How to Eradicate Toadstools in a Lawn
- 1). Rake out the mushrooms. Many kinds of mushrooms can cause severe illness or even death, so it is important to remove any temptation from children and pets.
- 2). Dethatch the lawn to remove the buildup of old grass and plant material caught in the tangled root systems of grasses. The thatch gives the mycelium a food source and allows it to grow fast. Thatch should be limited to 1/2 inch in the root system.
- 3). Remove the mushrooms manually by digging them up, if you prefer. This is time-consuming and may be a wasted effort since it is difficult to get all of the mycelium out of the dirt. The mycelium are white or gray, threadlike structures. The filaments are slender and easy to break apart. You are likely to leave some in the ground, where they can later sprout when temperatures and rains favor them.
- 4). Remove any stumps and leaf debris in the turf area. Stumps offer a source of decaying matter for the fungi to feed on and leaf debris keeps in moisture and adds a food source.
- 5). Cultivate the sod in the manner recommended for your species. Apply adequate fertilizer but be wary of overfertilizing, which adds more nutrients to the soil for the mycelium. Also, only apply the recommended amount of water. The water tends to puddle in clay soils, so you can irrigate less frequently to allow the water to soak into the roots of the grass. Overly moist sod invites toadstool development.
Source...