Evil Slime mold

[jbeaulau]

Hello,
I'm hoping for any help for a MAJOR slime mold problem I'm experiencing in our new backyard.
The mold started in the planting area around the lawn, but now is mostly in the lawn and is at minimum a foot in diameter for each patch. There have been up to 8 patches at one time!
We have a two year old daughter who wants to play in the yard, we want her to also, but I won’t let her out there until I get this under control.
I have read there is no chem treatment for this. I have tried tea tree oil as some account note kills it, but didn’t slow it down. Also the other method is counter intuitive, to hose down with a hard spray the area of infection. I tried that but it bounced right back the next morning. This didn’t seem like a good idea to me because moisture is one of the main reasons it will pop up.
Please HELP!!!!!!
-John

[americanlawn]

It's not harnful and is usually very temporary. See: gardenline.usask.ca/yards/slime2.html

[jbeaulau]

Thanks for the link. I'll try to get the chem control noted in the article.

This has been going on for over 4 weeks, and getting worse as time goes on. We live in CA and its summer time. Hardly ideal conditions for this to flurish. I have the irrigation set to every other day, but even if I shut it off the dew every night is enough to keep this going I would think.

Here's a quick video of one of the patches I took a week ago. IF this is not a slime mold please let me know. But from what I have found online thats what I'm dealing with.

http://public.tbcplus.com/slime_mold.wmv

-John

[RigglePLC]

Great video. Gross! Not harmful from what I hear.

I would cut back on the water--maybe go down to three times per week. Also sprinkle in daytime about 2 to 4 pm so lawn has a chance to dry before night. Maybe scrub with a stiff broom.

[RigglePLC]

Probably most any fungicide would work. An old time copper fungicide like Bordeaux mixture is a semi-organic choice.

[jbeaulau]

Yeah I read its not harmful also, but I still dont want my daughter playing in or around it.

The irrigation runs at 7:00 AM so that should be enough time to dry out, but I"ll set it to every 3rd day and see what happens.

Does breaking it up in the early stage really halt its growth, or kill it?



-John

[RigglePLC]

i doubt that breaking it up will kill it. I am thinking that if you have heavy dew--and then the sprinklers come on--you are prolonging the period of continuous wetness. Better to let the dew dry for a couple of hours first.

Maybe you can find an organic fungicide. Lime sulfer, maybe. Take a look at the organic lawn care section.

i thought it was dry in California--but maybe you are in northern CA.

[jbeaulau]

Thanks for all the input Riggle and American.

I have not watered my lawn for a week, and still the mold is reproducing and going strong. The dew is heavy, so that must be whats helping the mold now.

I just ordered some Bonide Mancozeb that should arrive next week. Dow lists slime mold specifically as one of the molds controlled. I have read the safety sheets and it looks to be ok for my family as far as exposure goes.

I'll update on the effectiveness once I use it.

-John