Knowledgebase
Dead areas in grass #853853
Asked October 23, 2023, 7:42 PM EDT
I asked this question earlier & didn't get a response (I lost my #). I have these dead looking spots in my front & back yards. It does not appear to be from an animal digging. My lawn service told me it's "snow mold" & to rake it our & plant seed. I did that (& looked for grubs too) & the grass never grew & now I have more dead areas. I was planning to dethatch the lawn and over seed, but we've had so much rain & now it's getting colder at night. What is causing this & what can I do? Thank you for your help.
Wayne County Michigan
Expert Response
All the questions you submit here under one email ID show up in the internal history of the system. I looked at this and I didn’t see your earlier question about spots in your lawn. So somehow that question didn’t come through.
I am now forwarding your current question to a lawn expert.
Regards
Laura S.
MSU Ask Extension administrator
Hi, thanks for the question.
Lawn spots show up for various reasons, insects, disease, and cultural problems. The patterns seen here seem rather unique. "Thumbnail(4).jpg shows a straight line as if something harmful grass was set down on the turf. The "thumbnail.jpg" shows parallel rows of spots which is unusual. Perhaps with a little more context we can figure this out. Could you provide a broader picture of the lawn? What services do your lawn service provide. What is the size of the spots (biggest, smallest)? When did they first appear? Do the spots increase in size or grow back. Do you have a dog that roams the lawn?
I look forward to your response.
I received 6 lawn treatments throughout the year beginning in March. Some of the products they use are Carbosential FeTurbo, 5%Fe 2.5% L-Amino Acids Urea, Boulder 6.3EC, Triclopyr BEE,Chem-Stik Spreader Sticker, Dimension 2EW Dithiopyr, 2, 4-D, Mecoprop-p, Ddicamba. Also Organic lawn fertilizer, Potassium, & Chem-Stik Spreader Sticker. I sure hope that makes sense to you because it doesn't to me! These spots were first noticed possibly in March? The spots don't get bigger, just seem to have more as the summer went on. No pets, just squirrels. I don't know the dimension of our lot, it's of normal size in a subdivision.
Attach to previous response please
Hi again,
Looking at the information you provided, the chemicals used were herbicides and fertilizer. The list did not include any disease control. It could be the spots are a result of dead weeds or undesirable grasses that are targeted by the herbicides. More likely the spots could very well be dollar spot; however, one would expect that this would have started a little later in the season. This will show up when daytime temperatures around 60°F to 85°F with high humidity and prolonged leaf wetness. May appears to have presented these conditions in your area. Cultural controls and/or fungicides can help control dollar spot. Check out the following links for information:
Turfgrass Diseases: Dollar Spot (Causal fungus: Clarireedia jacksonii) (psu.edu)
I hope this is helpful.
