OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Lawn Care & Maintenance Need Some Advice on Ridding my Yard of Mushrooms.

So I've just moved to a new place and with all the rain over the last week have discovered a rather large mushroom problem .

What is the best way to remove and prevent reoccurance have young kids and pets that that enjoy kicking them every where thanks for any help.

G'day Captrusty,

The best method is just to dig them out with a spade or trowel, along with say a cupful of the surrounding soil, as soon as they appear. Wear gloves, unless you can positively identify them as an edible/non-toxic species. Backfill the holes with clean soil.

The thing is, they're a bit like an iceberg - they are just the 'fruiting bodies' of a larger dispersed mass of fungal fibres, which runs through the soil. This 'mycelium' is the actual plant.

The purpose of the mushrooms is to distribute the plant's spores, which then grow into further mycelial threads. So if you remove them promptly, the plant will eventually die off. Superphosphate also seems to be toxic to them.

OK will give that a go will dig em out and see how that goes might give it a spray too as I know when this land was developed there was more than likely alot of dirty fill and tree stumps in the mix add in poor drainage and probably 50% shade during the day .

It will take time here is some of the things that might be causing your problems. Many newly build home sites may have these problems.

Common Causes and Solutions

Fungi living beneath lawns are usually long-lived organisms that produce mushrooms when conditions are right. The top reasons mushrooms occur are buried organic matter, high moisture and low light.

Cause: Buried organic matter
A fungus grows by breaking down organic matter. In a lawn, that organic material could be buried timber, a stump, or tree or shrub roots that remain underground after plants have been removed.

Solution: In most cases, when the fungus has finished breaking down the buried organic matter, the fungus (and accompanying mushrooms) will disappear.

Sometimes you can hasten the material�s breakdown by applying nitrogen fertilizer. Use a readily available nitrogen source, not a slow-release one. Aim for a rate of 1/2 to 3/4 pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. If you don�t mind disturbing your lawn, you can also try digging up the organic material.

Cause: High moisture
Periods of prolonged rain can coax mushrooms to form, as can overwatering a lawn. Heavily compacted soil and a thick thatch layer can create drainage problems, which provide ideal growing conditions for mushrooms.

Solution: While you can�t do much about overabundant rainfall, you can address lawn watering practices. Aim for deep, infrequent lawn watering, which encourages turf to develop an extensive root system.
For drainage issues caused by compacted soil, try aerating your lawn. If you�re not sure if your lawn needs aerated, review this simple checklist.

A thick layer of thatch in your lawn also could contribute to drainage issues. Learn how to tell if your lawn needs dethatching.

Cause: Low light
While not all lawn mushrooms thrive in shady conditions, many do. If a corner of your yard offers high soil moisture combined with low light, mushrooms may appear.

Solution: Address the moisture issue using one of the techniques listed above. Next, if trees shade the lawn, tackle light tree trimming to allow more light to reach grass.

Thanks for that gives me a fair bit more understanding of what's going on with it haven't had the issue before first time living in a fairly new estate I'll take a photo to show you what's popped up in the last few days

Go down to the seediest pub and in a loud voice complain that you have these mushrooms all through your lawn and that they have a sort of golden top to them. The stoners will creep into your yard at night and remove them all for you. :-)

That's not a bad idea will save me the labor

Be careful when removing those, Grumpy Smurf might be living under one of them and you never know what he may be capable of.