Arrgh...mushrooms on lawn, terrified to let 15 month old out (and worried to let 3yo out)

[crokky]

Title say it all really!

Our garden is all grass apart from at the back there are some bushes just to make a shield from the neighbour over that fence. Anyway, the garden is small-medium size and over loads of the grass, there are mushrooms. There are small brown ones and slightly bigger white ones and some others. I am worried about my (non walking, but all eating!) 15 month old going out there and picking one and eating it - she sticks everything in her mouth extremely quickly. I am less worried about my 3yo - I doubt he would eat them, but he might touch them, but still uncomfortable with him trampling all over them because he might have loads of remnants over his shoes etc.

Anyway DH is a bit cross with me (not surprisingly really) because I wouldn't let the DCs out in the garden today. I feel guilty because I feel like I am giving them a crap life keeping them indoors. Across the whole garden, there are about 30-40 mushrooms. I know they can't be got rid of, I've searched the internet and it says to pick them but not to mow them up.

TBH, worrier that I am, I am really dreading picking them. I hate the thought of picking a load of poisonous stuff. I have stressed myself out even more googling and finding that some of them - you just need to ingest one and it can kill an adult.

My mum says that I am insane and that I should just forget they are there.

Don't even know really what I am asking . I just feel worried about the stupid things and guilty that I am not doing the best I can for my DCs.

Just pick them - why don't you want to? I used to worry about my ds's picking them from my lawn as well so I picked them.

Pick them then wash your hands. We have about a thousand magic mushrooms growing in our garden at the mo thanks to the recent weather!

Or wear rubber gloves. It'll be fine.

I think I am going to wear rubber gloves when I pick them.

cornsilk - I am just frightened of them that's why I don't want to pick them. I hate thinking about poisonous stuff and it just makes me cringe. I sound like a mad woman now

Cataline - do you know that the are the magic ones in your garden? I hope my ones are magic ones and not deadly ones, but it seems really difficult to tell. One of the really poisonous ones on the internet is just plain white and there are loads of varieties that are plain white (including some of mine!)

Cut the grass short with a collection box and be rid of the clippings. You can spray it with a fungicide but it is pretty obnoxious stuff.

You're not mad! I used to feel like that about my ds's as well. When they get older you have less control about what they come into contact with and ease up a bit!

The Destroying Angel is the lethal one and they are quite big but found in woods. (They are about the height of your hand)

DH is a mushroom hunter and we go out on a lot of forages!
Ours are definitely magic ones - they're not pleasant though so you wouldn't want your Dcs anywhere near them.

You can pick even toxic toadstools without gloves - you have to ingest them to do any damage but just make sure you wash your hands really well and dispose of them carefully.

Don't try to work out what they are from internet pics or anything - it's too much of a risk and can be really difficult to do even when you know what you're doing IYKWIM! Just get rid of them all and keep checking and i'm sure your garden will be fine for your DCs!

My lawn gets the most fabulous big mushrooms in it - bog standard ones with the off-white tops and brown underneath bits.

I have never summoned up the courage to eat them.

don't worry too much - there are millions of varieties of mushrooms in the UK and only a tiny, tiny percentage are really poisonous.

If you are very worried why not try to identify them? It is quite fun and might help to set your mind at rest.

GentleOtter, I think if one the height of my hand came in the garden, I would either have to have the entire garden tarmacked (sp?!) or move house . But it is good to know they can't be that one because they are way too small.

why would it be a risk to try to id them Cataline? I presume the OP is not planning to eat them whatever the result!

lol crokky

how fascinating. I wish we had a lawn (we only have a small paved garden) but I think if I had mushrooms like those, I'd be out there prodding them and watching them grow!

just pick them and then it's over and done with quickly and you don't have to think about them any more!

Just a note of caution..
There are many more poisonous and deadly toadstools in the UK than the Destroying Angel, all with different properties and some of which look quite innocuous!

iron sulphate ought to kill them off. You can get it from most garden centres and it does not cost much but acts quickly.

theyoungvisiter... I was just worried that the OP may possibly have a go, mistakenly identify them as safe and have nasty fungi in her garden!
I agree - trying to identify fungi is great fun and wasn't suggetsing for a minute that the OP was thinking about eating them!

Cataline - mine are small - the brown ones 1cm across or less and the white ones 2cm or less. Pleeeeease tell me the are not horrible ones? I am going to pick them regardless and bag them up with the landfill rubbish.

theyoungvisiter - noooooo the OP is not planning to eat them - it scares me enough looking at the buggers.

Crokky - They could be so many different kinds! Try not to worry about it though - they are most likely NOT deadly or even poisonous. Just to be safe though I would pick them all and keep checking. You could use a fungicide to ensure they don't come back but TBH the fungicide would possibly be more nasty to have in your garden than the toadstools!

I have been very brave and I have been outside tonight and picked the mushrooms. I picked over 500 of the buggers! I couldn't believe how many there were. Most were the little brown ones. I live on a newish estate and my garden is about 30 feet! Sooooo many mushrooms! I was scared and I wore gloves and I've been a bit unfriendly to the environment and chucked the gloves away because I feel so scared of the mushrooms!