Last year, you might have worked hard on your lawn and cultivated a beautiful, healthy lawn. But, like so many Utah homeowners, you may have discovered this spring that something has infected your turf. Even a thriving lawn is at risk of various spring lawn diseases that can quickly take over your yard and damage or kill much of your grass. When the weather warms up, and the snow starts melting, that’s a lawn owner’s cue to diligently inspect for early signs of common springtime turf diseases in Utah.

Common Lawn Diseases in Spring

Here are some of the most common lawn diseases that Utah homeowners and businesses struggle to diagnose and eliminate in the springtime and brief discussions about how to cure these:

Leaf Spot Disease

Utah's cool, damp winter conditions are an ideal environment for fungal turf diseases. Leaf spot disease is one of the most widespread of all. It’s an infection that damages the leaves of grass and causes roots to rot.

Symptoms: At the onset of the infection, light brown or darker brown spots typically appear on grass leaves. The spots may darken and even turn black as the disease spreads across the lawn. If left untreated, leaf spot disease will cause rotting the grassroots to spread and kill large lawn areas.

Treatment: To help prevent leaf spot disease, fertilizing, aerating, and watering according to a tactical plan for combating the disease. Ultimately, however, if your grass does contract the infection, a fungicide must be applied to stop the disease.

Snow Mold

Snow mold is a fungal grass infection that flourishes in the very cold Utah winter temperatures. There is gray snow mold, which infects the grass blades but does not significantly damage the roots. There is also pink snow mold, which affects the entire grass plant. That extent of infection makes pink snow mold more difficult to control and more threatening to the life of the grass.

Symptoms: Both gray and pink snow mold infections cause round patches of grass that look more like straw. Gray snow mold generates hardened fungal growths on the grass’s leaves and crowns.

Treatment: Both snow mold types can stay dormant and sustain themselves throughout the heat of summer. For less extensive snow mold problems, simply raking the grass can sometimes eliminate the outbreak. In more extreme cases, a fungicide application is needed.

Red Thread Lawn Disease

Red thread disease is yet another fungal infection that proliferates on lawns poor in nutrients, usually during the cool spring and fall periods. The red threadlike structures of the fungus take over areas of the lawn, blanketing patches of grass with this parasitic growth.

Symptoms: The infection is recognizable by its distinct pink or red fibers growing around the leaves and stems of the grass. As the disease advances, the red fibers develop roundish clusters or webs about 4 to 8 inches in diameter lying on top of areas of the lawn and clinging to the grass blades.

Treatment: Less severe cases of this fungal disease can often be successfully treated by aerating and fertilizing the lawn. Red thread lawn disease is unsightly but not actually damaging to the grass. A more extensive spread of the infection may necessitate a fungicide application.

Spring Lawn Disease Control in Utah

Consult with a turf disease treatment expert for preventive solutions that you may be able to apply as part of your seasonal lawn care or routine winterization. To find out how to ensure that you will be able to enjoy a gorgeous dense lawn of thriving green grass in the spring, speak to a grass rehabilitation expert. Get the best advice on the best strategy for your particular Utah lawn care and grass disease prevention.

For Expert Diagnosis and Cure of Spring Lawn Diseases

We provide lawn rehabilitation services to homeowners and businesses throughout Weber and Davis County, Utah. Our treatment services include lawn fertilization, aeration, pest control, winterization, pre-emergent treatment, etc.

To discuss spring lawn diseases and issues you are having, call Big League Lawns at (801) 773-9999, or contact us here on our website to schedule your FREE Lawn Analysis!

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