What are ‘fairy rings,’ and are these mushrooms dangerous? Expert explains

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Louisiana residents may have recently seen “ fairy rings ” in some yards. These landscape mushrooms have been popping up in many places around the capital area, raising questions and concerns.

The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office even made a lighthearted public service announcement telling residents the mushrooms have no street value and are indeed not magic mushrooms.

According to the LSU AgCenter, the mushrooms are a common turfgrass disease in Louisiana caused by soilborne fungal species.

The LSU AgCenter broke down each type of fairy ring. The first type described includes those where grass is lost or badly damaged. The second type includes those where grass growth is only stimulated. The final type, according to experts, includes those where there is no damage to the turf but the mushrooms are found in rings, especially after heavy rainfall.

LSU AgCenter assistant professor of turf grass management Eric DeBoer said the reason behind the landscape mushrooms is the rain.

“With the rain we’ve seen just an area like Louisiana with lots of trees, lots of water. It makes for a lot of vegetation and when the vegetation dies, something needs to break it down and that’s what these fairy ring or soil fungi are doing,” he said.

DeBoer suggests mowing the lawn to get rid of them. To stop them from growing completely, he said a total renovation scraping the soil and organic matter would be needed.

He suggests keeping mushrooms cut down if residents have curious dogs or kids because it could be dangerous for them. For those who don’t have pets or kids, he said to not worry about the mushrooms, and that keeping them in the lawn is not a bad idea.

“Just know that if they are in your yard, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your grass, doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your soil, just means you have good, healthy soil that’s recycling nutrients,” DeBoer said.

Click here for more information from the LSU AgCenter about how to deal with the fairy rings.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.