It's one kind of fungi called a puffball, which there are several varieties. They grow here everywhere and sometimes they aren't seen for years, but in recent years, they are everywhere.

Click Here.

Kt

They're harmless to your garden and no spraying is necessary.

why spray poison on the ground around your home for no reason? especially if you have pets or children, not recommended. these are harmless.

Amen to that!! Spraying poison is no good for the planet or your garden's ecosystem.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Should point out that not everything you can spray for control is a harmful chemical (citrus-based stuff, for example). Anyway, will probably just ignore them, or dig up the old pieces of lumber if I get irritated : ).

It's unlikely you can control mushrooms/puffballs/fungus by spraying anything. The actual plant is a very fine threadlike network in the ground or in wood; spray probably wouldn't even get to it. The puffball (or mushroom, or whatever) is just the fruiting body.

Check out the link for a good explanation.

WW

Here is a link that might be useful: 'What is this thing in my yard?'

think about this ... using non-technical words ...

weedkillers are herbicides .. they kill herbs.. lol .. no.. they kill vegetation ... plants ...

mushrooms .. aka fungus.. are NOT killed.. as they are not plants.. they are fungus ...

i dont think there are any fungus-cides ... [but i will probably be corrected on that]

[its the same logic of why mites are not killed by insecticides.. but by miticides ... mites are not insects]

mushrooms grow on rotting/decaying things.. like WOOD ... it is a function of mother earth in reducing the wood to soil/compost ...

if you get rid of the wood.. you get rid of the host..

i have shrooms by the millions on my WOOD mulch ... and frankly.. in my world.. IT IS A FREE GARDEN ATTRACTION... that is called a zen attitude.. lol ..

why is your first inclination to kill them ...

my only complaint with them.. is that some grow to orange size.. and when you hit them with a 26 HP riding mower.. you wont believe the cloud of dust .. lol .. otherwise.. they are really cool ...

try the zen attitude.. and enjoy them ... IF you can

ken

ps: should you ever decide to spray .. READ THE LABEL.. and ONLY use the product for what it is labeled for.. you will not find a WEED killer labeled for MUSHROOMS ....

Thanks for the link Weedwoman. I have several hundred photos of musrooms, and think most of them are very cool. The species I'm complaining about, though, is super ugly and tries to choke me every time I get near. The one in your link that's similar is Pisolithus tinctorius - not an exact match, but about as ugly. But the article was convincing about the futility of trying control them, so I'll just adopt Ken's attitude (that's scary) and accept them.

Ken, I'm no fan of sprays, treated landscape lumber, etc., but would be happy to ship some of these pests to your garden for you to enjoy :)

Just don't inhale the spores if you decide to accept them.

Kt

last time i asked about them here.. i was told the spores are harmless ...

ken

I see them often, they look like big pieces of popcorn in the yard. My son loves stepping on them, never seen a puff of powder. After reading this, I think that's probably because he steps on them all while they're still white. Worth a try. I believe they are native, if that makes you feel better.

Vinegar kills fungus. Works great on both household mold and athlete's foot, so I don't know why it wouldn't work on outdoor varieties too.

Thanks. I might try the vinegar. I'd leave them alone, but they just look too nasty as they age.

The vinegar might dissolve the fruiting body but it won't kill the actual fungus. You could try and get them before they get big enough to emit spores, just pick up the puffballs and throw them out while they're young and solid. At least you wouldn't have to look at them then.

Actually, for Ken_Adrian, fungus grows on all sorts of stuff, not just wood. Plenty of species live in the ground, one of the ID characteristics is what substrate the fungus is growing on.

What I find really fascinating is that they're discovering a lot of species of fungus are symbiotic (? I think that's the relationship) with other plants, trees in the forest, for example. The fungus ties many plants together and contributes/moves nutrients around, to the point where the trees without their associated fungi are not healthy. I'm not up on all the details, but the whole fungus thing is apparently far more complicated and important than we used to think.

WW

Well put. The fungus is part of the garden's ecosystem.

WW, that bolsters my theory, about avoiding the puffing. Thanks for taking the time to share. Decomposition is a crucial and fascinating process.

It's almost the time of year when the big white mushrooms come up in fairy rings. One of my fav things about spring.

Jekeesl, just be glad you don't have stinky mushrooms! The ones in our yard look and smell like rotting meat. Disturbing them is a huge mistake, causes the smell to be magnified for a few days. Not pleasant to hit with the mower at all.

The mutualistic relationship (mycorrhizae) between many types of saprophytic fungi has long been known. It's just that the information isn't part of the mainstream knowledge available to the average person.

All our original poster needs to do, since the fruiting bodies offend, is to remove them when young. A golf club makes it fun. They can also be plucked with bare hands....most puff balls are edible. ABSOLUTELY no need for vinegar, fungicides (which only work on plant parasitic fungi, anyway), or any other intervention. Just remove them at ground level.

As was said earlier, the vast underground portion cannot and should not be treated with anything. Puffballs are ectomychorrizal and considered highly beneficial. When the new crop of mushrooms pop up every year, just grab the 9 iron and remind yourself that deep within the soil a very remarkable part of the natural environment is alive, well, and doing great things.