Reduce the Risk of Lawn Disease

A healthy lawn is your best defense against lawn diseases. But when the weather favors the disease more than the grass, problems can occur.

Reduce the risk of disease by keeping your lawn healthy. Mow high, fertilize properly and if you water, do so early in the day.

Once you discover a disease, correct your lawn care practices to speed recovery and avoid problems in the future. Proper care and reseeding dead areas with disease-resistant grass varieties is usually enough to manage the disease.

Further speed recovery with a change in mowing habits. Continue to mow high but cut the healthy portions of your lawn first. Then mow the diseased areas. Once done, use a disinfectant to clean the mower blades then rinse with clear water. This along with collecting and disposing of diseased clippings reduces the risk of spreading the disease.

A bit more information: Leave short clippings from healthy areas on the lawn to return nutrients, moisture and organic matter back to the soil. Be sure you need a fungicide before applying. These chemicals are costly, the results can be disappointing, and when used improperly they can be harmful to pollinators and the environment.