Do you know about “stinky” ones--called Stink Horns--that have a distinctly putrid smell? Usually you will find these things in mulch or damp, shady areas of your yard. The spores are probably carried in by squirrels, crows, or other small animals that like to investigate rotting animals.
When you locate the general area of odor, then begin to look for an orange/white shape coming up out of the ground. I know the name says “horn” but sometimes there is really no horn shape to it – maybe it forms either earlier or later than I have ever found them. You will HAVE to get rid of it, or it will multiply. Do not touch any part of this thing, or you may spread the spores. That goes for touching it with your hand or with any tool. Begin by carefully removing any mulch or living plants which surround the mushroom. The underground structure of a Stink Horn is surprisingly deep and wide, so begin a few inches away from the above ground orange structure, and, with a shovel, dig straight down about 6 inches, and then all the way around. Try to remove the whole thing in as big a piece as you can and put it in a plastic bag which does not leak. Go back to your hole and inspect to see if you have removed all of the mushroom. Finish up removing what’s left and put that all in the bag, too. Seal up the bag, then put that in another bag and seal up. Place all in your kitchen garbage and put out for the kitchen garbage truck. Wash all of your tools well with soapy water.
PS. If your garbage pickup is several days away, you may want to put the plastic mushroom bag someplace where you are sure its increasingly powerful smell won’t pervade your outdoor living space.
As insurance, you may want to make a weekly sniffing tour around your yard for the next several weeks.
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Martha Dysart
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