Question
I live in kansas city mo, My back yard is starting to get big white mushrooms in it.There s no shade tree or anything, right out in the sun.I scooped them up last week and they came back twice as many. Are they harmful for our children or dog? How do we get rid of them?
thanks
sean

Answer
Mushrooms are the above ground signs of fungi which resides in the soil. Fungi feed on wooden material which is (partially) decomposed. Once the food source disappears, the fungi dies and mushrooms disappear.

The threads which connects the fungi and the mushroom (the "fruit") can travel over long distances, and it is not impossible that the food source is not directly below the mushroom.

Even when you do not have trees in the soil, you can have burried logs, construction debris (lumber) or other wooden material in the soil which has not decomposed. Tilling "rough" compost (which has not composted properly) or mulch into the soil can give same result.

There is really nothing you can do, except to keep raking them up. If it continues to be a problem, you can dig up the food source (if you can find it). We have a large 5 foot log burried in the back yard and the grass is being destroyed by mushrooms in that spot. We chose not to lift it as it was very heavy and would have taken a lot of effort (e.g. money). There is no product available which you can spray on mushrooms to make them go away. They will keep popping up from the fungi in the soil.

Mushrooms can be poisonous and should not be eaten by pets or kids. If your kids get mushroom on their hands, have them wash their hands.