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I have dead looking spots in my beautifil green winter rye. We have a bermuda lawn that I over sew with winter rye in the fall. I also use it as a cover crop in the garden. It mixes with leaves when I mow and makes great quantities of compost.

In the last few weeks I've noticed round dead looking spots. It lookis kind of like when dogs pee on the lawn but I have a very tight fence. I guess it could be cats but if it is there's a damn army of them and they're working tag team shifts because there are a bunch of spots. I've really only seen one or two cats in the yard and we have virtually no squirrels. We have had moles. Do they surface to pee?

Any ideas, suggestions or cures?

Ha ha ha ha… moles. Even though we don't have moles in Australia id say the chances are slim. However, perennial rye grass blends are commonly used here in the south of the country. I've had moderate success with my new lawn and have encountered my share of problems along the way. Have you looked for…

- Fungal disease (moss, mould ect)

- Ants. Underground tunnels mean they can spontaneously pop in random spots. (I had super small ones that took some hunting down)

- don't know if you have bats where you are but bat urine is very acidic. Bats hang in the trees and off power lines at night. When nature calls they can burn the grass below.

- Check to make sure your lawn mower or any other equipment that travels over the lawn isn’t dropping any fuel or oil (4stroke).

Just a few ideas. Good luck. If not…back to mole hunting!

Cheers,

You'll want to pinpoint the problem by process of elimination, and I think the suggestion to look for equipment leaks is a very good one. Next, check for holes or tunnels in the lawn to indicate a rodent problem. The next step is to rule out disease, such as dollar spot or other. Clemson is your agricultural university. You can find your local cooperative extension service [url=https://www.clemson.edu/extension/county/index.html]here[/url]. Call them for sampling instructions and submitting samples to their [url=https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/plant_prob_clinic/index.html]plant pathology lab[/url] for testing.

This article is helpful in recognizing [url=https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/landscap/pp950w.htm]lawn diseases[/url].