Depending on the year, Southeastern Wisconsin can be quite rainy during the spring and summer. While that may relieve your water bills, it's a bit of a party invitation for some unwelcome guests—lawn fungi! These shady little invaders love to show up in when it’s wet, hot and humid, and find their way into vulnerable places like freshly laid sod, newly seeded lawns, or well-established lawns with poor soil or stress from overuse of chemical treatments. Even healthy lawns can be susceptible to fungi if the environmental conditions are suitable.
Lawn fungus seems to appear overnight. One day your lawn looks great then the next day, you are scratching your head wondering what happened. Fungus starts with microscopic spores and is spread by mowing, foot traffic, pets, and believe it or not, the wind. You may not even know you have a fungus issue until you mow your grass and see the symptoms.
5 Most Common Types of Lawn Fungi
Let's explore the five most common types of typical lawn fungi.
Brown Patch
Signs to Watch For: Circular patches of brown grass —almost as if it had decided to play a game of connect the dots. That's Brown Patch which loves to make itself at home in the heat and humidity.
Why is it a Nuisance? This one can spread faster than you can say "lawnmower." Once you get it, Brown Patch can make your lawn look like a ragged patchwork quilt.
Dollar Spot
Signs to Watch For: Tiny, silver-dollar-sized spots that look like your lawn has a bad case of chicken pox. These spots usually indicate that your lawn is feeling peckish and might need some nutrients.
Why is it a nuisance? If left unchecked, these little spots can gang up, turning small polka dots into big blotches that can kill your grass requiring you to lay down new seed.
Leaf Spot
Signs to Watch For: This makes your lawn look like it’s been splattered with a brown or black paintball gun. While a paintball brown spot can mean a fun Saturday afternoon with friends, a Leaf Spot splatter on your lawn means the grass is thinning out in that area.
Why is it a Nuisance? Leaf Spot grass disease makes your grass look patchy and left to its own devices, it can cause severe and permanent thinning.
Rust Disease
Signs to Watch For: Tiny speckles of orange dust coating the person’s feet or shoes or your pet’s paws with a “rust” color when walking through the lawn.
Why is it a Nuisance? The fungus is shedding orange-red spores. Although unsightly, these spores are harmless to humans and pets who rapidly spread them to other parts of the lawn. However, they are NOT harmless to the lawn. These spores come from a pathogen that weakens your lawn's grass blades and can potentially cause your grass to die out.
Ascochyta
Signs to Watch For: Large straw-colored patches appear like your lawn suddenly decided to sport a mohawk. This usually occurs when your lawn is under some duress, like during a heat wave or too much (or too little) watering. It is often mistaken for lawn striping or fertilizer burn.
Why is it a Nuisance? When it strikes, Ascochyta is the drama queen of lawn fungi. If not managed, it can spread quickly and run through large areas and communities. If persistent, it can weaken your lawn.
Solutions, Solutions, Solutions
This may sound troubling, however with minimum fuss, fungi don't have to cause worry. Fungal diseases often do the curative work for you and will grow out on their own. Like the common cold, most of the time, they just run their course and cause minimal damage. However, they do look unsightly and can lead to long-term problems if they persist and are left unchecked.
You're not alone if you think mowing practices may contribute to the problem. Mowing is a primary source of spreading fungi. Whether you do it yourself or hire it out, ensure the mower blade is sharp, and most importantly, properly clean your mower and blade after each mow. This will help with spreading any fungi that may already exist.
It's common to think that broad-spectrum chemical pretreatments are the cure-all, but they can lead to disease resistance, similar to the overuse of antibiotic treatments in humans, and the costs can add up quickly! Instead, resist the urge to use chemicals until necessary and tackle the real troublemakers as they show up by using targeted treatments that will do the job without overstressing the system.
Unfortunately, when one lawn has a fungal infection, neighboring lawns often succumb to it as well. Keeping a lawn well drained is one of the most critical factors in avoiding a fungal disease. A yearly mechanical or microbial aeration will help air, water, and nutrients flow freely and build healthy soil. Adding an over-seed to assist in interspersing new, disease-resistant grass strains in your already existing grass can be helpful with immunity and give your grass a healthier appearance. Some fungal diseases can be treated by pushing the grass to grow with proper nutrients by using an extra application of high-quality, slow-release fertilizer designed for the circumstance.
Applying a fungicide intended explicitly for the occurring disease usually works quickly with visible results. When diagnosing the problem, be sure to assess the potential lawn damage to determine the best possible solution. It’s important to know that fungicide treatments will prevent the fungi from spreading to other parts of your lawn. It will not however, repair any damage that has already occurred to your grass. You may need to treat any dead grass with new seed if the spot remains brown or if bare spots form where the fungus once lived.
Here's Be Green Pro’s formula for success: Treat your lawn like royalty! Make it as healthy as possible. Aerate it and overseed it with tough strains of grass designed for your soil and light needs on a regular basis. Not only will this make your lawn look better, it will also increase its resilience factor—which is crucial in the constant struggle between lawns and fungi. The healthier your lawn and soil, the more resistant it will be to fungi.
At Be Green Pro, we help you have a lovely, sustainable, and healthy lawn. A happy lawn leads to a happy home. We're all about spreading that green goodness one yard at a time, creating beautiful and healthy places for people and pets to connect to each other and nature!
Be Green Pro services lawns in Southeastern Wisconsin. Contact us for a free lawn fungus treatment quote or if you have questions about our organic-based lawn services or naturally-based pest services.
Whether it’s your lawn, trees, shrubs, or pest issues – we’re ready to help you with Eco-friendly solutions. No matter what season.