Brown Spots in the Lawn May be an Indicator of Fungus in the Coming Weeks

Whenever people are under a lot of stress, their immune system may be compromised leaving them more prone to illness, most commonly from a cold or a virus.  Fungus is always the bi-product of stress on the lawn.  If you can minimize the stress on the lawn, you may never get an infestation of fungus.  Stress for the grass comes in several forms.  It can be from too much water, not enough water, too much heat or the damaging effects of a heavy ride-on mower.

Very often during the months of May and June, temperatures begin to climb and we do not have the benefit of afternoon showers to cool things down.  Additionally, rain is much better for the grass than watering with municipal water, that is often processed to some degree.  Rain also distributes evenly on the grass whereas a most sprinkler systems distribute water unevenly.  Some areas of the lawn will get more water that other areas and that may cause a dry spot.  The dry spot is the lawn’s reaction to stress and the stress is caused by the lawn not receiving enough water to support it’s needs.  Once the lawn is under stress, fungus spores blow through the air and attack the most vulnerable parts of the lawn.

When temperatures get too high as they did a couple of weeks ago, the lawn will suffer from stress even if extra water is applied.  In general, watering once a week when the high temperatures are in the seventies and eighties is fine.  When they move up to the low nineties extra water is needed to combat against high rates of evaporation. Once the temperature rises above 93 degrees as it did, extra water will help but if those high temperatures persist, the lawn will suffer from the stress.

In order for lawn mowing companies to be competitive, it is essential that they use ride on mowers.  Doing so enables them to get through the service process faster and easier enabling them to move on to the next customer faster.  These mowers are heavy and if they roll over a lawn that is in stress, they make it worse.  Additionally, if the mower is turned at a high rate of speed or if they are making ‘zero radius’ turns, the mowers put a side load on the lawn causing a sheer stress that makes a tear in the lawn.

So do your best to minimize stress on the lawn and it will thrive nicely most of the time.  If you have any questions, give us a call.  We would be pleased to hear from you.  If you have brown spots that you cannot account for let us know.  We will be pleased to make an analysis.  GreenTec Pest Control, Inc. 727-847-6733.