WHAT IS A LAWN DISEASE?
Lawn diseases are nearly almost a lawn fungus. If the lawn disease isn’t identified and treated it can spread and damage your entire lawn.

WHAT LAWN DISEASES CAN I FIND IN MY GARDEN?
There are many common lawn diseases that are found in gardens throughout the UK – these include:

RED THREAD
Red thread is one of the most common lawn diseases. It occurs in lawns that have poor light and soil or after periods of heavy rain, where the rain-washes the nitrogen from the soil depriving the grass of its vital nutrient.

You normally see red thread appear during late summer, where you will be aware of reddish patches of grass appearing in your lawn. Red thread is a leaf disease more than a soil disease; although it can live in the soil up to 2 years before it germinates, it is relatively easy to eradicate and the lawn will recover over time.

FUSARIUM PATCH
Commonly known as snow mould, fusarium patch is likely to appear in lawns after a long period of the grass being covered by snow. The disease forms due to wet, humid climate conditions. When the disease first appears you could notice a small circle shape, like a tennis ball, in your grass in a creamy straw like colour.   Whilst the disease is actively growing the outer circle has a slimy texture, this can make the circles look like an irregular shape and some might say even look like clouds.

If you have Fusarium and it’s not treated during the winter and spring, it will survive the summer months lying dormant within the thatch in your lawn. Once the correct weather conditions arrive it will attack the living blades of grass within your lawn. It can spread quickly through lawnmowers, feet and any wheelbarrows etc.

There are several factors to be aware of that could result in Fusarium Patch occurring in your lawn:

• Humid atmosphere, shade and wet lawns
• Forced, weak top growth on your lawn during spring and autumn
• Weak turf due to irregular mowing or wear and tear
• Poor cutting due to blunt mower blades
• Compacted soil, heavy thatch within the lawn

FAIRY RINGS
Fairy rings are a fungal disease that occurs in lawns in circular rings. It can come in the form of dead grass or toadstools in the lawn.  The most damaging type of fairy rings lives in the roots of the turf, which produces toadstools normally during late summer and into the autumn.

Other types of fungi can cause fairy rings, but doesn’t have an effect on turf, and has been known to encourage growth of the grass! Symptoms vary depending upon the type of fungi that you have, however you may see the following symptoms within your lawn:

• An irregular ring of dead grass
• Directly across from the dead grass, the grass might be greener
• Rings of brown toadstools at various times of the year

WHY DO YOU TREAT LAWN DISEASES?
It’s vital that lawn diseases are treated as soon as they have been identified, as some diseases will spread throughout the root system of the turf and wipe out your entire lawn.  The ideal treatment for lawn diseases if preventative measures; carried out as part of your lawn care programme. This includes scarification and aeration of your lawns.

All lawns will get diseases at some point, when this does occur we recommend using a pesticide treatment on your lawn, again this can be applied as part of your lawn care programme.

BENEFITS OF TREATING LAWN DISEASES
The main two benefits of treating lawn diseases are:

• A healthy strong top grass and a resilient root system
• Lush green grass

WHEN TO TREAT LAWN DISEASES
Application of the pesticide to control the lawn disease can be done all year round, apart from when the lawn is water logged or frozen. It is best to be applied on a still day to avoid any drift on the spray to any garden borders. If however, you are keen to take preventive measures such as scarification or aeration we advise these are best to be carried out during late summer and early autumn.

If your lawn is suffering from lawn diseases and you would like our help, get in touch.