Slime Mold Control: How To Get Rid of Slime Mold

Slime Mold is not technically a lawn disease but is more of a fungus that lives on and eats dead organic matter. Found typically in moist soil conditions, the characteristics of slime mold include grass blades and the surface of the soil being covered with a translucent slimy, creamy-white growth. If left for a few days, this slimy growth can morph into various colors like cream, pink, blue, orange or red. The individual spores of slime mold can even merge together and can either be dark-colored or whitish colored.

Slime Mold can come and go depending on the weather conditions being ideal for them and can become widely prevalent if the conditions allow it to thrive. If you are dealing with slime mold on your lawn in a heavy concerning amount, fungicides may be the way to treat them.

If you have noticed slime mold on your lawn, our DIY treatment guide will show you exactly how to eliminate it with professional fungicides.

Identification

The most obvious symptom that lets you know that you have Slime Mold on your lawn is the appearance of circular to irregular-shaped patches, usually between 4 to 8 inches in diameter, of gray to black crusty spores on the surface of leaf blades.

Due to the slime mold spores being about the size of the head of a pin, there are thousands of them embedded in the crusty residue on the leaf surfaces. In some scenarios, stalked, brightly-colored fruiting bodies may form on leaf surfaces.

These fruiting bodies are filled with a dark brown to black powdery mass of spores that are released when the sporangia disintegrates or is damaged. The infected parts of the lawn covered with the body of the slime mold, or plasmodium, have a slimy or oily appearance before the fruiting bodies form and become more crusty looking.

Inspection

Where to Inspect

Slime molds are a common occurrence across the country on various types of warm- and cool-season grasses. Areas of the country that have more of a humid, warm climate create the ideal conditions for slime mold activity, particularly during periods where there is a lot of rainfall such as in late spring and early summer. Walk through your lawn to check for slime mold and determine the severity level prior to chemical treatment.

What To Look For

Look for the appearance of the crusty gray to black fruiting bodies of slime mold on the leaves and grass blades of your yard's vegetation.

Treatment

Before applying chemicals to your lawn, we suggest wearing the proper safety equipment for the job to prevent chemicals from coming in contact with your eyes or skin (gloves, safety goggles, and long-sleeved clothing).

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of products specifically labeled to treat slime mold. Our recommendation for treating slime mold is Monterey Consan 20 which will work to control slime forming fungi.

Step 1 - Measure and Mix

To determine how much Monterey Consan 20 to use you will need to calculate the square footage of the target area. To do this, you will need to measure and multiply the length of your lawn times the width (length x width = square footage).

Depending on the area to treat the application rate will vary. For lawn treatments, use 2 tablespoons of Monterey Consan 20 per gallon of water per 50 square feet.

In a handpump sprayer mix the fungicide with water according to the label directions. Once mixed, spray the affected areas immediately. Use a fan nozzle setting so it creates a nice mist that will coat the infected areas evenly. Spray the affected areas immediately going in accordance with the instructions found on the fungicide label. You may have to re-apply fungicides a few times to provide continuous control of slime mold.

Prevention

Once the slime mold has been taken care of, you can carry out a few maintenance tasks to ensure the mold doesn't return. Giving your turf adequate sunlight by removing shady areas is a good start. Also reducing the amount of watering you are doing to ease the moisture and let the soil dry out can also be helpful. Overall just paying a bit more attention to your lawn's needs will go a long way in controlling slime growth and making sure it doesn't re-emerge.

Key Takeaways

• Slime mold is a lawn disease characterized by grass blades and the surface of the soil being covered with a translucent slimy, creamy-white growth that can also turn dark and in various shades.
• Slime mold is usually the result of having a lawn that is not well maintained and has moisture issues.
• Our recommended product to control slime mold is Monterey Consan 20. Timing is important when applying this product for best results.
• Once your lawn has been treated, keep slime mold from returning with a consistent lawn care and maintenance program and addressing the moisture problem on the lawn.