This started a few weeks ago. The guy that cuts the lawn thought it was because the grass is dry. However, we've been getting heavy rainstorms almost everyday for the past couple of months (central Florida). So I don't think that's it. I really need to figure out if it's a fungus and the best way to quickly stop it because it's heading towards my neighbor's yard.
I'm getting an error message saying my pictures are too big, so I uploaded them to this page. https://s22.photobucket.com/user/monofmi ... ard%20pics You can click on each pic to get a larger view.
Thanks
A couple of questions first
Is there a pattern to the brown spots? Do they form a ring that keeps moving outward?
That could be a fairy ring caused by fungi
Does the soil drain well? When it rains does the grass drain out quickly or does water sit for a few hours or days. Poorly draining soil will make your grass more prone to fungal disease.
What kind of grass do you have. Some grasses like seashore paspalum are good for sandy soils but will have more fungal problems in poorly drained soils than other grasses that are more tolerant of wet soils
Are you sure it is a fungus? Lawn caterpillars eat the grass blades and leave brown spots and dead roots exposed on the lawn that looks a lot like your pictures. They are a problem at this time of the year and some grasses are more tasty to the worms than others. Zoysia and St Augustine have tougher blades so the caterpillars will usually go after the burmuda and seashore paspalum first.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in608
https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/IP-5.pdf
Is there a pattern to the brown spots? Do they form a ring that keeps moving outward?
That could be a fairy ring caused by fungi
Does the soil drain well? When it rains does the grass drain out quickly or does water sit for a few hours or days. Poorly draining soil will make your grass more prone to fungal disease.
What kind of grass do you have. Some grasses like seashore paspalum are good for sandy soils but will have more fungal problems in poorly drained soils than other grasses that are more tolerant of wet soils
Are you sure it is a fungus? Lawn caterpillars eat the grass blades and leave brown spots and dead roots exposed on the lawn that looks a lot like your pictures. They are a problem at this time of the year and some grasses are more tasty to the worms than others. Zoysia and St Augustine have tougher blades so the caterpillars will usually go after the burmuda and seashore paspalum first.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in608
https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/IP-5.pdf
Hi, thanks for responding. First, no, I am not sure it's a fungus. If you look at the blades of grass closely, they have brown circular spots on them and from what I saw while Googling, that could be a sign of a fungus. But I have no idea. I guess it could be caterpillars but I've been doing a lot of digging in different spots and the only living things I've seen are fire ants. A lot of fire ants. I would think they'd eat stuff like caterpillars but I could be wrong.
I don't own the place and I'm not sure what kind of grass it is. However, I "believe" it could be St. Augustine. Or one of them is St. Augustine, there appears to be at least 2 types of grass.
I have not noticed any water pooling. I just uploaded 3 new pics here,so you can see the pattern the grass is dying in. If you look at the first 3 pics, you can see it's definitely spreading outward.
https://s22.photobucket.com/user/monofmi ... ard%20pics
Thank you
I don't own the place and I'm not sure what kind of grass it is. However, I "believe" it could be St. Augustine. Or one of them is St. Augustine, there appears to be at least 2 types of grass.
I have not noticed any water pooling. I just uploaded 3 new pics here,so you can see the pattern the grass is dying in. If you look at the first 3 pics, you can see it's definitely spreading outward.
https://s22.photobucket.com/user/monofmi ... ard%20pics
Thank you