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How to distinguish between fungus damage and rabbit urine damage in lawn #809333

Asked September 03, 2022, 2:18 PM EDT

I have been treating my lawn with a fungicide for a possible fungus problem. Also I noticed some well define 3-4 inch diameter dead brown spots mostly in the backyard. There has always been rabbits and their babies in the backyard getting cover from a row of mature blue spruce. Also I have been seeing rabbits eating the grass. So how do I determine if the dead brown spots are caused by fungus or rabbit urine? I have included: 1) A picture of a dead area with rabbit droppings in the left side of dead spot, along the spruce trees, 2) a picture of several dead spots near each other near the house, 3) A close-up of a dead spot. If the dead spots are caused by rabbit urine, how do I address?

Ottawa County Michigan

Expert Response

I do not think the spots are caused by urine because dead spots killed by urine would be ringed by dark green grass and your photos do not show that.  Open the attached link:
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/AY/AY-327-W.pdf
Here are some links to turf disease details to help answer the question of which disease in might be:
MSU Turf disease ID
Purdue turf disease ID
Turf Diseases & Pests-PSU  scroll down the page to find diseases
Dick M. Replied September 06, 2022, 10:43 AM EDT

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