Why does my lawn die in patches with strange shapes?

Question

My grass lawn is only 1 year old and gets plenty of water. It looks very healty except for several patches where the grass has died. The dead patches are in unusual shapes like a crecent moon shape or a letter S or 5 pointed star in addition to some that are just circular. The grass around the dead patches is very healthy. The grass was started from Sod and is located in San Jose, CA

Answer 1

it is either a fungus or chinch bugs. either way it is usually from over watering. sorry i can't tell you exactly which but there are products on the market that can help.

Answer 2

IT sounds to me like it's only growing where the water gets to it directly. I'm assuming you have a sprinkler system. is the grass green in particular patterns within the cicumference of the sprinkler? You may need to seed a heartier grass. ..or Your water pressure may be too low for the pattern that your sprinklers are set up in. The water from each sprinkler should overlap slightly into the next. There may be a leak in the system.. (in which case some spots on your lawn will have little depressions...though not neccesarily soggy)

Answer 3

You probably have grub. Grub eat the roots of the grass and follow the funny shapes you are talking about. You can check for grub first by pulling the dead grass, if there are no roots, then its probably grub. Second dig next to the healthy grass to see if you find any grub. grub are six legged worm like creatures, white in color. Look them up on google. if it is grub, which sounds likely, you can buy grub killer at your local hardware store, Home Depot and Lowes for sure carries it.

Answer 4

Also in San Jose. I have been told by my gardener that the yellow patches are where the local dogs pee. He says the only real protection is a fence. Fertilizer can help bring back the patches, otherwise, new growth, next season will bring it back.

Answer 5

Too much water can cause damage to a lawn. In Florida, some problems like this is called brown patch. A fungus gets into the lawn in patches and kills it off.

Do not over water.

Answer 6

If this is a front yard then someone is walking their dog and allowing it to pee on your grass. The high nitrogen excreted in the urine along with other electrolytes like sodium and potassium burn your grass.

Answer 7

Just a guess but are there dogs that could pee on it around? My dogs kill my grass like that or did until I put a bit of vinegar in there water.

Answer 8

sounds like you have an animal peeing on it... dog urine is evil to grass... turns the spot where the dog has peed into a little brown patch.

goes away with time.. but the grass that grows in its place looks funky and thick...

if you have a dog, perhaps keeping it in one area to pee will solve your grass issues

Answer 9

You probably have a group of cats performing sacred rituals in the middle of the night. A friend of mine told me that cats use their claws to make these shapes.

Answer 10

Definitely a UFO landing site