Have you found brown patches on your lawn? It’s possible that you are dealing with Brown Patch lawn disease. This is one of the most common diseases that we see here in Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
This lawn fungus can cause quite a bit of frustration as it negatively impacts the appearance of your lawn.
In this article, we will talk about how to identify Brown Patch lawn disease as well as how to treat it. We know that you may be concerned about the effectiveness of treatment options and might be unsure of the next best steps.
We’ll cover:
Brown Patch Lawn Disease Identification
How to Get Rid of Brown Patch Lawn Disease
How to Prevent Brown Patch Lawn Disease
After reading this article, you should have a better idea of what you’re dealing with. We’re here to help guide you in finding the best solutions.
Brown Patch Lawn Disease Identification
Brown Patch disease is caused by the moisture-loving fungus Rhizoctonia solani. As you may have guessed from the name, it can lead to brown spots in the yard. These spots can start out small but will often grow together to cover bigger turf areas.
Of course, not all brown spots on the lawn are Brown Patch disease. Brown spots can also occur when grass has declined or died due to a pest problem (like lawn grubs or chinch bugs) or even an environmental stressor (like drought).
One distinguishing feature of Brown Patch disease (compared to drought stress) is that it tends to be patchier. Whereas drought damage will uniformly spread across the grass, this disease will pop up in patches.
Brown Patch lawn disease also tends to start with discoloration that looks dark and purplish and then fades into that brown hue.
How to Get Rid of Brown Patch Lawn Disease
There are different approaches to Brown Patch lawn disease treatment. While there are lawn fungicides out there that can address lawn fungus, at Oasis Turf & Tree, this is not our recommended approach.
This is because fungicides are expensive.
The cost of applying a single fungicide treatment can be as much as two to three times the cost of a typical lawn care application. With the number of repeated applications that you’d need to get good coverage, you can end up spending the amount you’d spend on a total lawn care program just for fungicide applications.
Along with that, fungicides only stop the spread of the fungus, they don’t fix areas that were already hit with it.
Lawn fungus pops up when the conditions are favorable (hot and moist weather). But most of the time lawns bounce back when the conditions change. For that reason, we don’t like seeing homeowners spend a lot of money on a service that might not really be needed.
We know this is a different approach from other lawn care companies, as many of them will sell this as an add-on service. Since fungicides are expensive, they can be a revenue driver. But we just don’t believe they are in the best interest of our clients.
Because we have our client's best interests at heart, we let them know that we’d rather see them invest money into a lawn care program that helps promote a thick and healthy lawn (which will help naturally fight back against lawn fungus plus bounce back quicker) than to see them throw tons of money into fungicide treatments.
How to Prevent Brown Patch Lawn Disease
While lawn fungus like Brown Patch can be a huge source of frustration and stress, the good news is that a healthy lawn will not be severely affected in the first place. Although Brown Patch (and other diseases) cannot be entirely prevented, a healthy lawn will fare better and will be more likely to be minimally affected.
For that reason, it’s important to focus on good cultural practices (like proper mowing and watering) and implement regular lawn care services like proper fertilization, aeration, and weed control.
Services like these help promote a thick and healthy lawn that will stand up better to problems, like lawn disease.
Your lawn care companies should also take proactive steps to mitigate disease by introducing disease-resistant grass species into your lawn. Your lawn care program might also need to be tailored to the conditions. For instance, fertilization applications might need to be tailored to what’s going on in the lawn so that it doesn’t make things worse.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, we are also always proactively educating homeowners. We encourage them to take photos of anything that they see on their lawn in between our visits. We are also constantly sharing helpful tips on the proper cultural practices including proper watering. This can have a big impact on the spread and control of disease.
Fight Back Against Brown Patch Lawn Disease
While even healthy lawns occasionally deal with lawn disease, if you’re working with a lawn care professional then there is no reason to panic. They can help you identify what you’re dealing with and what your next steps should be.
Along with that, utilizing professional lawn care services will also help ensure you have a thick and healthy lawn that resists disease as much as possible.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, serving Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, and Northern Kentucky, we’re here to be your guide in solving lawn problems.
While we can’t promise you that you’ll never face any problems (and any company that’s making that promise will never be able to deliver), we can help you ensure it’s not going to end up ruining your lawn.
You should also know that we’re always here to help. We want to help take away your worries so that you can get back to enjoying your lawn.
Want to learn more about professional lawn care services for your Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, or Northern Kentucky home? Request your quote, choose the lawn care program that’s right for you, and then sit back and relax as the pros help you get the lawn of your dreams without the worries.
