Slimy Molds:What are they?

     Slime molds in your yard. Ugh!

     The name alone makes you think of mucky, oozing blobs. Just the appearance of these slimy patches on grasses and yard mulches is alarming. This image has given slime molds a bad rap.

     Slime molds actually are more unsightly than harmful. They feed on bacteria and other microorganisms that grow on decaying organic matter.  Slime molds aren't parasitic and they don't cause diseases.

     At the very worst, slime molds temporarily shade grass leaves which weakens the plants, but this is a very minor effect and causes no permanent harm.

     Slime molds spores usually grow unseen in thatch and mulch from late spring to autumn. An abundance of wet weather stimulates the appearance of these fungi above ground.  Often, they quickly appear.

     Some slime molds become quite large, reaching the size of a dinner plate.

     As they begin the reproductive phase, patches of small purple, white or dark gray fruiting bodies appear on grass leaf surfaces, yard mulches, and shrub or tree branches that touch the

ground.  These serve as support structures from which spores are dislodged by movement from breezes, water, equipment, people, or animals.

     Slime molds look like a slimy blob before they turn into powdery reproductive masses.  They usually disappear in one to two weeks.  However, they tend to reproduce in the same area each

year.

     You can remove slime molds by brushing, mowing or hosing. I don't recommend using fungicide sprays because the fungi are not harmful.