Mushrooms are one of the most easily-recognizable fungi on the planet and carry an incredibly important role in the environment. As natural decomposers, they help break down organic matter in woods. However, having lawn mushrooms is not usually desirable. Read on to learn how to kill mushrooms in your yard, including natural ways to get rid of them and prevent their growth.
Table of Contents
How To Get Rid Of Mushrooms In Yard
Is Having Mushrooms In Your Yard Bad?
How To Get Rid Of Mushrooms Naturally
Can Using The Right Fertilizer Keep Mushrooms At Bay?
Does Vinegar Kill Mushrooms?
Getting Rid Of Mushrooms Bottom Line
How to Get Rid of Mushrooms FAQs
How To Get Rid Of Mushrooms In Yard
- Manually Remove the Mushrooms and Their Roots
- Adjust the Soil pH
- Improve Drainage
- Remove Decaying Organic Matter
- Apply Fungicides
1. Manually Remove the Mushrooms and Their Roots
The simplest and fastest way to eliminate mushrooms from your yard is to pick them by hand and remove as much of the root as possible to prevent them from growing back.
2. Adjust the Soil pH
Another way to get rid of yard mushrooms is to raise your soil pH. Mushrooms grow best in damp, dark, and acidic soil. To discourage their growth, adjust the soil pH to 7.0 or above by adding lime.
3. Improve Drainage
Mushrooms often grow in areas where water accumulates. Therefore, improving the soil drainage in the affected area can help prevent mushroom growth.
4. Remove Decaying Organic Matter
Decaying organic matter can be a food source for mushrooms, so removing it from your lawn can help prevent mushroom growth.
5. Apply Fungicides
You can remove mushrooms from your yard by applying fungicides as a last resort. However, these chemicals can be toxic to pets and may also damage your lawn, so you'll want to ensure you follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Is Having Mushrooms In Your Yard Bad?
In small doses, mushrooms will not wreck your yard, but a mushroom infestation is a serious problem that should be taken care of. In fact, if you have mushrooms in your yard after a rain, you probably won’t notice any decrease in your lawn’s quality at all. It’ll just pop up, then be gone within a matter of days.
Certain types of mushrooms tend to leech nutrients from the soil a little more aggressively than what you’d expect. When this happens, mushrooms can cause large brown patches across your lawns in their “fairy rings.” This can lead to unsightly damage that may be more difficult to deal with.
The bigger issue most homeowners have with mushrooms is the chance they have of poisoning animals and young children. Both kids and animals have a penchant for eating them, and mushrooms can be extremely deadly.
How To Get Rid Of Mushrooms Naturally
If nothing else, mushrooms are fairly easy to remove. If you just have a small bunch of mushrooms that pop up after a rainy day, you can usually wait, and they’ll go away on their own after a couple of days. Of course, if you have mushrooms throughout the day, you may have other issues you should take care of.
Can Using The Right Fertilizer Keep Mushrooms At Bay?
While most people might associate mushrooms with excess fertilizer, there’s a counterintuitive trick to mushroom management that involves fertilizer. In order for mushrooms to grow well, they need to have the right fertilizer. In this case, the right fertilizer is one that’s low in nitrogen.
The right fertilizer for fully matured grass, incidentally, is nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Incidentally, this can stave off most mushroom growth by simply causing them to die from excess nitrogen intake. Shocking? Yes, but it works. Add more fertilizer to your lawn and see what happens.
Does Vinegar Kill Mushrooms?
If you have a mushroom problem that’s out of control, it’s understandable why you may feel a need to whip out the fungicides. The most common natural cure-all for nasty weeds you can get is white vinegar. Unsurprisingly, it can also kill mushrooms too.
Vinegar just needs to be sprayed on the mushrooms directly in hot weather. The vinegar can dry out the mushrooms in a pinch. If you want to keep your more sensitive plants safe, then just add equal parts water and white vinegar to create a quick fungicide.
Getting Rid Of Mushrooms Bottom Line
If you are worried about your mushroom problem, there’s really no need to be. Mushrooms are one of the easiest types of lawn pests to prevent, and that means that you won’t have too much of a problem getting rid of them. In many cases, you won’t even have to do anything at all.
With that said, knowing what can and cannot be done to remove larger growths is what makes your chances of getting rid of mushrooms skyrocket. As long as you research your options, check out your lawn’s health, and keep up the maintenance, you should be good to go.
How to Get Rid of Mushrooms FAQs
Can You Reduce Mushroom’s Living Quarters?
Mushrooms are decomposers, which means that they tend to need rotting items to thrive—such as compost, dead leaves, and moldy wood. By removing these items from your lawn, you can almost immediately eliminate any mushrooms you have.
Does a Wet Lawn Lead to Mushroom Growth?
Yes, too wet of a yard can lead to mushroom growth. Moisture is the main component of any mushroom-friendly terrain, which means that lawns with a mushroom problem often have a little too much moisture. Using a desiccant like diatomaceous earth or reducing the number of times you water your lawn can help.
A good rule of thumb is that you should always wait for your lawn to dry before you start watering it once more. If it’s still moist, you probably are overwatering it.
Is Compacted Soil Causing Your Mushroom Problems?
Another common issue that can encourage mushroom growth in a yard is soil that isn’t aerated well. Grass tends to grow best in aerated soil, while mushrooms tend to prefer denser soil. Bad aeration will lead to dead grass, which can exacerbate your fungi problem. Use a tiller or aerator to fix this problem, and things might get improved.