# Destroy all mushrooms! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392 "2008-06-27T02:49:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/1 "2008-06-27T02:49:09Z")
I was reminded by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=473326) of a question that I’ve been meaning to post. Is there such a thing as a fungus exterminator? My backyard is heavily shaded and tends towards mossy. But as of last year, I also suddenly had mushrooms _everywhere_. The weirdest part is that it’s not just one variety. I have little white ones that look like the type you cook (don’t worry, I know better than to eat them!). I have little white ones that are taller and skinnier. I have orange ones with flat tops, and orange ones with triangular tops. I have big yellow puffy ones with warty bumps. I have tiny pink ones. I have a solid but patchy white layer about 1/4 inch thick covering large patches of ground - it looks like it’s coming up from beneath the soil, but it’s actually just laying on top of it. Those are just the common ones; I had no idea that some of the other ones’ colors existed in nature. I also have dogs. Admittedly the problem isn’t quite as bad as it was last year - yet. Over the last week I’ve seen them starting to pop up in larger numbers in many of the same places as last year, so I suspect that they’re all on their way back. I worry that my dogs are going to decide to chow down on some and poison themselves one of these days. Unfortunately, pulling them up is only a temporary solution, as we’re talking about a lot of yard, and most of those varieties have proved themselves capable of regrowing an entire patch literally overnight. I should know, I spent enough time pulling them up. Suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/2 "2008-06-27T03:10:42Z")
Well…there are antifungal agents for lawns. I have no idea how efficacious they are ( I suspect limited simply due to the diffuse nature of hyphae - remember you’re only seeing the “fruit”, the the great bulk of the fungus lives underground as a bazillion little threads ), but you can given them a try. However… The fact that you mention “heavily shaded” and numerous varieties, suggest to me, circumstantially of course, that some of your mushrooms might be ectomycorrhizal symbiotes of your trees/shrubs. As such they are essential to the health of said plants ( they attach to root systems and help in uptake of water and nutrients ) and are probably virtually impossible to destroy without removing your trees. I’m afraid you might just be stuck with being vigilant and waiting for the dry season. ETA: One thing you could do, is if you have a lot of seemingly rotting organic matter upon which mushrooms are springing up, you could try removing that stuff. That at least will eliminate saprophytic mushrooms that are attracted to such things. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/3 "2008-06-27T03:21:15Z")
[QUOTE=Tamerlane] The fact that you mention “heavily shaded” and numerous varieties, suggest to me, circumstantially of course, that some of your mushrooms might be ectomycorrhizal symbiotes of your trees/shrubs. As such they are essential to the health of said plants ( they attach to root systems and help in uptake of water and nutrients ) and are probably virtually impossible to destroy without removing your trees. [/quote] I… had no idea that such a thing existed. I hope I didn’t hurt the trees with all of the “weeding” I did last year. ☹ > [@](#): > > ETA: One thing you could do, is if you have a lot of seemingly rotting organic matter upon which mushrooms are springing up, you could try removing that stuff. That at least will eliminate saprophytic mushrooms that are attracted to such things. Hm. I have some large-ish branches back there, but not much else other than moss and grass. I’ll take a look around. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/4 "2008-06-27T03:56:29Z")
[QUOTE=Risha] I… had no idea that such a thing existed. I hope I didn’t hurt the trees with all of the “weeding” I did last year. ☹ . [/QUOTE] Doubt it. As \*\* Tamerlane \*\* mentioned, the actual mushroom is growing below the ground. What you’re removing is just its reproductive organ. You can remove that as much as you want, you’re not going to get rid of the mushrooms this way. I didn’t know that such a thing as an “ectomycorrhizal symbiote” existed, either. I believed that mushrooms that require specific species of trees to grow were rather parasites, dependant on the tree, but not the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/5 "2008-06-27T04:17:15Z")
I’m sure you can find some stuff at a hardware store that is designed to destroy mushrooms. The problem is your pets. If you’re looking for a professional to do it, try to find a veteran Landscaper in your area. Don’t trust anyone who’s been landscaping for under 3-5 years though, there’s a good chance your dog could get VERY sick, or die, if it’s just some newbie who doesn’t quite understand the repercussions of poisonous liquids. My dad has been a landscaper for nearly 30 years now, he could wipe your problem out in no time, and safely. If you’re in the central PA area I’d love to hook ya up. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/6 "2008-06-27T04:33:40Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Buttons] My dad has been a landscaper for nearly 30 years now, he could wipe your problem out in no time, and safely. If you’re in the central PA area I’d love to hook ya up. 😛 [/QUOTE] I appreciate the thought, but I’m in Northern NJ. Thanks though! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/7 "2008-06-27T04:39:02Z")
[QUOTE=Risha] I appreciate the thought, but I’m in Northern NJ. Thanks though! 😃 [/QUOTE] Yeah, it’d probably cost about $120 in gas just to drive his pickup out there now-a-days. Best of luck to you on your fungus problem. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/8 "2008-06-27T04:59:03Z")
Fresh mushrooms can fetch a decent price. It would be great if you knew someone who sold them, say at a Farmer’s Market. They could maybe pay you something to come in and pick the good ones. Who knows, you might be sitting on a gold mine! ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/9 "2008-06-27T05:53:33Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] I didn’t know that such a thing as an “ectomycorrhizal symbiote” existed, either. I believed that mushrooms that require specific species of trees to grow were rather parasites, dependant on the tree, but not the other way around. [/QUOTE] Oh, no - parasites of course abound. But ectomycorrhizae are quite important. To quote: _The fungus then gains carbon and other essential organic substances from the tree and in return helps the trees take up water, mineral salts and metabolites. It can also fight off parasites, predators such as nematodes and soil pathogens. Indeed, most forest trees are highly dependant on their fungal partners and in areas of poor soil, could possibly not even exist without them. Thus in forest management, if we do not manage for the mycorrhizal fungi, we could be damaging the trees._ From this little intropduction to the topic: [http://www.nifg.org.uk/ecto.htm#Ectomycorrhizal%20Fungi](http://www.nifg.org.uk/ecto.htm#Ectomycorrhizal%20Fungi) Some of our very best edibles are mycorrhizal - i.e. truffles, chanterelles, matsutakes, coccolis, and boletes among others. Which is a problem, because ectomycorrhizal fungi resist easy cultivation ( or any real cultivation at all ), hence why they aren’t on grocery shelves year-round. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/10 "2008-06-27T06:14:02Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] Fresh mushrooms can fetch a decent price. It would be great if you knew someone who sold them, say at a Farmer’s Market. They could maybe pay you something to come in and pick the good ones. Who knows, you might be sitting on a gold mine! [/QUOTE] If some of them are luminescent during the night-time, those would fetch a VERY hefty price in the black market, lol. Psilocybin mushrooms FTW. 😛😛😛 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/11 "2008-06-27T19:22:04Z")
Baking soda. Shouldn’t hurt anything but the mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Mumio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@Mumio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mumio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/12 "2008-06-27T21:29:14Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Baking soda. Shouldn’t hurt anything but the mushrooms. [/QUOTE] Control-z Would you elaborate? Sprinkle on dry, mix with water first, etc… I’d love to know the answer too because although we didn’t have any last year, we have many this year. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroy-all-mushrooms/454392/13 "2008-06-28T00:49:03Z")
I just Googled it, here the page: [http://en.allexperts.com/q/Lawns-725/kill-lawn-mushrooms.htm](http://en.allexperts.com/q/Lawns-725/kill-lawn-mushrooms.htm) > [@](#): > > Mushrooms are fungus, so a fungicide, or if you are an organic gardener, baking soda disolved in water. > Mushrooms come from something in your soil decaying. Usually it will be pieces of buried wood, like scraps the builders sometimes and just cover with a little soil they put on the site ( never eniough to do any good), or dead roots. > If it is an ongoing problem, and the mushrooms are in one area only, you will want to dig down and see if there are dead roots or pieces of wood buried there. > You can sprinkle baking soda on the ground and water it to disolve it and soak it in, or disolve it in water in your garden sprayer. > If you are not on an organic program and use chemicals, Funginex would work. > I personally hink baking soda works better than Funginex. > I used to use it on my roses for black spot and on my crepe myrtles for powdery mildew. It worked, but took repeated applications. Now I mix baking soda with water in my garden sprayer, and spray at the first new growth, and it completely keeps those diseases away. > Mix about 2 TBLSP baking soda per gallon of water. I’m of the belief that vinegar, baking soda, bleach, duct tape, and a hammer can solve just about any problem you have. 😃