Q: While staining my second story deck I noticed a foul odor and a more than average amount of flies in the area. I noticed these disgusting stinkhorns growing in the mulch beneath. What can I do to eliminate them?

A: I think the best thing to do is stir up the mulch with a rake to dry it out and disturb the fungal mass that produces the stinky mushrooms. They are a type of fungus that decompose woody material. When conditions are right, the fungus “blooms’ and exudes a foul odor to attract flies and beetles, which carry the spores to other conducive sites.