Our technicians are seeing it in the field right now — here’s what to look for and how to stop it before it spreads.
We just got hit with a stretch of heavy rain and humidity across West Georgia, and warm, wet turf is exactly what lawn fungus waits all year for. Our crews are already finding two of the most damaging diseases of the season out on customers’ lawns: Dollar Spot in Bermuda and Brown Patch in Zoysia.
With more rain and humidity in the forecast, we expect both to keep spreading over the next couple of weeks. The good news: caught early, both are very treatable. Left alone, they can thin and kill large sections of turf that are slow — and expensive — to bring back.
A quick but important note: while Dollar Spot shows up most often in Bermuda and Brown Patch most often in Zoysia, neither disease sticks to one grass type. Both can affect Bermuda, Zoysia, and other warm-season lawns — so it’s worth knowing the signs of each no matter what you’re growing.
Here’s how to tell which one you’re dealing with, and what to do about it.
Dollar Spot — Most Common in Bermuda
Dollar Spot is the disease we see most often in Bermuda lawns, and it’s the first to show up when the nights turn warm and the grass stays wet.
What it looks like:
- Small, silver-dollar-sized circles — about the size of a quarter to a half-dollar — in a honey or straw color
- Spots that merge into larger, sunken, bleached-out patches as it spreads
- In the early morning dew, a fine white, cottony webbing (the fungus itself) across affected areas
- On individual blades, tan lesions with a slightly darker, reddish border
Why now: Dollar Spot takes off when nighttime temperatures climb above 65°F and the turf stays damp from rain, humidity, or heavy dew — exactly the conditions we’re in. It spreads fast through mowers, foot traffic, water, and wind, so a few spots can become a problem area in days.
Brown Patch — Most Common in Zoysia
Brown Patch is the one we’re seeing move through Zoysia lawns. It works differently from Dollar Spot, and it can cover ground in a hurry.
What it looks like:
- Large, roughly circular brown or tan patches — anywhere from a few inches to several feet across
- In the early morning, a darker, smoky-gray ring (a “smoke ring”) around the edge of an active patch
- Grass blades that rot near the base and pull out easily, leaving thinned, sunken areas
Why now: Brown Patch thrives in warm, humid weather when the grass canopy stays wet for long stretches — heavy rain, overnight humidity, and evening watering all feed it. The more the lawn stays wet, the faster it spreads.
Why Acting Early Matters
Both diseases follow the same pattern: they’re easiest and cheapest to stop when you treat the first signs. Once the fungus has spread through the canopy and into larger patches, it does two things you don’t want — it kills turf outright in the worst spots, and it leaves thin, weak areas open to weeds and further disease. Recovering bare turf in the heat of summer is slow, and in bad cases it means re-sodding.
There’s also no waiting it out. As long as the weather stays warm and wet, the conditions favor the fungus — not your lawn.
How We Treat It
Knocking out an active outbreak takes more than a bag from the store. Controlling Dollar Spot and Brown Patch typically requires professional curative fungicide applications, using a combination of contact and penetrant (systemic) products to both stop the spread on the surface and protect new growth. We identify exactly what’s active on your lawn, treat it, and advise you on watering and mowing adjustments that keep it from coming back.
What You Can Do Right Now
While you decide on treatment, a few habits help slow both diseases:
- Water early in the morning, not in the evening — so the grass dries quickly and isn’t sitting wet overnight
- Don’t overwater. With the rain we’ve had, most lawns don’t need extra
- Mow with a clean mower and avoid mowing wet, infected areas, which spreads the fungus
- Don’t pile up clippings in affected spots
These help — but once an outbreak is active, the surest fix is targeted treatment.
Get a Free Lawn Evaluation & Treatment Quote
If you’re seeing any of the signs above — or you just want to be sure before it spreads — we’ll come take a look. Tell us about your lawn below and we’ll get you a free evaluation and a quote for treatment. With the current weather driving this, spots are filling quickly, so don’t wait.
