While many are benign, some mushrooms are toxic and even poisonous to humans and pets. Children, cats, and dogs should avoid picking or eating the mushrooms growing in your yard. The types of mushrooms we’ve commonly found in yards include:

• Brown Cone Head
• Death Cap *Poisonous
• Destroying Angel *Poisonous
• Fairy Bonnet
• False Parasol
• Honey Fungus
• Horse Mushrooms
• Meadow Mushroom
• Puff Ball
• Shaggy Ink Cap
• Spring Agrocybe
• Stinkhorn Fungus

Mushrooms enjoy rich, moist soils with the presence of decomposing organic matter like bark, leaves, logs, stumps, mulch, and shrubs. If you’ve noticed mushrooms in your lawn, there’s a good chance your yard gets plenty of water and has lots of shade.

You may also have compacted soil, and issues with proper drainage. More likely than not, you have an extended network of mycelium in your soil that’s healthy enough to produce fruiting bodies of mushrooms year after year.

Mushrooms don’t typically cause large problems on their own, but can be indicators of other fungus issues and diseases you’d rather keep away from your vegetation. Fungi can have dramatic impacts on your grass, garden, flowers, shrubs, and even trees. Common problems caused by mushrooms and fungus disease include:

• Anthracnose
• Black Spot
• Blight
• Club Root
• Downy Mildew
• Grass wilting/death
• Leaf wilt
• Mushroom root rot (Armillaria root rot)
• Plant Virus
• Powdery Mildew

1. Avoid Overwatering

Mushrooms in lawns are often a sign of overwatering, which means water is also being wasted. Recalculating the watering needs of your grass will help to ensure your lawn stays green while clusters of mushrooms remain unable to grow. Check your drip systems and sprinkler heads for signs of trouble.

2. Make Room for Sun

You may want to consider trimming away branches and undergrowth that prevent the sun from penetrating to the soil or keep the area damp. Removing these excess structures will open your yard up for healthier grass growth while still protecting you from the sun’s heat.

3. Dethatch, Aerate, and Remove Clippings

Dense, thick soils and grass with a significant thatch layer make perfect homes for mushroom structures to grow. Make sure you’re raking your lawn often and removing the dead layer underneath. Lawn aeration will help to prevent soil from condensing and opens up the earth for more oxygenation and sunlight. When you mow, make sure to remove grass clippings to eliminate a possible food source and the accumulation of debris.

4. Use a Slow Release, Nitrogen Rich Fertilizer

Mushrooms in lawns can deplete your soil of important nutrients. Adding a regular, slow release fertilizer to your lawn care routine will help to ensure your lawn has all the vital nutrients it needs to root deeper and continue to thrive, should mushrooms appear.