Brown Patches in Your Lawn
Unsightly patches of brown, dying grass can ruin the look of your entire yard. Yet thousands of Americans deal with this symptom of an unhealthy lawn. This is because they do not know how to improve it. In order to effectively treat and prevent brown patches in your lawn, you have to know what’s causing them in the first place.
Read on to discover everything you need to know about brown patches in your lawn!
What Causes Brown Patches?
There are several factors that could be causing brown patches in your lawn, and they vary in severity. Some non-disease causes include:
- Toys & Yard Tools: It’s very common for things to get left out on the lawn. On particularly hot days, the toys, tools, and garden equipment laying on the yard can kill the grass beneath it. Over time, though, it should recover.
- Animal Urine: If you have a pet who uses the yard, it’s possible the brown spots are caused by the sun heating up the urine and burning spots in the grass. This is due to the high amounts of nitrogen in urine. Similarly, over-fertilizing the grass can also cause brown patches.
One way to solve this issue is to have a smaller, designated area within your yard for the dog to use.
- Heat & Drought: A combination of excessive heat and drought is the most common cause of brown patches in the lawn. When the temperature increases over 80F, and it hasn’t rained for a couple of days, you’ll want to evenly water the grass with a sprinkler.
- Grubs: Most beetles start their lives as grubs, buried in people’s lawns. They then eat your grass and attract animals like skunks and raccoons to dig up your lawn. If you notice uniform, sponge-like brown spots along with root damage, it is likely grubs causing the issue.
What Is Brown Patch Disease?
If none of these causes seem to relate to the problem in your yard, it’s possible your yard has a fungal growth known as brown patch disease.
The grass species that are most susceptible to this disease include perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and the bentgrass. Patches can vary from a few inches to a few feet in diameter. The browning grass is typically thinned as a result, and it might be surrounded by a yellow or dark brown border. In the early morning on dew-covered turf, white mycelium of the causal fungus can often be seen on and between grass leaves and stems of the patch.
Maintaining a healthy lawn all year round is the best way to protect against brown patch disease. Many products are designed to kill this fungus, but hiring a professional lawn care service to resolve the issue is the most reliable method.
Total Lawn Care Services in MD & VA
For the most effective, friendly, and knowledgeable lawn care services in Maryland and Virginia, call the team at East Coast Lawn! We can eliminate brown patch disease or whatever else is hurting the health of your lawn.