Have you noticed unsightly brown spots on your lawn? It may be brown patch fungus. While itโs a fairly common sight on lawns in the Jacksonville FL area due to the high humidity and warm temperatures in our region, that doesnโt make it any more welcome when itโs onย yourย lawn.
The short answer is that if you want to treat brown patch fungus on your lawn, your first priority should be stopping the immediate damage.
That likely requires a fungicide lawn treatment. You can purchase these at home improvement stores and often grocery stores.ย Make sure you follow the exact instructions on the label.
But you canโt simply apply some lawn treatment and call it a day. This article is about everything that goes into brown patch fungus treatment, from why you should be concerned to making sure it stays gone.
Jump to a section:
- How to Get Rid of Brown Patch Fungus
- How to Keep It Away
- Why Do You Get Brown Patch?
- What Are the Risks?
Listen Now to Learn More About Brown Patch Fungus
This audio covers all you need to know! Also check out our video guide.
Seeing Brown Patches on Your Lawn… What Are They?
First things first, you need to identify what’s causing the patches. Brown patches in grass could have many causes, including:
- Lawn Pests (Grubs & Chinch Bugs):ย Insects that either eat the grass roots or suck the nutrients out of the blades.
- Environmental Stress (Drought & Compaction):ย Dried-out or hard-packed soil, especially near hot concrete or heavy foot-traffic areas.
- Mowing Issues (Dull Blades & Scalping):ย Frayed grass tips from dull blades or cutting the lawn too short on uneven ground.
- Chemical or Fertilizer Burn:ย Accidental fuel spills or over-application of fertilizer that scorches the grass.
- Underground Obstructions (Thatch & Buried Debris):ย Thick thatch or hidden rocks/roots that block water and stop deep root growth.
- Pet Urine:ย High-nitrogen spots that leave a dead brown center surrounded by a lush green ring.
- Fungal Diseases:ย Infections like Brown Patch, Dollar Spot, or Summer Patch triggered by heat and moisture.
Here in Florida, with our warm and humid climate, brown patch thrives. If you can eliminate the other possibilities, the likelihood that it’s brown patch fungus is high.
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Tips for Getting Rid of Brown Patch Fungus
If it is brown patch, the first step is stopping the damage. You want to get rid of the active fungus in your lawn. We recommend leaving the job to our lawn care professionals, but many people attempt to do it themselves first.
- Apply fungicide: Products with Azoxystrobin are particularly effective against brown patch.
- Treat an area outside the brown patches: The fungus can be active in healthy-looking grass adjacent the brown patches. Treat an area about 2โ to 3โ outside the patches.
- Donโt fertilize: Wait until the brown patch fungus is officially dead. If you fertilize beforehand, your fresh young grass will be a much-needed food source for the weakened fungus.
How to Make Sure Brown Patch Stays Gone
Like with any lawn disease, the absolute best way to make sure youโre getting to the root of the problem is to call on the Bug Out team for help. In the meantime, though, there are a few steps you can take on your own.
- Establish proper watering: Too much or too little water can make fungus infections more likely.
- Maintain a healthy lawn: Proper mowing, watering, fertilization, and aeration can help your lawn stand up to fungal invaders.
- And, finally, bring in a lawn care expert: For a beautiful and healthy lawn, nothing beats a professional lawn care expert. The Bug Out team knows Jacksonville FL lawns inside and out, and weโre ready to help find the solution to your problem.
What Is Brown Patch Fungus?
Brown patch fungus thrives in hot, humid conditions โ like those we find in Jacksonville FL. It appears in circular patches on your lawn that look like dead brown grass. It can appear quickly and without much warning, and is easily spread across your whole lawn.
Causes of Brown Patch Fungus
Even if you take good care of your lawn, itโs possible for brown patch fungus to appear anyway. Below are some things to look out for if youโre concerned about brown patch fungus growth.
- Overwatering: Fungus likes water just as much as your lawn does, and too much water can make it much more likely for fungus to appear.
- High humidity: Humidity is fungusโ best friend. Combined with warm Florida weather, this can easily create a haven for fungus.
- Thick thatch: Thatch is the layer of grass material between the leaves (the green part) and the surface of the soil. This layer should get broken down and turned into soil over time, but if it doesnโt break down, it can create an ideal breeding ground for brown patch.
- Too much fertilizer: Fungus likes fertilizer too โ especially nitrogen. If you use more than your lawn can handle, fungus will happily slurp up the excess.
- Compacted soil: Soil that is too hard wonโt drain water as effectively, meaning thereโs more water sitting around for fungi to drink. Compacted soil can damage your lawn in a few ways.
>> What’s the ideal amount of water for your lawn? How about the best time of day for watering? Learn all about how to water your lawn in Florida.
Dangers of Brown Patch Fungus
Brown patch fungus isnโt just ugly. If you let it sit there untreated, it can cause a lot of other problems, such as the following:
- Fast spread: Brown patch fungus starts small, but grows fast, quickly taking over large areas and getting harder to control as it goes.
- Grass root damage: Brown patch fungus weakens and kills grass from the roots. Over time, this can kill your entire lawn.
- Unappealing lawn: Your lawn will simply look worse and worse the longer you let your fungus problem sit.
- Decreased overall lawn health: Your lawnโs overall health will decline the longer the fungus is present, which will make it more susceptible to other problems โ like diseases and pests.
Keep Your Lawn Beautiful With Bug Out
Brown patch fungus is hard to get rid of on your own; without expert knowledge from the Bug Out team, youโll be fighting an uphill battle. While you could try DIY solutions, itโs more than likely theyโll just end up costing you more in the long run. Thatโs why you should call on the experts to begin with.
The Bug Out team knows that a one-size-fits-all approach to lawn care wonโt solve all problems. No two lawns โ even neighbors โ are exactly the same. Brown patch fungus isnโt unbeatable, especially with the help of a customized lawn care plan from Bug Out.
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