Did White Mushrooms Suddenly Appear in Your Yard? Here’s When You Should Worry

When white mushrooms pop up in the yard, you may wonder if it is anything to worry about. The good news is that there are not many types of white mushrooms in North America that are toxic.

As you will learn in this article, the appearance of mushrooms in your lawn or garden can actually be a good sign. But if you still want to get rid of them, you will learn how to do that too.

Why White Mushrooms Appear in Your Yard

There are several reasons why mushrooms may be appearing in your lawn or garden. The most basic reason is that the mycelia that produce them are present in your soil. Beyond this, there are certain conditions that provide a hospitable environment for mushrooms.

You have probably noticed that mushrooms most often pop up in the lawn after a rainy period. This is because, as fungi, mushrooms like wet, humid conditions.

Any shady spot in your yard is a good candidate for mushroom growth, because it is more likely to be damp in such locations. While mushrooms can be found growing in the sun, they really thrive in shady areas.

Mushrooms like it neither too hot nor too cold, with about 65°F being the ideal temperature. A final condition for the appearance of mushrooms in your yard is one that will be music to the ears of gardeners and landscapers: Mushrooms need organic matter to feed on, so if you have white mushrooms in the yard, it means your soil contains the organic matter that is so vital to a healthy soil.

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4 Ways to Prevent White Mushrooms in Your Lawn:

• Don’t overwater: It’s hard enough to prevent mushrooms from forming when you have a prolonged rainy period. Don’t make matters worse by overwatering.
• Ensure the soil drains well: While the presence of mushrooms can be a good sign, there’s one instance in which it is a bad sign: if they are the result of poor drainage. Poor drainage in a lawn represents a major long-term problem. Poor drainage is an issue that should be addressed immediately.
• Ensure enough sunlight is reaching the area: Mushrooms thrive in shade. Deprive them of shade to reduce the likelihood that they will emerge.
• Bag up grass clippings when you mow: An example of the organic matter that mushrooms feed on is grass clippings. If you don’t want mushrooms in the lawn, it helps to bag up the clippings rather than allowing them to filter into the soil.

Reasons Not to Worry About Lawn Mushrooms:

• Mushrooms serve a purpose: As mushrooms feed on the organic matter in your soil, they break it down into humus, which makes those nutrients more available to your plants. Thus, they improve the soil.
• The mushrooms in your yard are unlikely to be toxic: This reason works if you are willing to learn how to identify mushrooms; otherwise (and if you have pets or children playing in the yard), err on the side of caution and remove all mushrooms. Most white mushrooms you are likely to encounter in your yard are not toxic; milky conecap (Conocybe apala) is one example. But destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera) is an example of a white mushroom that is toxic.

How to Remove Existing Mushrooms

Perhaps you have pets or kids who play in the yard, and you are worried that they may ingest a toxic mushroom. Here’s how to remove each existing mushroom.

Dig as much of the mushroom as you can out of the ground, including any mycelium you can detect. It’s best to dig before it can release any new spores. Have a plastic bag handy as you do this, because you’ll want to place the mushroom in the bag immediately (and close it) to minimize spore distribution.

Pour a few drops of dish detergent into a spray bottle filled with water and spray this solution where you dug the mushroom; the solution acts as a mild fungicide.