How To Cure a Sick Lawn

Even the most well-kept lawn can fall prey to disease. All it takes is an unfortunate combination of temperature that’s too warm or too cool, weather that’s too wet or too dry, or other environmental stresses. Too much fertilisation, improper mowing, thatch, and compacted soil are also culprits. Lawn fungi are opportunists, waiting in the soil for the right moment.

When know that turning to someone such as https://www.thelocaltreeexpert.com/tn/memphis/ when we have issues with trees is a must, so of course, in this situation, a professional lawn care service has the experience to diagnose your problem and treat it properly, but before you call or try to cure things yourself, there are some signs to look for if you have brown or bleached yellow spots on your lawn.

Is It Sick or Is It Something Else?

If you’ve got brown patches on your lawn, there might be culprits other than a fungal disease.

Has Your Dog Been at Work?

The giveaway is that urine shows up as a dead area with a green ring around it. Next time, as soon as you see your dog walk away with that satisfied grin on her face, grab the hose or a bucket of water and flush the area thoroughly. You’ll get the best results if you do it within an hour. Of course you’ll get better ultimate results if you train your pooch to use an entirely different place other than your lawn to conduct business.

Have You Been Mowing Too Closely?

Many people think that mowing closely and therefore less frequently saves time. That may be true, but it’s not good for the lawn. Cutting off more than a third of the height of the grass blades when they’re at their full height (2” to 4” for most turf grass) deprives the grass of nourishment. It also lets too much light filter through to the soil, giving incentive for weeds to spring up.

It can be worth talking to a lawn mowing expert to see if they could help with correct cutting.

Have You Used Too Much or Spilled Pesticide?

Too much insecticide or herbicide can “burn” the grass and turn it yellow or brown.

Have You Spilled Fertiliser or Petrol?

A spill can be damaging and lead to yellow or brown spots. Flush any unwelcome products with water immediately.

Have You’ve Slacked off on Watering?

Some areas of the country have restrictions on water, but your grass does need water to thrive. To water economically, do it early in the day so your lawn gets the full benefit before sun and warm temperatures cause evaporation. You can get water timers on this website that will automatically turn the water on and off at whatever time you want.

Is Your Lawn Just Going Dormant?

Cool-season grasses turn brown when the weather is hot or dry. Warm-season grasses go dormant when the weather gets cool. It’s a natural occurrence, a resting time for the lawn, and not a disease.

It’s None of Those, So What Next?

If none of the above conditions apply, then you want to go the next step and identify the kind of disease your lawn has. Here are some common lawn fungus diseases and how to identify them.

Brown Patch

Just as its name suggests, this disease generally shows itself as circular or irregular brown patches, some of which can be quite large. The first sign is spotting on grass leaf blades that eventually bleed together to turn the entire leaf brown. Over-watering or over-fertilising are usually the cause, with warm weather and high humidity encouraging it to spread quickly.

Fairy Ring

This disease causes circular patches of dark green grass, with lighter colored areas of dying grass surrounding them. Lawns are susceptible to fairy ring during mild, moist conditions and dry, hot weather as well.

Yellow Patch

Cool, wet conditions encourage the growth of this disease, which shows as circular patches of light tan to brown grass.

Dollar Spot

This fungus causes silver-dollar-sized spots of tan or brown grass to appear all over the lawn. These spots may grow together, forming large affected areas. High humidity is generally to blame.

Now What?

Remedies range from fungicides specifically tailored to the disease and type of turf it has infected, all the way to requiring complete removal of the affected area and then reseeding.

Consult a specialist or your local garden center to determine the course of action that’s right for your lawn. In the meantime, avoid walking on that part of the grass, and don’t use the same tools on both the sick and healthy parts of your lawn so you don’t inadvertently spread the infection.

For help identifying diseases in your lawn, check out the directory here.

How do you look after your lawn?