Gardeners urged to check lawns for brutal disease that appears like rings

While they have a magical name, fairy rings are anything but. These dark imprints on your are actually caused by a nasty , but luckily, there are some ways to get rid of them.

If you notice a dark, spreading spiral of dead grass on your lawn, you are likely dealing with a fairy ring. It can be caused by the fungus Marasmius oreades, which spreads via and lives among the roots of turf.

You will likely see a crop of toadstools appear in late summer and autumn – which is where the infection gets its name from. Another common manifestation of this fungal disease is when brown rings begin to appear. This happens when the fungus blocks water from reaching turf roots, resulting in dead, withered grass.

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Equally, you may see rings that are a darker green than the surrounding grass instead. This happens when the fungus produces an excess amount of nitrogen, which causes the grass to produce more chlorophyll.

While these fungal infections are easy to spot, they can be incredibly difficult to get rid of. This is because they spread via airborne spores, which can spread quickly around your garden.

According to the (RHS), there are two main ways of controlling the infection: chemical and non-chemical. Both come with their own benefits and challenges.

Removing fairy rings without the use of chemicals can be difficult. This is because physical removal of toadstools isn't particularly effective, as the spores likely come from other locations.

You can attempt to dig up the affected area, i.e. the discoloured rings of grass. If you do this, you will need to dig up about 30 cm of soil and replace it with fresh soil or turf.

However, the effectiveness of this method is highly dependent on the size of your rings. For larger rings, this will be incredibly difficult as it will require much more time and effort.

If you're dealing with large patches of dead grass, the RHS recommend spiking and watering it. This helps to break up the hydrophobic layer created by fungal colonies, which reduces water infiltration in the soil.

Chemical control can be more effective, but it is harder to access. This is because many fungicides are not allowed under UK legislation. Therefore, if you're hiring fungal removal services, you must be careful that they are complying with the law.

In the UK, Heritage or Heritage Maxx are the only fungicides approved for targeting fairy ring. You may also use the soil-borne pathogen, take-all.