Mushrooms running amok

[Euphoria]

I have pets and am worried about the large number and variety of mushrooms springing up in the grasses. Any way to get rid of them?
I'm out every morning pulling out what i can; does removing the top end the growth? Help!

 

[Chuck]

Mushrooms, toadstools etc. are a byproduct of healthy soil. They are the fruiting mechanisms of fungi. The fungi is beneficial to the soil because it breaks down the organic matter in the soil into a form which plants can uptake as nutrients. I am 77 years old and have had dogs my entire life and have never seen a dog swallow a toadstool. I have had one or two that put one in their mouth but then immediately spit it out as they apparently they don't taste good. Consider yourself lucky that you have them. You can kill them though. Just sterilize your soil so nothing can grow and you won't have them, nor will you have any grass either.

Toadstools, mushrooms are spread by the way of spores. A spore is a very tiny particulate that moves with the wind, lands and "hatches like an egg" thus forming the object you are trying to get rid of. You are probably spreading more spores by removing the top or cap than otherwise would have happened.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I don't know about the US varieties, but the spores are so small and light, and produced in such huge quantities, I think most are universal. I have never heard of an animal poisoning themselves. Over here the ones that grow on grass are not poisonous, though there can be buried wood. Pets all originate from wild animals, and, be they anything from dogs to tortoises, I can't imagine them eating anything naturally occurring that would be harmful to them, that's a human sort of trait.
The spores produce a mycelium, fine, white strands, which have single sets of DNA. When two mycelia grow alongside each other they can join and produce a new one with two sets of DNA in it, this is what pushes up the fruiting bodies we see as mushrooms or toadstools, not those directly originating from the spores.

 

[Meadowlark]

...I'm out every morning pulling out what i can; does removing the top end the growth? Help!

"The presence of mushrooms often indicates healthy soil. Mushrooms thrive in environments rich in organic matter and moisture"

That's the good news...but the bad news is they can be poisonousness to pets. It is recommended to consider the following steps:

1. "Remove Mushrooms Promptly: Regularly check your garden for mushrooms and remove them as soon as you see them.
2. Train Your Pets: Teach your pets to avoid eating anything from the ground during walks or in the yard.
3. Limit Access: If possible, restrict your pets' access to areas where mushrooms are likely to grow."

Keeping the grass mowed is my recommended solution.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

"Remove Mushrooms Promptly: Regularly check your garden for mushrooms and remove them as soon as you see them.

That would not be easy, some come up so fast you can practically see them growing. They are drawing on the main plant body, not growing in the normal sense, maybe if you went round three or four times a day ... or mowed ...
It might be a good idea to get a means of identifying them. People tend to assume toadstool equals poison, but it could be they are harmless, most are.

 

[Anniekay]

Dogs and cats do not eat toadstools or other fungi in the grass unless they are literally starving to death. Don't bother with them, they aren't a problem.

 

[Meadowlark]

According to AI, "Yes, unfortunately, dogs can and often do eat poisonous mushrooms. Dogs are naturally curious and might eat mushrooms while exploring their surroundings, which can be dangerous since many mushrooms are toxic to them. Symptoms of mushroom poisoning in dogs can include vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, lethargy, and even more severe issues such as liver failure or seizures."

Puppy dogs are especially vulnerable because of their curiosity and lack of experience. @Euphoria , I suggest asking your Vet...mine says Yes also.

 

[nvidura]

Mushrooms grow from roots under the soil, so just pulling the tops won’t stop them. Try making your yard drier by fixing the drainage and removing old leaves. I did this, and the mushrooms started to grow less. Be sure to wear gloves when pulling them out, so your pets stay safe!

 

[yardiron]

I've had dogs and cats all my life and never once did I have or see a problem with them eating wild mushrooms. In fact, most dogs I've owned wouldn't go near table scraps if they contained mushrooms either.

Mushrooms a sign that the ecosystem is working as it should and I consider finding them a good thing.

I have had dogs sniff them or knock them over, but never eat them.
Mushrooms are also are not around for very long running their course in a matter of a week or so tops.

Keep in mind that early humans, and even survivalists today look to animals for a sign of what is safe to eat. Animals know better than humans and dogs especially can smell the toxins we we can't in such things.

I had a beagle/fox hound cross that would dig up mushrooms and just leave them, he never ate them. He for whatever reason liked sticking his nose in the dirt beneath where they were growing.

Around here, we get white puffballs and brown stump puffballs most of the time with the occasional toadstools but none of my pets ever bothered with them.

 

[oldigrow]

my advice learn to identify good mushrooms and enjoy . or just pay the grocery price. one mushroom that grows in lawns is the shaggy mane . its non noisiness and good to eat.

 

[yardiron]

A good many mushrooms here are good to eat, some better than others but with various mushroom growers in the area and some major producers not more than an hour from here I just never bothered with wild mushrooms myself.
My grandmother though used to cook them all the time, but she raised a family during the depression and learned early on what was edible and what was poison.

I'm told that the puff balls are edible, but edible doesn't always mean they taste good. Not all that grow here on the lawn are poison but most are not worth the trouble. To get good eating mushrooms it usually takes a trip into the woods for either some oyster mushrooms or chicken of the woods if the time of year is right. Personally, I don't trust my expertise enough and have never been hungry enough to really bother learning.

I do know that one test my grandmother used to do was to cook certain types in an aluminum pot, if the pot discolored, there was something bad in that batch. I never saw her cook a 'bad' batch as a kid, but she did show us once how fast a particular 'look-a-like' mushroom would blacken an aluminum pot. I have no idea what the 'bad' mushroom was though and doubt that all poison mushrooms react that way with aluminum. I've also been told that its not at all really an accurate way to tell if the 'batch' is safe or not.
She must have known what she was doing because she raised five kids on a farm during the depression years and no one died.

 

[Meadowlark]

...She must have known what she was doing because she raised five kids on a farm during the depression years and no one died.

I sure did learn a lot from my grandmother, also. She was excellent at foraging greens.

5 kids...my grandmother raised 19 kids on a homestead in the Ozarks. How I wish I had her knowledge.

 

[Anniekay]

I sure did learn a lot from my grandmother, also. She was excellent at foraging greens.

5 kids...my grandmother raised 19 kids on a homestead in the Ozarks. How I wish I had her knowledge.

And learning all that from your Granny didn't cost you a penny, absolutely FREE, wasn't it ?