Battling Lawn Brown Spots

Battling Lawn Brown Spots

You have lawn brown spots...now what? Greener days (without hazardous chemicals) will come your way soon.

Why Do I Have Brown Spots in My Lawn?

There are numerous reasons why your lawn could turn brown. The main ones include:

Lawn Diseases
Bugs
Pet Urine
Oil or Gasoline Spill
Spill of Chemical Fertilizer

The last three items may just cause occasional lawn brown spots. Consider yourself lucky. These are fairly easy to take care of. Clean up the spot and flush with water. (In the case of oil or gasoline, you should flush it with soapy water.) There are some products on the market that are supposed to work on pet urine brown spots, but you would probably do just as well if you poured water on the urine just after your pet goes.

Causes of Lawn Diseases

Certain conditions make your lawn prime for takeover by lawn disease. Lawn disease outbreaks can be triggered by various factors including:

too many chemicals and pesticides
poor mowing practices (cutting too short or not short enough)
thatch build-up
too much or not enough fertilizer
inadequate lime
too much or not enough water
soil compaction
excessive traffic

Mother Nature's Wrath

There are also some natural conditions that leave your lawn susceptible to disease that may be out of your control.

Favorable conditions for fungi that cause lawn disease:

Temperature
Right amount (or absence of) sunlight
Rain or drought

Additionally, the type of grass you have can be a factor. There are various grasses that are more disease resistant. Make sure your grass is the type that will thrive in your particular climate.

How to Correct Disease Without Chemicals

Mowing
Watering
Aerating
Liming
Proper Fertilization

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