Question: I have a lot of brown spots in my lawn. They popped up overnight. The soil is moist, so its not drought. Any idea what is causing this?

Steve Says:This could be many things, however, this time of year, the most common brown spot to happen quickly is brown patch fungus. The area may appear to have a doughnut shaped appearance. The base of the blade will slide out easily and have a black shiny appearance at the base of the leaf.

This disease is most likely to be observed from October through May when temperatures are below 80 F. It is normally not observed in the summer. Infection is triggered by rainfall, excessive irrigation or extended periods of high humidity resulting in the leaf canopy being continuously wet for 48 hours or more. It can be transferred to other parts of your lawn by mowers, walking through it, etc. A good fungicide should be applied to it every 14 days, 2-3 consecutive times to get it under control. Once the fungus is controlled, you can then start fertilizing it to help with the recovery. Call us for a free lawn care quote.