How To Get Rid of Mushrooms in Your Lawn

Mushroom growth on your turf is frustrating. The mushrooms pop up out of the ground quickly, and they can spread overnight. The best way to deal with mushrooms is to prevent them from growing in the first place. The key is addressing the underlying conditions that promote mushroom growth, such as excess moisture, organic debris, and poor airflow. Read on to learn helpful insights about mushroom growth, the reasons why you may have mushrooms in your yard, and the steps you can take to have a mushroom-free yard.

Why Are Mushrooms Growing in My Yard?

The reason why you have lawn mushrooms is that you have a lot of organic material in your lawn. However, there are landscaping practices that can encourage more mushroom growth and make it difficult for you to stay on top of the mushroom situation.

Mushrooms tend to thrive on wet soil with dead grass, grass clippings, and even mulch surrounding it. New mushrooms love that this organic material keeps the area moist with very little airflow.

Are Yard Mushrooms Dangerous?

Most yard mushrooms are not dangerous to you, your children, or your pets. However, you shouldn’t consume or get too close to yard mushrooms. If you need to remove mushrooms and are worried about skin sensitivity, wearing a good pair of gardening gloves should help.

When pets consume yard mushrooms, it’s typically not a poisonous situation, but keeping a healthy lawn will ensure you don’t have to worry about any impact mushrooms could have on your pet.

8 Ways To Get Rid of Mushrooms in Your Yard

Getting rid of mushrooms in your yard is more of a preventative measure than anything else. The best ways to do this are to fix lawn drainage issues, improve airflow in the turf, and control the amount of organic material in your lawn.

Although we’ll give you tips on how to remove yard mushrooms, if you want your mushroom problem to go away, you must figure out why it’s happening. Taking the lawn mower and running over the mushrooms means they’ll disappear for the night, but they’ll likely be back if you don’t treat the underlying issue.

1. Fix Lawn Drainage Issues

Lawn drainage issues that create moist soil are a breeding ground for mushrooms. If you are overwatering your lawn, the chance of mushrooms popping up overnight is incredibly high. Sometimes, you can adjust the watering schedule; other times, you may need to install a drain or add some sand to the soil. Aeration can also increase your turf’s ability to move water into the ground.

2. Increase Airflow

By now, you should know that mushrooms like moist and still environments. This is where they can quickly grow and thrive off of their food source of organic plant material. Soil can become compacted over time, especially when it is overwatered. To fix this issue, dethatching and aeration are the best methods.

3. Let the Sun In

If you have noticed that the issues with mushrooms are much more prevalent around tree stumps, tree roots, and in the shady areas of your lawn, you aren’t alone in seeking solutions like adjusting grass choices for shady areas.

Areas that don’t receive much sunlight tend to grow mushrooms much quicker. Trimming some tree branches and pruning back plant material may bring enough light to your turf to help it grow without mushrooms.

4. Set the Sprinkler Schedule

When are you watering your lawn? If you water your grass at night, you’re opening doors for all types of fungi to make their way into your grass. Watering at night promotes hours of dark and moist conditions. However, if you water in the morning, the sun will soon be out, which dries your lawn up and keeps it mushroom-free.

5. Proper Fertilization

Having a yard that is mushroom-free often takes preventative measures like fertilization. If you are using a nitrogen fertilizer according to the fertilization schedule for your area, the decomposition of plant and organic matter will be considerably faster.

Chances are it will be fast enough that even if you get a mushroom or two, they’re not likely to last long. Fertilize at least once per year — two or three times annually is ideal.

6. Proper Mowing Practices

Sometimes it’s beneficial for your turf to leave the grass clippings in place, but not all the time. In fact, it’s a good idea to have a compost pile where you collect this organic material and have it turn back into healthy soil for your home. Removing grass clippings, thatch, animal waste, decaying organic matter, and other debris from your grass will keep mushrooms away.

7. Natural Spray Treatment

Spraying mushrooms will treat them on the spot but won’t necessarily prevent them from showing up again. There are fungicides you can use to treat mushrooms, but some very common household products also do an effective job.

You can use baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, and even lemon to treat the mushroom itself. Just look out for surrounding grass and plants, as you won’t want to spray and kill those. Dish soap is the most common treatment, and this includes taking just a few drops of soap and putting it in a spray bottle that holds one pint of water.

8. Dig Them Out

If you’ve tried everything and haven’t seen results, you can dig out mushrooms growing in the yard, but this process isn’t easy. As soon as the mushrooms are disturbed, the spores will spread, and you could end up with many more mushrooms the next day.

Remember that if you knock down or spray the top of the mushroom, it doesn’t always penetrate down to the surface and kill the roots. This means the mushroom could pop back up again a day or two later. If you have an area of the yard that’s constantly plagued with mushrooms, dig out the mushrooms, turn over the soil, and ensure that area doesn’t get much extra water.

Killing Mushrooms With Fungicide

Killing mushrooms with fungicide can be a solid way to get rid of the current mushrooms, but it won’t do much to stop future mushroom growth as these products don’t deeply penetrate the soil. If you do decide to use fungicide, you’ll probably still have to follow additional steps to get rid of mushrooms in the yard. Instead of spending money on fungicides, it may be a better idea to just work on preventing mushrooms.

Why Fungi Can Be Beneficial

Seeing mushrooms pop up over the lawn may seem like a problem. However, sometimes fungi can be beneficial. Mushrooms can provide nutrients to the soil and surrounding plants. They’ll essentially digest the organic matter in your lawn and keep it from continuing to pile up.

These fruiting bodies have quite a bit of work going on under the grass line and are an important part of the ecosystem. However, keeping them out of your turf can be a good thing for yard aesthetics.

How Fast Do Mushrooms Grow and Spread?

Have you ever felt like you went to bed with a perfect lawn and woke up with small mushrooms covering it? Chances are you did! Small mushrooms can grow overnight, while larger ones take three or four days to grow. The growth rate of a mushroom is fast as most of it is growing under the turf’s surface before you can see it.

Common Yard Mushrooms

Depending on where you live, the different types of yard mushrooms that frequent your area will vary. As we mentioned, most of these aren’t poisonous mushrooms and are typically quite harmless. If you’re curious about which mushrooms you have, using an app like iNaturalist will help you identify the mushroom quickly. Common mushrooms that can pop up in your yard are:

• Fairy Ring Mushroom
• Field or Meadow Mushroom
• Common Stinkhorn
• Mower’s Mushrooms
• Shaggy Ink Cap
• Fly Agaric
• Ringless Honey Mushroom

How To Spot Morel Mushrooms in Your Yard

Morel mushrooms are prized edibles that — although rare — sometimes appear in yards. Look for their distinctive honeycomb-like caps, which are typically tan or gray. They often grow near trees, especially ash, elm, and apple, in early spring.

Morels have a hollow interior when cut lengthwise. Always consult an expert before consuming any wild mushrooms, as some poisonous look-alikes exist.

How To Stop Mushrooms Growing in Mulch

To prevent mushrooms in mulch, start by using hardwood mulch instead of softwood varieties. Keep mulch depth to 2/3 inches and avoid piling it against tree trunks or house foundations.

Improve air circulation by raking mulch regularly. Consider using a fungicide specifically designed for mulch areas. Finally, make sure mulched areas get proper drainage to reduce that excess moisture that promotes fungal growth.

Use Professional Lawn Care Services for Mushroom Removal

If the mushroom problem gets to a point where you can no longer control it on your own, there are professional lawn care services that can help. These services ensure you’re not overwatering, help create airflow throughout the turf again, and properly fertilize your grass. This can save you time and even money in the long run.

Our Top Recommended Lawn Care Professional

TruGreen is the best lawn service for keeping all types of mushrooms from growing on your lawn. TruGreen is a large company servicing areas across the entire United States. They assess any issues you have with organic build-up and start working to fix the situation. TruGreen offers everything from aeration to shrub trimming to mosquito spraying around your property.

Final Thoughts on Mushroom Removal in Your Yard

Mushrooms in your yard aren’t something to be overly concerned about and aren’t as serious as some lawn diseases. The key to getting rid of mushrooms in your yard lies in addressing the root causes — excess moisture, organic matter, and poor air circulation.

Chances are you have drainage problems and lots of decomposing plant matter that’s causing the mushroom issues. Check out our comprehensive review of TruGreen to learn more about their services and how they can help you get rid of mushrooms in your lawn.