How to Get Rid of Mushrooms in your Yard?

Mushrooms are both harmful and beneficial at the same time. They help your yard’s grass and flowers grow more exuberantly because the mushrooms help to recycle agricultural wastes to create a natural fertilizer. However, the wrong type of mushroom, known as fairy rings, can cause diseases in the lawn. While these mushrooms are relatively rare, they do exist. Whether you want to kill the mushrooms for the safety of your lawn or simply for the aesthetic appeal, here are several effective methods.

Remove the Mushrooms

Simply removing the mushrooms is the most common yet least effective method. This is because removing them does not actually kill them. It will ensure that your yard continually appears beautiful as long as you keep on top of the removal process. The downfall of this method is that they are almost guaranteed to pop back up in the near future.

Reduce Water

It is a commonly known fact that mushrooms grow with vigor in areas that are well watered. While it would be impossible to simply stop watering your garden or yard altogether, you can water it just enough so that the grass grows. As soon as the soil is dry for a period of time, the mushrooms and their seeds will die.

Increase Air Movement

Mushrooms flourish in dense, packed soil. Aerating the soil with a tool or machine can reduce the risk of mushrooms, but it can be a long and tedious process. Removing excess thatch from the yard can show significant improvements as well.

Apply Fertilizer

Applying a nitrogen fertilizer to the yard can help eliminate mushrooms at the same time as it promotes the growth of the grass. It helps because the fertilization speeds up the decomposition of the organic matter that mushrooms eat and of what they themselves are composed.

While this is less back-breaking than aerating the yard and less damaging than not watering the yard, it is more of a science. To begin, make sure that you purchase the readily available nitrogen as opposed to slow-release or water-insoluble formulas. Then, apply the fertilizer. Use 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet of yard. Finally, water the yard according to the instructions on the package.

Take Away Food

No plant or animal can survive without their food source, and this applies to mushrooms as well. Exhaust all the food sources in your yard and soil, and wait for them to die out on their own. Mushrooms feed on pet waste, rotting mulch, and, above all, tree stumps. Tree stumps provide a large, permanent source of food for the mushrooms. Having it professionally ground down will dramatically reduce the number of mushrooms in your yard if it does not eliminate them altogether.

Beware of Fairy Rings

Fairy rings one of the rare varieties of mushrooms that can damage the yard. Unfortunately, they often appear in place of the old tree stump that is removed. Another unfortunate aspect is that fairy rings can only be killed using damaging chemicals. Drowning them in bleach will effectively kill them, but it will also effectively kill the surrounding grass. However, this is a small price to pay. Sacrifice a small portion of your yard to preserve it in its entirety.

Killing mushrooms is a yard maintenance chore that needs constant attention. Mushrooms grow from spores that easily blow in the wind. You may kill the current ones at the same time that the spores are entering the ground yet again. Thankfully, mushrooms are simple to kill in comparison to other backyard pests.

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