How To Treat Your Yard For Lawn Fungus
Once you have determined what type of fungus or disease is present, its time to treat. Its best to treat a diseased lawn as soon as you spot the problem, as some diseases can spread and kill the whole lawn.
The type of disease or fungus you have will determine the best treatment option. In some cases, the issue is weather or seasonally dependent and will clear up on its own once the weather changes. Other problems need immediate mitigation, such as fairy ring, powdery mildew, or smut, as they can kill the plants or cause permanent damage to the lawn.
To treat your issues, first identify whether it can be eradicated via changing your practices. Powdery mildew, for example, may be able to be taken care of by rinsing the plants and getting rid of leaves or any other nearby debris that is causing it to spread. Avoiding overwatering, letting the grass grow a bit longer between mowing and not over fertilizing can also help clear up the problem.
Some homeowners prefer to try to treat lawn diseases organically, rather than using fungicide. If your areas of fungus are small, using treatments like neem oil, cornmeal or baking soda solutions can be effective. Before you opt for an organic approach, though, do your research and be aware of the potential drawbacks. In some cases, using home remedies can only make the problem worse, or introduce new, unexpected issues.
How To Treat Rust Lawn Disease
If youve identified rust as the problem in your lawn, you should take action right away. First, make sure your lawn is well fed and sufficiently watered. If you dont see any improvement within a couple of weeks, apply a systemic lawn fungus control. Because stressed, hungry, and improperly irrigated lawns are more susceptible to rust diseases, one of the best ways to help prevent them is to keep your lawn healthy and strong.
Snow Mould Microdochium Nivale / Fusarium & Snow Mould Lawn Disease
Symptoms: White fluffy patches throughout the lawn, resembling a thin layer of snow . Youll first notice patches of just a few centimetres in diameter, but eventually, they spread to around 30cm in size. The lawn above ground appears to die off.
Causes: Too much nitrogen often causes snow mould, which is usually a sign of over-fertilisation from the previous autumn. Alternatively, snow mould occurs in poorly drained soil due to waterlogged turf.
Occurrence: In cool, damp weather especially in the winter.
Lawn Disease Treatment: Prevention is the best treatment here, so loosen the soil surface by scarifying and aerating.
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Should I Water The Lawn Before Applying Fungicide
It is generally good to water the lawn before applying a system fungicide. The water helps the chemicals penetrate into the soil, which increases their absorption by the grass plants. This makes the treatment more effective.
However, once you have applied a fungicide to your lawn, we highly recommend that you do not water your lawn for at least 24 or 48 hours. It can wash off the chemical from the grass and decrease the effectiveness of the fungicide application to the yard.
What Does Red Thread Lawn Disease Look Like
While this disease is defined by tiny, needle-like threads, it doesnât mean itâs not visible from afar. A large amount of red fungus in grass means you can often see this from far away. As you get closer, you will see tiny red threads that protrude from individual blades of grass, mainly near the tip.
The presence of these red threads means that the fungus has been there for some time, as this is the final stage of the fungal activity. Soon, the threads break off from the grass and then create spores that allow the fungus to reinfect the grass or blow onto another patch of grass.
The second stage of this disease, if the grass has been exposed to high moisture levels, looks more like pink cotton wool that sits in between individual blades of grass.
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How Do You Get Rid Of Fungus In Your Yard
How to Treat and Heal Lawn Fungus
While costly, this will help battle the lawn fungus. natural treatments can be used instead, especially while the fungus is still small. Neem oil, compost tea, and baking soda solutions are some of the most common.
Also, will vinegar kill lawn fungus? Vinegar SprayVinegar contains acetic acid, which is strong enough to damage and kill fungus. Unfortunately, it is also strong enough to hurt grass in a lawn already weakened by fungal infection.
Furthermore, will lawn fungus go away on its own?
Unfortunately, lawn fungus will not disappear if left untreated. The most effective way to manage yard fungus is to use a fungicide and practice good turf management. Make sure to avoid overusing fungicide to prevent additional damage to your grass.
How do I know if my lawn has fungus?
When your lawn develops a fungus, sections of your grass will change color. For instance, brown, purple, white, or yellow spots may appear. Reddish-brown rings are another sign that your lawn has a fungus, as are black threads. Thin, frayed, discolored, or distorted grass blades also point to this type of lawn disease.
Could The Disease Actually Be A Pest Infestation
Many lawn diseases present in a similar way to pest infestations. For example, dollar spot looks similar to a chafer grub infestation. Read more about chafer grubs and eradicating them from your lawn soil.
Alternatively, dollar spot could be a leatherjacket infestation. Find out more about leatherjackets here.
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Fungal Diseases In Your Lawn Here Are The Steps To Follow To Take Control Before Its Too Late
If you suspect a fungal disease in your lawn, you should do the following
- Test the Soil Conducting a soil test can not only identify nutrient deficiencies that lead to stressed lawns and disease but sometimes can be used to diagnose the disease itself.
- Aerate Loosen soil by aerating your lawn every year or two
Lawn fungal diseases take on a variety of forms, from dead-looking brown patches to highly visible spots, threads, rings, or slime. And once they strike your yard, grass fungal diseases can be difficult to treat. Nearly every single lawn disease is caused by fungus, and while there are many different types of fungi, its important to make sure you understand how to prevent, control, and eliminate fungal infections on your property.
How to Know When A Fungus is Affecting Your Lawn
Fungi are more likely to affect your lawn if you have weak grass, or you over water, or the thatch protecting your yard isnt thick. Thats one of the reasons that proper lawn care is so important. Great lawn care will choke out all invaders, and make it much harder for fungus to grow. Fortunately, the right lawn care practices can go a long way toward prevention and treatment and in severe cases, a fungicide can help eradicate the spores to keep it from spreading. If these conditions are affecting your lawn, you are already at risk for fungus. You can also help identify fungal invasions with the following:
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Fertility Mowing And Aeration
Other contributing factors that help contribute to turf disease include improper fertilization, mowing too short and skipping annual aeration.
Mowing below that 3-inch mark will stress your turfgrass. Likewise, mowing too high will stifle air flow and cause even more turf disease.
Routinely fertilizing in smaller amounts throughout the year provides adequate nutrition for your grass and reduces fluctuating fertility levels that promotes the Similarly, a lawn spread of lawn fungus.
Aeration can also play a role in keeping the lawn healthy because, done annually, it helps to keep the grass plant vigorous and thriving. It also breaks up thick turf and thatch build-up which helps to prevent turf disease. Why? Because turf that is too thick and stifled can lack air flow.
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How To Treat Summer Patch Lawn Disease
Prevent summer patch by not cutting more than 2/3 the length of grass when you mow. Taking that much length from grass that has been left to grow long is the cause most associated with the cause of this disease. Known as scalping, the practice of mowing too closely weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to infection. Avoid adding nitrogen-based fertilizer to your soil in summer. Watering lightly and frequently in hot weather is another practice to avoid as it dampens the shallow areas where magnaporthe poae resides, helping promote its development. Soil aeration is important to prevent thatch buildup and improve drainage. Because summer patch can cause massive damage in a short time, fungicides are often necessary to combat its spread.
How Do I Know If My Lawn Has A Fungus
Pink snow mold: A law fungus that occurs under snow cover.
From highly obvious mushroom rings to odd-looking slimy areas on the turf, lawn fungus can manifest itself in many ways. Depending on the fungal disease, symptoms and signs will vary. However, you can examine your grass for the presence of white hair, squishy roots, and slimy dampness to see if you are at risk.
Other than that, here is a list of some of the most common signs and systems that might indicate a potential fungus problem in your yard and might need attention:
- Discoloration or distortion of grass blades
- Powdery or thread-like growths on and around the grass
- A wet, damp, greasy, or slimy-looking turf
- Presence of yellow, brown, red, or black spots on grass blades and stems
- Patches of brown or frayed grass without any apparent cause
- Presence of mushrooms or mushroom rings
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Lawn Disease: An Overview
Lawn diseases tend to attack your grass plants root structure, causing visible deterioration of the leaf and impacting the turfs density. There is a range of lawn diseases in the UK, but the most commonly found are:
Were going to explore these and other lawn diseases, but first of all, its essential to identify the problem so that you can arm yourself with the best possible defence.
What Can I Do To Prevent It And How Can I Cure It
In this case, the prevention and the cure are almost the same. Lawns that arent fed lack nitrogen, and this lack of nitrogen encourages the fungus to take over. Feed your lawn a nitrogen rich fertiliser to cure your red thread problem and to prevent it. We recommend our QUICK RELEASE: Spring / Summer once watered in, this granular feed will set to work on your lawn making it green once again, and red thread free!
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Types Of Lawn Diseases And Fungi And How They Spread
As if it wasnât nuisance enough, there are various lawn fungus types to look out for. Many of the symptoms are similar, and weâll discuss how to tell if your lawn has fungus in the next section, but itâs important to be aware that there is more than one kind of lawn fungus or lawn disease.
One grass fungal disease will specifically target grass and leaves, while others infect the soil and prevent grass from growing. Others present themselves as dots throughout the lawn, and perhaps one of the most identifiable fungi appears as a fairy ring in turfgrass.
Fungi are spread primarily by wind and rain, but can even be spread with a lawnmower. If youâre unaware of a fungus problem on your lawn and use a lawnmower on infected parts of the grass, fungal spores can easily be spread to other parts of the land, speeding up the spread of the problem.
Youâll typically notice fungi growing in the dampest environments, so that may be under trees or in lower parts of the ground where water gathers.
The trouble with fungus is that it only presents itself once the disease has taken hold, and tackling those patches requires a good understanding of how the infection works. There are steps you can take to prevent lawn fungus problems, but it always starts with identifying symptoms.
Identify Summer Patch Lawn Disease
Summer patch is a highly destructive fungus that can kill grass by infecting and destroying its roots. Summer patches usually stay in the soil, but when hot weather comes they’ll invade your lawn’s vascular system disrupting plants’ ability to take up water or nutrients because of how quickly it attacks them – not just attacking one area at time like other fungi do! It has been reported as being able survive through winter if left untreated thanks however once infected with this nasty disease you will see damaged leaves as well many times where brown spots may appear then spread all over until finally everything dies off leaving behind sickly looking dead stalks which are brittle enough for easily breaking under foot pressure.
Summer Patch changes in appearance as the disease progresses. Look for any or all of these early warning signs and late-stage symptoms:
- Dark-green, wilted, irregular circles of grass up to 2 in diameter.
- Straw-colored patches, rings, and crescents that increase in size during summer.
- Enlarged patches, each with an outer edge that looks yellow or bronze.
- Grass blades that are dying back from the tip.
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Why Not Leave It To Our Local Lawn Maintenance Experts
You can fight lawn fungus yourself, or you can leave it with our local experts to handle instead. At Earth Development, we provide lawn maintenance for commercial properties of all sizes. We know how to fix lawn fungus, and we keep lawns looking beautiful throughout the spring and summer.
Our lawn fungus treatment plans ensure that your commercial property looks good from the outside, and we take the burden of keeping it in top shape off our shoulders.
For a free quote or consultation, call the Earth Development team today. Weâll save you valuable time!
How To Identify Brown Patch
If your lawn has begun to yellow rapidly, take a closer look at the size and shape of the affected areas. With brown patch, they are likely to be roughly circular, though a bit irregular. Patch sizes can range from a few inches to several feet in diameter. If brown patch has been active for a while, the spots might also look like patches of good grass with rings of dead or thin grass around them.
Besides yellow, do you notice any other colors in the patchy areas? Brown patch patches can be darker purple or burgundy on the outside, for example. Other signs include irregular tan spots bordered by a darker outline on grass blades, brown and shriveled blades, rotting at the base of the blades, darker blades that look water-soaked, and possibly white, cobweb-like growth around the blades .
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How Long Does It Take To Go Away
Within a few weeks, you should notice the effects of red thread begin to lessen, i.e less visibility of red needles, and the patches should start to green up again. Of course, this is dependent on the type of fertiliser you choose and how fast it works. If you want the quickest solution make sure to invest in a quick release fertiliser.
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What Can You Do Now About Red Thread
To help protect your lawn from Red Thread we recommend the following.
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How To Control Red Thread
Proper lawn care maintenance which includes adequate fertiliser, reduction of thatch levels, aeration, morning watering that is deep and infrequent and mowing at regular intervals is recommended to prevent Red Thread.
If the above lawn maintenance practices do not work try using a fungicide with the Common Active Ingredient Penthiopyrad please first seek advice from your Local Garden Centre.
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Use A Commercial Fungicide To Kill Fungus
You can use store-bought fungicide or a natural fungicide. Store-bought options come in two styles contact and systemic.
Contact fungicide is a liquid that coats the blades of grass and kills fungus on contact. Systemic fungicide typically comes in small granules that you spread across the soil.
Many fungicides are designed as all-purpose fungus killers while others are designed to target specific types of fungi. Always read the label to ensure that the product can treat your problem.
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Your Lawn Patches Could Be A Nutrient Deficiency
Alternatively, the yellow patches in your turf could result from a nutrient deficiency. Check out our expert article on treating yellow patches on your lawn.
Ultimately, the best way to prevent fungal lawn diseases is to maintain your soil, providing enough nutrients to support your lawns optimal growth. Theres an NPK fertiliser for every season, so make sure you use the correct fertiliser to help your lawn flourish throughout the year.
Carrying out a soil test helps ascertain the acidity of your soil too acid, and your grass plants will suffer . Adding garden lime to your soil helps neutralise acidity read our article to find out how to beautify your lawn with garden lime.
Ready to treat your lawn disease? Or do you have more questions?
We hope youve got all the information you need to make an informed decision about how to identify, fight, and prevent lawn diseases that could be affected your lawn. But if you have any further questions, please dont hesitate to get in touch.
We love to hear from you, so send us an email, and well get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading!
