One of the most uncomfortable and worrying things for a gardener is to discover unwanted mushrooms in their green corner. That makes sense, considering that mushrooms are associated with the deteriorating health of plants (for example they appear on a tree when it’s dead or about to). And while mushrooms won’t actively harm your plants, per se, and can actually benefit the lawn; it’s never good to have too many of them. After all, fungi can be the source of many diseases (for both you and your plants), can release toxins, and just make your lawn look unkempt and unappealing. Thus, lawn owners strive to get rid of these uninvited guests. 

One of the ways how to get rid of mushrooms in the lawn is with vinegar. With its high acidity, it seems like the best option, no?  However, this process raises a lot of questions: how to get rid of mushrooms on the lawn without harming your plants? What type of vinegar to use, and how exactly to apply it? 

Not to worry, we would be happy to guide you through this process and show you in detail how to get rid of mushrooms in the lawn with vinegar – effectively and safely.

Why Do Mushrooms Grow in Your Yard?

As much as it’s essential to prevent the rapid growth of mushrooms in your yard, it’s equally important to know why they grow there in the first place.

So, if you do come across mushroom growth it might be because:

• Your lawn has the optimum condition that helps the reproductive structure of fungi to grow easily. Usually, they prefer a bit shady, damp, and cool weather.
• Fungi grow best and rapidly on surfaces that have decaying organic material. Leftover grass cuttings, dead leaves, rotting roots, logs, excess in mulch layer can cause the growth escalation.
• A defective drainage system where water doesn’t penetrate the soil uniformly and effectively, toppled with insufficient sunlight can subject to mushrooms reproduction and its growth.

Can I Use Vinegar to Kill Mushrooms?

Vinegar is easily available, and thus it’s one of the best ways how to get rid of mushrooms in yard. And that is thanks to Acetic acid, which is the main component of vinegar. This acid makes Vinegar a natural fungicide to apply on homegrown lawns. Moreover, acetic acid helps to prevent further fungi growth.

What Type of Vinegar Should I Use to Kill Mushrooms?

Since vinegar is a common grocery product, most people tend to pick up ordinary white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, which doesn’t work well because of its massive dilution. The thing is – vinegar is rather dangerous if used the wrong way, thanks to its acidity. That is why food vinegar is always really watered down, to make it suitable for consumption. 

The majority of available kinds of vinegar have only 5%-7% of actual acetum, and the rest of it is just water. Thus, they have too low a pH level to work as a proper fungicide.

So when you want to get rid of mushrooms in the lawn with vinegar, you need to pick the industrial type, since it’s a lot more acidic.

How to Get Rid of Mushrooms Growing in Yard: Using Industrial Vinegar to Kill Mushrooms

To kill the mushrooms with acetic acid, you need undiluted, industrial vinegar. That is because it has the right, required pH level to work effectively as a fungicide.

Some of the most effective ones are:

• Green Gobbler Ultimate, a 20% vinegar concentrate it is often used as an effective weed killer and a natural fungicide. This all-natural corn-based vinegar solution comes in a 1-gallon bottle.
• 30% Vinegar Concentrate by Harris is an environment-safe natural acetum that comes with a spray trigger too. In addition to being a good fungicide, it also works as a wonderful indoor cleaning solution.
• 75% Pure Vinegar Concentrate by Belle Chemicals is the most potent vinegar that kills the mushrooms in no time. This vinegar concentrate is 15 times stronger than the usual vinegar solutions we work with. So you have to be very careful while using it. Overall, this is the best answer to how to get rid of mushrooms in the lawn with vinegar.

However, regardless of what type of vinegar you’re using – always remember about safety! Any skin contact can cause severe skin burns and eye damage, and inhaling too much vinegar can be deadly. Plus, make sure to wear protective gloves and eye goggles before you use the concentrated vinegar solution.

Killing Mushrooms With Vinegar: a Step-by-step Guide

• Dilution will make the product less concentrated and safer. This, take 1 part of vinegar and 4 parts of water, mix it with the protective gloves and eye goggles on.
• Use a funnel and carefully pour the diluted solution in a spray bottle, or you can use a suitable backpack sprayer. Be cautious while transferring the liquid.
• Spray the solution of vinegar on growing fungi, as well as on the part of the surface where it’s based. To maintain safety, stand several inches away from the area. Be careful about not spraying the solution on the surrounding grass or soil, as it definitely will damage those portions too.
• Wait for 3-4 days for the fungi to die down. Plus, you can spray on the remaining mushrooms until they’re dead, and remove them all to clear the area.

Another thing you need to keep in mind when learning how to get rid of toadstools with vinegar is that the ideal temperature to do this is within 60-85 degrees Fahrenheit.

How Long Does It Take to Kill Mushrooms With Vinegar?

Provided that the right ratio of vinegar and water has been used to spray, the mushrooms die down well within 4-5 days. However when you still notice some fungi growth, then you can repeat the process once or twice.

Conclusion

When figuring out how to get rid of mushrooms in the grass, the vinegar is a pretty good idea. This solution provides an eco-friendly and natural way to kill mushrooms. It is a much safer alternative rather than using chemical, toxic weed-killers BUT that doesn’t mean that you should ignore safety. Always remember to wear gloves and goggles, take all the necessary safety precautions and you’re good to go!

Now with that said, we sincerely hope that now you know how to get rid of mushrooms in the lawn with vinegar! So best of luck and make sure to let us know if you have any more questions or you wish to share a couple of ideas on how to get rid of mushrooms. We would love to learn from you too!