I've got a ton of mushrooms in my lawn. How do I get rid of them?

Why do they bother you? Mushrooms and toadstools spring up like magic all the time on lawns. If you expend lots of energy in removing what are essentially lawn ornaments or latent mulch, you will be frustrated when they return.

Mushrooms won’t hurt your lawn. Why do you want to get rid of them?

He could have a dog or cat and is concerned that they may try and eat them

If they are edible, harvest them for food.

It is usually a sign of too much moisture. They are a fungus and show up where there is shade, decaying debris like lawn clippings or leaves or too much moisture or all of the above. They are usually harmless.

I just remove them if they’re in an area I don’t want them to spread in. Generally, it’s as @bkcunningham stated above.

Usually, my son & I discuss how the fairies must’ve set up camp where the mushrooms have suddenly appeared.

In my yard they tend to disappear in a couple of days.

Why not contact your local agricultural extension office (or a local university) to find a micologist who can determine if they’re poisonous or edible?

If the latter, then problem solved. There’s your future additions to dinnertime. Yum yum.

I’d leave them alone. They will be gone as soon as the lawn dries.
See if they are edible. If so, slice them up and fry them in butter. Delicious!

I answered the same question a couple of years ago. Feel free to refer to my answer…
http://www.fluther.com/86373/how-to-get-rid-of-large-recent-mushroom-patch-in-middle/

Dude you just put “weed”, “mushrooms”, and “my lawn” together in one post. I’m sure your problem will go away soon enough…ehm <...this is tornado one, all units move out! Go, go, go!> :P

Yes, they look delicious! But I know nothing about mushrooms. And there seems to be more than one variety.

OK, I suppose they’re harmless, it’s just that they make the lawn unsightly and unkempt. We’re coming upon rainy season here, so the lawn may not exactly dry out, even though I’ve turned off the sprinklers for the duration. I’m OK if the number that I have stays that way, but I’m concerned that they’re going to prolferate greatly.

@2davidc8 consult your local Polish person, these things might actually be edible with some nice sauce, mmm mushrooms…

If you’re that anal about the mushrooms just pick them all and toss them. They are easy to pull up and they won’t release any spores to further blemish your lawn with another crop.
I’ll trade your mushrooms for my gophers. lol

@2davidc8: Unless you rip up the lawn (and those of your adjoining neighbors) and pave the area, they’ll be back.

You probably need to reduce the amount of time you are watering your lawn now that it is getting cooler out (assuming you live in the northern hemisphere). Lawns need less water as the temperature cools because they are not drying as fast during the day. I say pass a lawn mower over your lawn, so it snaps off the tops of the mushrooms, rake them up, and water less, and the problem should go away or at least diminish somewhat. I go through times where my lawn has quite a few muschroom, and then they competely disappear.

I hope you don’t feel criticized for wanting to take mushrooms off your lawn. But yes, the best way to remove them is manually. Then prevention from is the best next step. I can sort of relate to you. I had mushrooms growing in a pot of sun flowers I grew this summer. I regret it now that I think about it. The mushrooms added character to the soil. But I also agree if you are worried some pets might munch on the mushrooms on your lawn, simply throw on some plastic gloves, grab a grocery bag, call it an exercise lawn project.

Well, I did as some of you suggested and picked them off manually. I’ve also turned off the sprinklers completely. Reason I asked the question was that I was concerned that I would be spreading the spores when I picked off the mushrooms, and it would turn into a futile exercise.

Thank you all for your input!

Why would you want to? Check with a local expert and find out if they are edible or not. If so, you just cut your food bill.

I pull them out by the root (they come up quite easily) and stop watering the lawn so much.

in the 26 years I have lived here, I have never watered my very large lawn. The mushrooms spring up almost overnight at unpredictable times and in unpredictable locations. I have tried to ID them but am never sure since there are so many choices, some of them edible and some of them very much not.

Given that I have 20 acres of mostly woods and am surrounded by 75–100 acres of other people’s woods not to mention my more distant neighbors’ properties, I cannot imagine controlling the spores.

Please be super super super careful when it comes to eating mushrooms you’ve found. Some species can be eaten with no ill effects and then a month or so later you drop dead from liver poisoning. I know experts can generally identify mushrooms but a false ID (which is easy to do with mushrooms) could lead to nasty side effects and even death.

I live in the desert, so if I get mushrooms growing in my lawn, it’s my own faulty for over-zealous watering. In wet climates, I don’t think there is anything that you can do.

Yes, I was going to caution about one who is not an expert attempting to identify safe, edible mushroom species, but @uberbatman beat me to it. Not a good idea, not at all. If you’re wrong get ready to die or need an immediate liver transpalnt. lol

That’s precisely why a micologist is necessary. After all, it’s their job :)

@uberbatman and @Coloma That is why I said check with a local expert.

@WestRiverrat When did man become infallible? Personally it just doesn’t seem worth the risk when there are a wide variety of mushrooms available at most supermarkets.

In the San Francisco Bay Area where I live, there are groups of mushroom enthusiasts from whom I could learn how to identify the edible ones. I understand that they regularly go on mushroom hunting trips. Unfortunately, I currently don’t have the time for this activity.

@2davidc8 I think I saw an episode on the food network about what you are describing. Some went to the forest, and another guide simply went to the bay to find some mushrooms. Interesting!