Mushrooms in backyard!?

Question

How do we get rid of the brownish-tan mushrooms in our backyard? They've popped up within the last month and there are so many of them! We have a chocolate lab and we're afraid they might hurt him. Are they poisonous to dogs? And what should we do to get rid of them? We live in central S.C.

Answer 1

You do not say whether the yard is grassed over, is it? If this is the case then you may have an infestation known as: FAIRY RING

During the spring or summer a circle or arc of stimulated grass or of toadstools may appear in lawns. These are turf abnormalities called fairy rings. The rings can be from a few centimeters to 20 meters in diameter, but most are between 0.5 m and 5 m across. These rings of lush growth in the lawn are caused by the release of nutrients, in particular nitrogen, from the activity of the fungus living on organic matter in the soil. These causal organisms are mushroom- or puffball-forming fungi. Some mushrooms or puffballs are very poisonous when eaten and it is, therefore, important that they be routinely destroyed if small children are likely to be attracted to them.

Answer 2

You may have had a tree growing in your yard that has been chopped down, or you may have added mulch with compost in it that is a perfect medium for mushrooms. Chop or dig them out, but don't worry about them.  

Answer 3

Check to see if they turn blue when you break the stem or the cap. B-cuz if they turn blue then that means they're magic mushrooms and i think your dog might actually enjoy them rather than get hurt.

Answer 4

Aerate the yard. Allowing more air into the soil will slow the growth of mushrooms and eventually they will go away.

Answer 5

You are right to be concerned!  Apparently there's one mushroom that tastes good to dogs but is very toxic.  Mushrooms are the "flower" actually the fruiting body of a fungus below ground decomposing some big organic item....like dead roots.  Digging down and removing the organic item is one solution but the chances of being successful are slim as the item could be 10-20 feet down.......as was found with Fairy Ring fungus.  Not knowing what mushroom you have, and not being a mushroom specialist anyway, not knowing how deep the problem is in the ground and "all over" sounds like a major problem, all I can say is several times a day go out and remove those mushrooms.  

In mean time see if you can find out what you have.  Are the mushrooms in a "ring" and is the grass greener beyond the 'room edge?  That may be Fairy Ring and there's no cure.  It grows outward and into your neighbor's yard.  If the 'rooms (mushrooms) are associated with decaying tree roots, that's spooky.  That tree could blow over due to lack of support.  

To answer the other question: aerate means to get oxygen into the ground.  There are several ways.  Removing excess thatch on the soil surface from dead grass parts is fairly easy.  You can rake it out (ouch my back) or you can rent a dethatcher or powered lawn rake.  Not good this time of year, better in spring.  Soil aeration is done with either a core aerator that pulls sod and soil plugs from your lawn or with a verticutter which slices vertically through the lawn.  Best aeration is with the plug puller.  You can core aerate any time during growing season.  Golf courses and play fields do it constantly.  As to will that solve the mushroom problem, only if the fungus is a surface fungus and there are very few of those.  

Answer 6

Mushrooms are growing there because of decomposing tree roots. Eventually they will all go away, but that may take some time. Do not use any herbicides as they could hurt your dog and will only take care of the surface mushrooms (meaning others will still come up)

Mowing over them is sufficient to get rid of them temporarily, but others will pop up.

Don't be worried about them though. Dogs are meat eaters...and mushrooms are considered a veggie. It isn't likely your dog will eat them - though you are a good 'mommy' to be concerned. :)

Answer 7

i believe mushrooms feed on dead tree limbs.dont believe you can do anything really.

Answer 8

I live in New York. Here we have large mushrooms that grow everywhere! You could try wearing gloves, but they are guaranteed to come back. Whatever you do don't let your dog eat them, better safe then sorry. I do believe there is a spray kit of some sort (like weed killing spray) for mushrooms. I hope this helps you!