go right back to where it was .

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    Wear And Tear Of Your Lawn Can Cause Dead Spots

    Where are your dead patches in your lawn? If its in high traffic areas then then this will likely be the cause of grass being unable to seed and grow. High traffic areas are most likely going to be at the first point of contact such as just outside your door, side gate or even shed entrance if its in constant use. If this seems to be the case then its unlikely that your going to be able to permanently fix the bald patch on your lawn unless ofcourse your going to reduce the amount of time you spend in your garden!

    The best way to overcome this is to replace your high traffic area of lawn with something low maintenance and decorative. For example, why not opt for a new patio? Or if your on a tight budget then simply lay some nice . I have how to guides for both Just follow the links!

    Ants Grubs Or Other Pests Are Another Cause Of Bald Patches In Your Lawn

    I recently completed a turfing job for a local pub where they told me that they actually had new turf recently layed a couple of months back but they already had dead patches everywhere, so instead of getting the other company back to replace the turf we were called in to help.

    As soon as we started digging up the old grass there were grubs absolutely everywhere! In case youre wondering, grubs are the immature stage of several species of beetles and live underground. One of their food sources? The roots to your grass! You may notice the grass to your lawn thinning out, or small dead patches appear, which will gradually grow in size. A grub here and there isnt much to worry about but a large infestation will certainly kill your lawn.

    On this particular job Ive no idea if the previous company just layed the new turf directly on top of the grub infested earth or if they came afterwards but we removed as many as we could see before filling the area with some lawn safe grub killer and finally layed the new turf on top. The pub has never had a problem since!

    One way to find out if you have a grub infestation is by pulling grass from the affected areas and if the grass pulls away easily then this will be due to having no more roots! Depending on how many bald patches you have in your grass will determine whether its best to replace your whole lawn or whether it will be worth treating your lawn with the grub killer before repairing the dead patches in your grass.

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    Tips On How To Repair A Bald Spot In Your Lawn

    It is best to start with loosening up the soil of the damaged spot. Remove leftover roots and have a look if the soil looks rich or low in nutrients.

    Fertilizing the entire spot with organic or chemical fertilizer will give the soil to give everything a boost in growth.

    It is important to not overfertilize the soil because heavy fertilizers can damage young roots while still underground.

    If the soil looks too bad or you want to be sure to provide a good foundation for new grass growth, fill the area with fresh soil containing enough organic matter.

    You can make little holes in the bald spot for better root growth and then sprinkle it with new grass seeds.

    Water the lawn so that you get good coverage of water on all sections of the area. This will help ensure that your new seeds are humid enough and do not get damaged or destroyed by heat, or too much wind.

    You may need to repeat these steps for several weeks depending on how quickly your bare spots grow back over with fresh grass shoots.

    If done correctly though, you can have a lush green lawn once more.

    What Causes Bare Spots In My Lawn

    How to repair bald spots in your lawn

    If you notice Bare Spots in your otherwise lush, green and healthy lawn, they could be the result of excessive foot traffic, poor soil conditions, pet urine, grub infestation, chemical spills, fungal disease, buried rocks, or a variety of other things. Several approaches exist to effectively patch these Bare Spots, however, it’s important to understand and address the underlying cause, so that this same problem doesn’t continue to manifest in your lawn. If you’re uncertain about the catalyst for your Bare Patches, give us a call or submit a question and we can offer some insight.

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    How To Repair A Thin Lawn By Overseeding

  • Rake the area well, picking up any leaves and debris in the turf.
  • Cast the seeds over the turf, and then spread about a half an inch of compost or topsoil on the lawn.
  • To get good seed-to-soil contact, gently rake the seeds and soil into the grass.
  • Water the seeds in the early morning and evening until they germinate.
  • Once they start to sprout, water the lawn every day. It will be ready for a light application of fertilizer before the heat of summer begins.
  • If the turf has been damaged by pet urine, it will resemble a patch of straw in the center with a dark green ring around the outside. The urine acts much like a fertilizer burn. Ohio State University scientists recommend watering the area to dilute the concentration of urine. If you are able to keep pets off the lawn, the grass can be reseeded.

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