This wacky weather can pose an unlimited number of problems in your yard due to the amount of moisture and humidity we're experiencing. The past two weeks, the team at Weed Pro has seen a large number of calls regarding slime mold, a fungus that appears in lawns and landscape beds. In today's blog article, we'll take a look at what slime mold is, whether it poses a threat to your lawn and plants, and how to get rid of it.

What's Slime Mold?

Slime mold is a fungus that thrives in hot, humid, and wet conditions similar to what we're experiencing in Cleveland and Columbus right now. Slime mold begins to appear around this time, both in your lawn and landscape beds. Slime mold can look different depending on where it's growing and how long it has been there. Here are the two most frequent appearances:

• In Lawns - Slime mold can easily be seen on turf where the blades of the grass are covered with a powdery grey dust layer. Another way people often describe it is like someone speckled paint on the tips of the grass. After a few days it may change appearance, becoming crusty looking, similar to how a battery terminal on your vehicle's battery may look.
  
   
• In Landscape Beds - No, the dog didn't throw-up in your landscape bed from eating grass again, that yellow blob of stuff is actually slime mold. Commonly unreported because it looks like vomit, slime mold appears in landscape beds due to the high amount of organic material in the mulch. While harmless to your plants, slime mold is very unsightly in your landscape beds. After a few days, the mold begins to break down and can appear as brownish-grey dust on top of your mulch.

Is Slime Mold Dangerous? What Did I Do To Get It?

Unlike other fungi, such as rust, slime mold will disappear just as quickly as you noticed it, with no damage to your lawn or landscapes. The reason that no damage is being done to your lawn is because the slime mold is feeding on the decaying organic matter from bacteria that live in your soil. It's a common occurrence in landscape beds due to the amount of organic decay in the mulch, however the recent outbreak in lawns is due to the high level of bacteria and organic decay caused by the rain and humidity.

How Do I Get Rid Of It?

In almost all cases, simply taking a broom to the affected area and sweeping the mold off is enough to get rid of the gross looking fungus. In severe cases, a fungicide may be needed if the lawn begins to yellow in the area that is infected. 

Have Your Fill Of Gross Lawn Disease? No? Well We Got Just The Guide For You!

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Shaun Kanary has been a part of the Green Industry for the past 15 years. As the Director of Marketing for Weed Pro Lawn Care, a Cleveland and Columbus Lawn Care Service Provider, Shaun is a regular contributor to the Weed Pro Blog, and other industry magazines and blogs.  Shaun on Google+     Shaun on LinkedIn     Shaun on Twitter