Why Are Mushrooms Growing in My Yard? Six Reasons and Fixes

Mushrooms are the visible fruiting bodies of fungi, which thrive in soil rich with organic matter. The presence of mushrooms in your yard suggests that the fungi below the surface are aiding in breaking down organic material into nutrients, thereby enhancing soil quality. Typically, mushrooms contribute positively to the ecosystem by decomposing organic matter essential for plant growth. Understanding why mushrooms appear in your yard and learning how to manage them can help maintain a balanced lawn environment.

What Causes Mushrooms in the Yard?

Healthy Soil

If mushrooms grow above the soil, that hints at the abundance of fungal life you do not see under your soil. The mushroom caps and stems we are used to seeing are the “fruit” of the long stringy body of the entire organism that feeds off of decaying organic material. For these fruiting bodies to appear, your soil has to be full of rich organics that the mycelia will work to decompose.

Decaying Organic Matter

You might have too much of a good thing if mushrooms consume your yard. The same decaying matter might allow them to overpopulate by providing too much nourishment, throwing off the balance of the ecosystem. This can be caused by leaving grass clippings, over-mulching, and over-fertilizing with compost or manure. Be sure to pick up grass clippings or use a mulching mower.

Wet Conditions

Fungi love moisture. If your lawn does not receive adequate drainage and collects water in some areas, it may be the perfect place for mushrooms to erupt, especially if it’s combined with other conditions. Your drainage might be perfect, but you may also be the culprit. Sometimes when looking for the perfect green lawn, people go a little heavy with the watering. If this happens, you can cause mushrooms to pop up because of the extra moisture.

Increased Humidity and Temperature

Depending on the region you live in, you may face higher humidity and temperature levels. This will spur outbreaks of mushrooms in lawns throughout the hot summer months in places that might never have had them. The ideal conditions for fungal growth are damp and warm areas with plenty of organic matter.

Shaded Areas

While mushrooms can grow fine in the sunlight, they grow much better in the dark or semi-dark. If you have shady conditions in your yard and all the other conditions are right, there is a good chance you may end up with mushrooms growing in your lawn.

Mushroom Removal Before Mowing

Mushrooms reproduce by releasing spores. The complex growth cycle involves spreading spores that are kept under the caps of the mushrooms. If you try to remove mushrooms by cutting them, you will inadvertently spread the spores rather than doing what you initially tried to achieve. You can naturally remove them easily with just a bit of effort.

Should You Remove Mushrooms in Your Lawn?

There is no real reason to remove mushrooms from your lawn. Fungi are decomposers, which means they break down dead organic matter and turn it into bioavailable compounds for other organisms, like your grass, to use as nourishment.

However, there are some mushrooms that you will want to remove immediately if you see them, and knowing what they look like if you have pets or children is recommended.

Types of Mushrooms in Lawns

There are many types of mushrooms that appear in lawns, especially depending on where you live. Here is a short list of just a few:

• Milky conecaps: These small, white mushrooms are the fragile mushrooms you see pop out of the grass after a rainy night. Their lifecycle is short, and they’ll be gone in a couple days.
• Puffball mushrooms: These mushrooms take the shape of large, white balls. You may think you have a volleyball in your yard.
• Lawnmower’s mushrooms: These mushrooms are smaller and brown. They love frequently cut grass, hence their name.
• Fly agaric: These mushrooms have a classic toadstool shape, with red caps that have white spots. They’re fun to look at, resembling a cartoon mushroom.
• Stinkhorns: These mushrooms have a unique shape and rotting smell. Fortunately, they’re usually short-lived.

How to Control Mushrooms in Your Lawn

If you want to control mushrooms in your lawn, do not mow over them or use fungicide. Mowing the mushrooms will do nothing but disperse spores across your lawn, broadcasting them as if you were sowing grass seed, setting up your lawn to be covered with ever more mushrooms.

Although the fungicide method will get rid of your mushroom issue, it will also hurt your soil, killing the beneficial fungi that your soil uses to break down organic matter to release nutrients in the soil.

Remove Decaying Matter

Mushrooms feed on decaying matter, so removing as much of it as you can should reduce the number of mushrooms. Get rid of any twigs, rotting wood, or dying weeds. Don’t leave your grass clippings behind. If you have any stumps from dead trees around, be sure to remove them fully, including any connected underground roots.

Repair Compacted Soil

Compacted soil causes water to puddle up, leading to a waterlogged lawn. Fungi prefer this environment. If you have a frequently soggy lawn, aerate the soil. You can rent various aerators from hardware stores, depending on the intensity of the problem.

Clean Up Pet Waste

Mushrooms love pet waste, which is essentially fertilizer for fungi. If you would rather have less mushrooms in your lawn, then cleaning up after your pets regularly has never been more important.