Some close ups of the spots would help. There are a number of fungal diseases that can cause that. Red thread causes reddish tint, as well as pink patch, but it's hard to tell from your pic if that could be it. Dollar spot is probably the most likely candidate. Insects like sod webworms, and grubs can cause damage as well. Do you see any cocoon like structures near the soil, or holes surrounded by webbing? Grubs eat roots, causing die off. Can you peel back the turf like a rug in spots?

Do you know what kind of grass you have? What has the weather been like in eastern WA?

Thanks for the response! The pictures I've googled about dollar spot match pretty well. I will try to take a more closeup picture when there's light tomorrow. I dug up a piece of sod and didn't see any grubs (or other critters). The dead blades of grass obviously come up easily, but the sod on a whole doesn't peel up like a rug. It has been unusually cool & rainy here the last couple of weeks; where we are in eastern WA typically has desert climate with less than 7 inches of rainfall a year. I don't know what kind of grass we have.

thanks!
Michelle

Hey guys. I am having this exact same looking issue. I live near Detroit. We've had a VERY hot and "very" dry summer. I hav been watering daily though so the lawn has stayed pretty green. Except for these drink-coaster-sized dead spots! I just dug through some of them and the dead blades just fall out of the ground with very little effort. I couldnt' find anything wrong though! There is a layer of moss looking thatch stuff laying right on top of the dirt. No visible fungus, bugs, grubs, etc... It's mostly Kentucky Blue, but I literally probably have 6 or 7 different types of grass in my lawn. Any ideas? I just sprayed insecticied, dropped granular insecticide, and dropped granular GrubEx. Any other ideas??? I'll try to grab some pictures this weekend.

I fogot... I went for a walk through my sub today and saw that about 1 in 3 lawns have some degree of this same condition!

Can't I edit my old posts? I wanted to add another piece of info... There are NO red threads that I can see anywhere in the grass.

There are many fungal diseases that affect lawns in the summer. Summer patch, brown patch, pythium blight, dollar spot, etc. Watering daily is not a recommended practice, and it can contribute to increasing the risk of developing these diseases. Even with good cultural practices you can still get fungal outbreaks. Using turf fungicides can prevent most diseases, but it's no guarantee, they harm beneficial fungus, and aren't the most earth friendly products. There are some natural fungicides that can reduce incidence like Serenade, Actinovate, and phosphites, but they require frequent applications before disease occurs and aren't as effective as chemical fungicides.

Wow... so what are you guys saying? I'm kind of out of luck??

Here is a link to the photos I took this morning. I'm not sure how to include it so hopefully I do it right! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: CLICK HERE for Photo Album of All_Bran's Lawn Problem July 30 2012

If you want to control the turf disease you are seeing, which does appear to be dollar spot, go to your local Home Depot or Lowes and purchase enough Immunox fungicide for two applications, 14 days apart. Apply at the curative rate for dollar spot.

In the photos, the disease appears to be spreading, so treat your entire lawn.

So this stuff?

Here is a link that might be useful: LOWE'S Spectracide Fungicide

Yes, and remember to follow the directions carefully. The product in the picture is a concentrate, so it will need to be mixed with an appropriate amount of water in a hand-held or backpack sprayer. For best results, apply very early in the morning. After applying, the material should be allowed to dry on the grass blades. Follow up with a second application 14 days later, and the dollar spot will disappear.

Whenever I see dollar spot, I immediately think of a lack of nitrogen. However, this is not the time of year to be applying nitrogen to your lawn....it's too hot. Just live with it for now, and be ready to apply nitrogen in mid-late September.

Have you done a soil test?

For now I'm going to ignore all-bran for barging in so heavily on someone else's issue.

mpg2004, your grass looks quite yellow for even this time of year. Did you use the Scott's at the bag rate?

With the inspection you did, the redness, and the rainfall, the fungus diagnosis sounds most plausible. If you are cool enough to use the Immunox that is the best chemical solution. If you are on an organic program, there is no solution I know of that works on red thread or rust. For other diseases, corn meal works reasonably well, but not for the red ones.

I'm going to guess that your lawn is perennial ryegrass. That is the predominant turf in the PNW.

When you take your pictures, please try to take them when the Sun is low or a cloud goes by. You don't want harsh contrast in a grass picture.

One of these days I'm gonna do a test plot on a common diseased area (brown patch, dollar spot, etc.) in one of our turf nursery areas and treat it with ordinary corn meal at the 20 lb./1000 rate at a 3 week interval and just see how that works. I know you swear by it dchall, so there must be some merit to it.

Please do that test. Nandina, another experimenter here at GW, did the test years ago. It's always good to have more people testing.

I just applied 50 pounds of corn meal on my lawn in San Antonio. We're about 3 weeks past the last heavy rain and there are spots all over the grass. I've not seen it this fully covered with disease.

I have another bag I'm going to apply in George West. I have a giant fairy ring in the front yard. It is so big I could not see it until Google Earth updated their imagery this past April.

nearandwest --> Thank you so much for the help! It's getting pretty bad! Two questions/points:

1) Will the brown grass come back and turn green again or will I have to reseed those areas to prevent crab from growing?

1b) What else should I do to it and when? Fertilizer? Turfbuilder? Aerate? Dethatch? Do I NOT TOUCH IT for the next month while the fungicide works its magic?

2) Do the fall "Winterizer" fertilizers have nitrogen in them? If so, I always apply the Scott's burgundy bag of Winterizer fertilizer in the fall. This past winter in Detroit was VERY warm though... Never really got below freezing, so I don't think the grass every really totally hibernated (??). That's probably why half the lawns in my subdivision have this same issue... just not as bad as I do!

Thanks again!!!

and, dchall --> These appear to be identical issues. So if anything, since there was no activity since Jun 13, I was HELPING mpg2004 by raising awareness to their thread! You're welcome mpg2004.

1. Yes, the brown spots will turn green again and you should not have to reseed.

1b. The answer to these issues depends on the results of a soil test. Get the soil test done at Logan Labs, then post the results here for interpretation. Other than applying the Immunox, and watering correctly, don't do anything else until cooler weather arrives. I would advise you not to mow during this hot spell.

2. Yes, the Scotts Winterizer material contains nitrogen.

It may just be me being optimistic, but how long does it take for it to start turning green again? I could have sworn it looked minutely better this morning! When SHOULD I start seeing results?

Thanks!

All Bran - no problem. I was only ignoring your specific questions until the OP's question got answered. That is apparently done and yes, no activity. Back at that time you had marched ahead and were asking questions that the OP had not really gotten up to. But if you are going to hijack a thread, you may as well do one that is the same issue ;-)

Winterizer is designed to provide a heavy dose of N, so that's what it does. Last winter might have been a fluke, though, where the N got used in the warmer conditions. Normally 2/3 of the annual N goes down in fall. The "normal" way to do that is to apply one dose in late spring after the main flush of grass growth is over (remember Memorial Day). Then apply another dose after the summer heat breaks (remember Labor Day). The winterizer goes down in mid to late fall (Thanksgiving). These dates are easy to remember but might not apply the same to someone in Miami as well as someone in Green Bay.

You do not need to dethatch. Thatch comes from frequent fertilizer and daily watering. That is not you.

You do not need to aerate. Aeration brings up weed seeds you do not need. If your soil seem to be hard even after watering, then you can spray it with clear shampoo to help the water penetration.

If you want to fertilize now, you can do that with organic fertilizer, not chemicals. Organic fertilizer can go down any day of the year.

thanks for all the help everyone!

two more quickies:

1-i sprayed the immunox down on Aug 1. how much should i be watering between then and my next immunox treatment on Aug 15 ?

2-when should i start seeing results/when will i know its working?

3-(i lied, one more) any idea where to get a soil test done in metro detroit? just get a HD kit? or is there a special place i shouls go?

thanks again!

1. The Immunox needs to be allowed to dry on the leaf blades. After I apply fungicides, I do not water or mow for 24 hours. You should be good after 24 hours to resume your regular watering schedule.

2. I would think that you would start seeing green grass shoots in the brown areas 7-10 days after the application.

3. Submit your soil sample to Logan Labs in Ohio. Look them up on the internet for their information. Lots of people on this site use them for soil testing. The cost per sample is $20 and turnaround is approximately 3-4 days.