Did you know that there is a lawn disease that attacks your lawn while it is still under the snow? It is called Pink Snow Mold, or Fusarium Patch.

This lawn disease attacks your lawn when it is subjected to long stretches of cool, wet weather, and often develops underneath the snow.

You may be shocked the next time the snow melts to see your lawn infected with this disease. It looks like rough circular patches of dead and matted grass blades, between 3 and 12 inches in diameter. When this disease attacks, you may see tiny white or pink masses on dead leaves and dead blades of grass. Fungal threads, also white or pink, become visible in early morning. Blades of grass become light tan and often stick together. It can invade the crowns and roots of the grass, causing serious, permanent damage to the lawn.

Pink Snow Mold can be spread on lawn equipment, on shoes, animals, water, and even floating in the wind.

Here are some steps you can take in the fall to protect your lawn from developing this disease under the snow. Or, if your lawn has already been attacked by Pink Snow Mold, these tips will help you to eradicate it:

1. Avoid applying fertilizer in the late fall. Such applications of fertilizer cause the lawn to grow thick and long. Such growth creates a prime environment for Pink Snow Mold.

2. Don't stop mowing the grass in the fall, even if it is growing slowly. If the grass gets too long and then becomes covered with snow, the grass becomes matted, tangled, and damp, inviting the pink snow mold to grow.

3. If you are reseeding, use resistant turfgrass varieties such as 'Medallion' and 'Scaldis' fine fescues, 'Eclipse' and 'America' Kentucky bluegrasses, 'Manhattan II' and 'Pennant' perennial ryegrasses.

4. If your lawn has already been attacked by pink snow mold, apply fungicide in the late autumn just before the snow begins. Heritage, or some fungicides containing the active ingredients thiophanate-methyl, triadimefon, or quintozene can be used. Always read the warning labels before applying any type of fungicide.

5. You can also use soil bacteria to improve soil. Often it is good to try and reduce thatch, improve drainage, and frequently mow and raking infected patches to dry them.

Keith Fetzner is the owner of Natural Way Lawn Care and Tree Service which provides Lawn Care, Lawn Service, and Tree Care and Shrub care for Southeastern Michigan.