Brown spots in yard

Question: Hello, we are seeing these brown spots in our front yard that we have never seen before. Any idea what's causing these?

responder: Arapahoe County Extension  Replied April 17, 2024, 3:52 PM EDT
response: Hello, thank you for using Ask Extension.   Based on the information provided and assuming this is Kentucky bluegrass there are a couple possibilities of what could be damaging your lawn. The brown spots or dead grass could be caused by turf mites, dog-spots/urine damage, snow-mold and or weed killer to name a few possibilities.   To further diagnose the problem, we need additional information and photos. A photo of additional affected spots and a wide-angle photo of the entire yard would be beneficial.   -Can you confirm the species of grass? -When did you first notice this issue? Is it spreading quickly? -Is the damage localized or wide-spread throughout your lawn? -Have you recently used any fertilizer? -Do you have any dogs or neighbors with dogs that may use your lawn? -If your lawn has irrigation, have you turned it on this year? -Turf mites may be the problem if there was a lack of winter watering, and the lawn faces south or west. -Snow mold may be the issue if the lawn was covered with snow for an extended period of time.  If you would like to do some research on your own, provided below are some additional resources.  Turf Mites: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/clover-and-other-mites-of-turfgrass-5-505/  Dog Spots: https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/lawns/1503-dog-spots/  Snow Mold: https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/lawns/1543-gray-snow-mold-lawns/  Looking forward to hearing back from you.  Cody S. and Kris N.

responder: The Question Asker Replied April 18, 2024, 10:42 PM EDT
response: Good afternoon, Attached is a photo of the affected area. I also noticed some of the the HOA common areas suffer from the same affliction. I do not know the species of grass and am fairly certain no dogs are urinating on the grass. Our irrigation is still off and the lawn hasn't been watered over the winter other than snow and rain. I've only noticed the damage in the front lawn but not in the back. I'm looking forward to your thoughts. Thank you, Dan Horn Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer  On Wed, Apr 17, 2024 at 1:52 PM, Ask Extension<<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: The Question Asker Replied April 18, 2024, 10:42 PM EDT
response: Good afternoon, Attached is a photo of the affected area. I also noticed some of the the HOA common areas suffer from the same affliction. I do not know the species of grass and am fairly certain no dogs are urinating on the grass. Our irrigation is still off and the lawn hasn't been watered over the winter other than snow and rain. I've only noticed the damage in the front lawn but not in the back. I'm looking forward to your thoughts. Thank you, Dan Horn Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer  On Wed, Apr 17, 2024 at 1:52 PM, Ask Extension<<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: The Question Asker Replied April 19, 2024, 12:47 PM EDT
response: Good morning, Dan;   I am curious as to why you think this is not urine damage? These dead spots are classic signs of salt damage, aka urine. Urine has a lot of nitrogen in it, so the dark green fringes are what you see when grass has been damaged by urine.   It could be mammals who visit your front yard at night, like coyotes, rabbits, skunks, fox, etc. I am open to your theory as to why it is not urine damage.    Grass/landscaping that is not 'winter watered' will be drought-stressed throughout the winter months. Windy weather in the early spring can exasperate the loss of moisture to the point where death occurs (trees might not die completely, but they will lose limbs—grass will show dead splotches).    Most years, the Front Range suffers from drought all winter. We get about 25% of our total precipitation over a six month period.    We have drought conditions in the late spring, summer, and early fall, the six months when we receive 75% of our precipitation. Since we have drought conditions during the months when we get the most rain, the dry late fall, winter, and early spring offer even worse growing conditions.    We do not receive enough rain and snow in the cooler months to offset the drought. Landscaping plants need watered in the colder months, in order for them to put on new leaves and flourish during warmer weather.    Nearly every plant used on the Front Range is foreign to our area. They need human assistance to survive and flourish.    My diagnosis would be that your grass is drought stressed and some animal urinated on it. If the grass was not stessed, the damage may have only been a darker hue of green on the blades.    We see these types of burned spots on lawns from herbicide use too. However, it is too early for herbicides, and the dark green fringes are classic signs of nitrogen-rich urine.   You can fix this by overseeding. The problem with overseeding is that most of us generally don't keep track of the seed mixture used to establish the lawn.    There are at least a dozen different grass varieties. They all look different from shade of green, shape of the blade, and shape of the plant, root depth, and more.    Guessing what type of grass is growing in your lawn is a very difficult skill to master. Even our grass experts say this is a skill most of us never master.    If you are going to overseed, please seed a larger area. Maybe even overseed the entire lawn, using a smaller amount of seed in the established areas. This seems like an imperfect solution, but it is the easiest, most straight-forward, and cheapest solution.    I'm here today until around 1:30 p.m., if you want to share your thoughts on why you think the spots are not caused by urine. I am open to your ideas.    If you respond later in the day or tomorrow you will get a reply from a different Master Gardener. We receive the same training, from Colorado State University professors and extension experts. You may get a different perspective, but your photos look like urine damage.    Here are some white papers and a videos for your reference:  https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/trees-shrubs-vines/1706-fall-winter-watering/   https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/fall-and-winter-watering-7-211/   https://source.colostate.edu/winter-watering-keep-hoses-ready/   https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/553.pdf   https://planttalk.colostate.edu/youtube-videos/lawn-videos/#urine   https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/lawns/1503-dog-spots/   I know I gave you a few minutes of reading. My intension was to be thorough.    Best regards, (Brenda) Colorado State University Master Gardener         From: ask=<personal data hidden> <ask=<personal data hidden>> on behalf of Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2024 8:42 PM To: Master Gardener <<personal data hidden>> Subject: New response added to your question (#0134118)    CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

responder: The Question Asker Replied April 19, 2024, 1:31 PM EDT
response: Good morning, Whew that's a lot of great information! The only reason I didn't think it was urine spots is because I was thinking of only a dog doing that and we've never seen anyone in our neighborhood let their dogs urinate on our lawn. I didn't think about other animals causing it but it is possible. Is the grass completely dead, or is there a chance it will come back with enough watering? Thank you, Dan Horn Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer  On Fri, Apr 19, 2024 at 10:47 AM, Ask Extension<<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Dawn Fradkin  Replied April 26, 2024, 11:39 AM EDT
response: Hi Dan, You can certainly try to water the spots well and rake out the dead to try to help the damaged areas grow back, since there is always a possibility the spots will recover, but it might take some time and patience.  You can also try to over seed these spots, to get them back to normal quicker.  Here is another great Plant Talk video about  how to overseed small areas of damage like you have. Goodluck! Dawn

responder: The Question Asker Replied April 26, 2024, 11:44 AM EDT
response: Thank you for the follow ups. I'll try overseeding those areas and I think they will come back.Thank you,Daniel Horn <personal data hidden><personal data hidden>   On Friday, April 26, 2024 at 09:39:15 AM MDT, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote: