Brown Patch is Back – Here’s What to Do
🗓️ Updated July 2025 – Brown Patch is back with a vengeance. Here’s what you need to know (and do) to fight back and help your lawn recover.
Have you seen those videos all over Facebook and Instagram where someone’s hands are whipping up some incredible meal or dessert? They always look easy and delicious. Well, unfortunately, Mother Nature has her own recipe — and it’s not one your lawn is going to enjoy.
Start with a beautiful fescue lawn.
Add several nights of temps over 65°.
Mix in high humidity and a big ol’ helping of moisture.
Blink twice and… BAM! You’ve got Brown Patch Disease — your lawn’s worst nightmare.
What Is Brown Patch Disease?
Brown Patch is a fungal disease that attacks cool-season lawns like Fescue. The fungus is always floating around in the environment — it just needs the right weather cocktail to go full psycho. Here’s what activates it:
- 🌡️ High humidity
- 🌙 Warm nights (above 65°F several nights in a row)
- 💧 Excessive moisture (rain, dew, or watering at the wrong time)
When those three line up, Brown Patch can blow up overnight — turning a lush, green lawn into a patchy brown mess. It’s frustrating as hell for homeowners and lawn techs alike. You put in all this time and care, and it looks like it was for nothing.
But take a deep breath — there’s good news.
The Good News: It’s Temporary
Yes, it looks bad. But Brown Patch rarely kills your grass — it just makes it look sick. Once the weather shifts, your lawn will bounce back. At Classic Lawns, we like to compare it to catching a nasty cold:
You look awful.
You feel worse.
You think you’re dying.
But you’re not — and you recover.
Same thing for your lawn.
What You Can Do to Help:
If you want to fight back or help prevent it in the first place, here’s your game plan:
🟢 Mow High
Keep that mower deck at 3.5”–4”. Fescue and Bluegrass do better with a taller cut, especially in the Midwest heat.
🟢 Sharpen Your Blade
Dull blades shred the grass, creating more entry points for disease. We recommend sharpening at least three times a year — spring, summer, & fall.
💧 Water Smart (Not Just Often)
Water between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. only. That’s when dew is already on the lawn, so adding more moisture during that window helps roots without soaking the leaf blades for too long.
DO NOT water in the evening!
If you water at 6 p.m., that grass stays wet all the way until 10 a.m. the next day. That’s 16 hours of soggy turf — basically a VIP invitation for Brown Patch to move in.
It’s like taking off your sweaty shirt after a run, balling it up, and throwing it in the corner. What happens? Mold and funk. Same thing with your lawn.
That said: If your lawn needs water, it’s still better to water at the wrong time than not at all. Just don’t make things worse when the weather’s already against you.
Fungicide: Last Resort, but Available
If you just can’t stand the sight of the brown patches and want to speed up recovery, Classic Lawns can apply a fungicide treatment. Here’s the deal:
- Cost is 2-2.5x your regular app price (Example: $50 app = $100-$125 fungicide)
- Lasts about 21-28 days
- May require 1–3 applications depending on severity
We don’t push fungicides because they’re expensive and don’t offer long-term protection. But if you’re losing sleep over the brown spots, we’re here to help.
Build a Better Lawn This Fall
Whether you had Brown Patch or not, fall is the time to invest in a stronger lawn.
We always recommend
✅ Core Aeration – Loosens soil, improves root growth, and makes it harder for disease to take hold
✅ Overseeding – Use improved Fescue varieties that are more resistant to disease
If you haven’t over-seeded in the last few years, this fall is your moment. Every year, seed companies develop better, stronger, more resilient turfgrass — give your lawn the upgrade it deserves.
Bottom Line:
We get it. Brown Patch is annoying and demoralizing. But even if you follow every tip to the letter, you might still get it. And that’s okay.
The weather will change. The disease will go away. Your lawn will most likely recover. And Classic Lawns will be here to help you through it all.
Have questions? Need help? Just give us a shout. We’re only a call (or text) away.
