What are 'fairy rings,' and are those mushrooms dangerous? Expert explains

BATON ROUGE, La. (WVLA) — Some Louisiana residents have seen "fairy rings" popping up in their lawns recently, raising questions and concerns. 

These so-called fairy rings aren't exactly magical or harmful to your lawn. The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office even made a lighthearted public service announcement telling residents the mushrooms have no street value and are indeed not magic mushrooms.

The mushrooms appearing in a circle — considered a common turfgrass disease caused by soilborne fungal species — is just one type of fairy ring formation.

According to the LSU AgCenter, the first type includes those where grass is lost or badly damaged, while the second includes areas where grass growth is only stimulated. The final type, according to experts, includes those where there is no damage to the turf but mushrooms are found in rings, especially after heavy rainfall.

LSU AgCenter assistant professor of turf grass management Eric DeBoer said the reason behind the landscape mushrooms is the rain. 

“With the rain we've seen in an area like Louisiana with lots of trees, lots of water, it makes for a lot of vegetation, and when the vegetation dies, something needs to break it down, and that's what these fairy ring or soil fungi are doing,” he told Nexstar's WVLA. 

DeBoer suggests mowing the lawn to get rid of the mushrooms, especially if you have curious dogs and children, as the fungi can be dangerous.

For those who don’t have pets or kids, he said not to worry about the mushrooms and that keeping them in the lawn is not a bad idea. To stop them from growing completely, DeBoer said, a total renovation scraping the soil and organic matter would be needed.

“Just know that if they are in your yard, that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your grass, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your soil, just means you have good, healthy soil that's recycling nutrients," DeBoer said.

Click here for more information from the LSU AgCenter about how to deal with the fairy rings.