I was sitting at my kitchen table one morning when I looked out the window and saw this vibrant orange and rust colored mass on the lawn. I had no clue what it was at first. From the window, it looked like an animal had gotten sick on the grass. I went outside to investigate. It was wet and gooey in some spots and hard as a rock in others. I found out later that it was slime mold. Even though it is harmless, slime mold just looks gross. It will go away on its own in about a week’s time. However, it can reoccur often during periods of high humidity in the poor drainage areas of your lawn. If you find a patch of it on your lawn, here’s how to make it disappear quickly:
Remove the Slime Mold
Based on my experience, the best way to quickly rid your lawn of a patch of slime mold is to don a pair of work gloves. Next, grab a shovel and a garbage bag. Then scoop up the wet stuff with the shovel and dispose of it in the trash bin. The crusty parts can be broken up with a garden rake and scooped up as well.
Rinse the Lawn
Once you’ve removed the slime mold, you may want to forcefully spray the affected area with a garden hose. I would, however, suggest foregoing the garden host method unless the ground is dry enough to soak up the water from the hose. Otherwise, you could actually spread the mold to other parts of your lawn.
Treat the Soil
Some folks also opt to turn the soil over with the shovel and treat it with a variety of home remedies. I have found that a 50-50 mixture of vinegar and water can be helpful. Other options include using tea tree oil, neem oil or baking soda. Both tea tree oil and neem oil may be purchased online through select gardening shops. A quart container of neem oil will typically cost you $40. It is usually mixed with water and then spayed onto the lawn. Tea oil tends to be more expensive and is also mixed with water. The baking soda is typically just sprinkled on the affected area.
Correct Drainage Issues
Personally, I wouldn’t worry about slime mold too much unless it keeps appearing in the same spot or in high traffic areas. If it does keep reoccurring in one spot, I’d recommend that you try to increase the drainage in that area of the lawn instead of treating the soil with homemade remedies.
Killeen Gonzalez enjoys working in her yard and completing home improvement projects.
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