Mushrooms growing around your lawn can be quite irritating. Not only does it look quite disgusting it also poses a threat to the children and pets in your house.
If you are struggling with mushroom growth yourself, there’s a pretty easy way you can get rid of it, using baking soda. But does it work? In this article, we talk about that.
Killing mushrooms with baking soda works quite well. This remedy has been quite famous among homeowners as it is a nontoxic and a pretty simple process.
Baking soda increases the level of pH in the soil. When applied the mushroom growth is interrupted. After that, all you need to do is pull them out of your lawn.
Sounds pretty easy right? Home remedies are always quite fun to do, once you know how to do them. In this article, we’ll answer every question you have and also show you how you can properly remove those annoying mushrooms from your lawn.
Why Are Mushrooms Growing on Your Lawn?
First, let’s understand why these mushrooms are growing in the first place. Before we get to the remedy it’s important to know the cause. Mushrooms are a type of fungi that grows from spores. Spores are microscopic organisms that produce asexually.
The main reason mushrooms are growing on your lawn is moisture. Mushrooms need moisture to survive. For this reason, mushrooms usually grow during the rainy seasons.
However, mushrooms don’t need a proper reason to grow. As long as moisture and nutrients are present these fungi will find their way into existence.
In short, the growth of mushrooms is very natural and not that dangerous. However, it doesn’t change the fact that they should still be removed as soon as possible. But the more you know the better.
How Does Baking Soda Kill Mushrooms?
The answer to this question is, that baking soda is a fungicide. It’s the cheapest and easiest fungicide on the market. You can make it in your home.
Moreover, using baking soda to kill mushrooms is the safest way to get rid of mushrooms. If you accidentally came into contact with baking soda it wouldn’t harm you in any way.
Most of us have baking soda lying around in our house for baking reasons. But this chemical can be used for a lot more.
So how does it work? Baking increases the levels of pH in the land when applied. Hence, the growth of mushrooms is interrupted since they need moisture to be able to grow fully.
Using small little home remedies to get rid of annoying little devils of nature is something homeowners have been doing for generations. And how could they not? home remedies usually are the most effective ones.
How To Kill Mushrooms Using Baking Soda?
Now that we know how it works it’s time to apply the process. All you need is baking soda and a spray bottle. Now follow these steps:
Step 1: Make the mixture
Take a gallon of water and mix two teaspoons of baking soda with it.
Step 2: Use a spray bottle
Using a spray bottle will give you the best results. You want the mixture to spread out evenly and a spray bottle does that job much better than pouring it all in.
Step 3: Monitor if the mushrooms have died out
When the mushrooms die it will become very obvious. They should develop a brownish color and will look quite dried out.
Related Read: Can You Kill Rats With Salt? Here’s The Trick
Step 4: Pull the dead mushrooms out of the soil
The final step is to pull the dead mushrooms out. Baking soda will kill the mushrooms but you will have to pull them out yourself. Take a basket or dustbin and put the dead mushrooms in it.
And just like that, you have successfully killed all the mushrooms on your lawn. Remember, it will take some time and patience is the key.
Using Vinegar To Kill Mushrooms
Another way of killing mushrooms is using vinegar. Using vinegar to kill mushrooms is just as simple as using baking soda. In a lot of ways, they’re the same thing.
For this process, use a high concentration of vinegar and mix it with water. Make sure the balance between vinegar and water is even or you might risk the lawn’s acidity rising. One thing to be careful of is, that vinegar can harm the grass of your lawn so it’s best not to use too much of it.
Just like the baking soda process, use a spray bottle and spray the mixture all over and around the mushrooms. Now, give it time and the mushrooms should die out.
The only downside of this process is vinegar is a much more powerful chemical than baking soda. So use it with much care and caution.
How To Manually Get Rid of Mushrooms From Your Lawn?
We’ve talked about two fungicides today. Both of them work quite well but if you don’t want to use fungicides you will have to manually get rid of the mushrooms.
In some cases when the manifestation increases using some manual methods is more recommended. Let’s talk about what those are:
1. Take immediate action
As soon as you notice a mushroom, just take it out.
2. Apply fertilizer
Mushrooms feed off decaying organic matter. When you apply fertilizer the soil regains health, which interrupts the growth of mushrooms.
3. Keep the lawn dry
Mushrooms grow on your lawn when the lawn is wet and dirty. Remember mushrooms need moisture to survive. Eliminate that and you’ll eliminate the mushrooms.
4. Keep the lawn clean
Keep the lawn as clean as possible. As we learned, mushrooms feed off dead matter. For this reason, keeping your lawn is very important to keep unwanted guests away.
If you can eliminate the growth of the mushrooms you won’t have to go through the whole process of removing them. Hence, make sure the lawn is clean and dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How Do You Kill Mushrooms Naturally?
A simple solution of a few drops of dish soap to a pint of water.
Q. Will Bleach Kill Mushrooms?
You can kill visible mushrooms and mold by spraying them with a bleach solution.
Q. Can Baking Soda Kill Grass?
Baking Soda Will Kill Any Type of Plant- Grass Included.
Q. Does Boiling Water Kill Mushrooms?
Boiling water is another natural solution that can be used to kill mushrooms and mycelium, but it will take a while before you see any results
Q. Will Epsom Salt Kill Mushrooms?
The Epsom salts will balance the pH of your soil to help get rid of them.
Q. What Temperature Do Fungi Grow Best At?
Between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit
Conclusion
Mushrooms just like any other uninvited natural guest can be quite annoying. Thankfully there are some very simple and effective remedies to get rid of them.
While they can be a nod to healthy soil they can also raise problems for your lawn. So, if the situation arises getting rid of them is the best option and now you can do that yourself. Thank you for reading, have a good day!
