How to Get Rid of Mushrooms Growing in Mulch
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How to get rid of mushrooms growing in mulch depends first on what they are doing there. Mushrooms in wood or bark mulch are the visible fruiting bodies of fungi that are breaking down the mulch. Extension sources describe them as a normal part of decomposition, usually a short-lived nuisance, and generally harmless to plants and soil. This explainer covers the options the sources list: leave them, rake them out, or discard them. It also explains why removing the mushrooms does not remove the cause, and where the sources stop short of a full cure.
Quick answer
- Mushrooms in mulch are usually fungi feeding on wood and bark. The Michigan State Extension answer says most mushrooms do not harm plants or soil.
- You can leave them alone. The Tennessee-hosted Penn State fact sheet says the fungi may be left in place to decompose, and the mushrooms often disappear in warm, dry weather.
- If you remove them, rake or mow them and dispose of them away from the mulch. Do not eat them, because some mushrooms are poisonous.
What is growing in the mulch
Landscape mulches protect soil, conserve moisture, moderate soil temperature and limit weeds. Most are mixtures of shredded wood and bark. As with other organic matter, that material decomposes over time. The primary decomposers are bacteria and fungi, which get energy from the carbon-based compounds in wood and bark, including cellulose, lignin and simple sugars. The Penn State fact sheet notes that bacteria are microscopic and not visible in the mulch, while many fungi develop visible reproductive structures.
Those structures are what gardeners see. The fact sheet describes mushrooms as coming in various colors, shapes and sizes, ranging from less than an inch to several inches tall. Some are soft and fleshy and disappear soon after they emerge. Others remain for a few days, weeks or a whole growing season. The same source notes that the fungi involved in mulch decomposition are natural components of the mulch environment.
Mushrooms are only one of several fungi found in mulch. The fact sheet also covers slime molds, bird’s nest fungus and artillery fungus. Slime molds can look like brightly colored masses, while bird’s nest fungus resembles tiny gray to brown nests. Identifying the group helps, but the advice for mushrooms is the question most gardeners are asking.
Option one: leave them alone
The simplest option is to do nothing. The Penn State fact sheet says the fungi may be left in place to decompose. It also says mushrooms are normally a temporary nuisance confined to small areas. The Michigan State answer makes a similar point, and adds that mushrooms generally do not harm plants or soil. If you are growing vegetables in the same bed, the Michigan answer says it is okay to plant there.
The Michigan answer also explains why the mushrooms may fade on their own. It says that you can leave them alone and they will disappear when the weather is warm and dry. Mushrooms usually appear when conditions are ideal for their development, and that often means cool and damp weather. When the weather changes, the visible fruiting bodies tend to disappear without any action from you.
Option two: rake or mow them out
If the look bothers you, the Michigan answer gives a practical step. You can mow the area or rake the mushrooms out and dispose of them. This removes the visible fruiting bodies. It does not change the wood and bark underneath, so the fungi can keep decomposing the mulch.
Raking is a good option for small patches. The Penn State fact sheet recommends that if the appearance is offensive, the mushrooms should be discarded in a compost pile, in household garbage, or in a spot in the yard away from the existing mulch. Discarding them away from the bed keeps the removed material out of the mulch you are trying to clean.
Option three: discard them in a different place
The Penn State source gives three places to put the removed mushrooms: a compost pile, household garbage, or a spot in the yard away from the mulch. Each is a reasonable choice, depending on what your local rules and compost setup allow. The key is to keep the removed material out of the bed you are trying to clean.
Handling matters too. Many mushrooms are poisonous, and the Michigan answer says you should never eat a mushroom found in the landscape or forest unless you are confident you can identify it. The Penn State fact sheet also notes that they may be poisonous if eaten.
Why the mushrooms come back
Removing the fruiting body does not remove the material it grows on. The Michigan answer says that the spores remain in the soil until the rotted material they live on is gone, and that mushrooms will reappear when weather conditions are suitable. Wood and bark mulch decompose over time, so the material the mushrooms depend on is the mulch itself. The sources do not describe a way to stop that process short of changing the mulch itself.
The Michigan answer also points to the root of the issue in a related case. It says that in garden beds, mushrooms can appear because they are associated with decaying organic matter, which could be dead roots, stumps or mulch. The answer recommends the same routine: leave them, rake them out, or dispose of them, and expect them to return with the right conditions. For how light affects the fruiting stage, see how does light control mushroom fruiting. For the decomposition behind the mulch, see how does leaf litter decompose.
How we chose
We chose two sources. The first is a Penn State Extension fact sheet on what grows in landscape mulch, hosted on a Tennessee extension site. It covers mushrooms, slime molds, bird’s nest fungus and artillery fungus, and gives the options for leaving, removing or discarding them. The second is a Michigan State University Extension Ask Extension answer on mushrooms in a community garden bed that used wood mulch. It gives the practical options and the explanation of why the mushrooms return. Both were opened on 2026-10-27 and both returned HTTP 200. We used only statements found in the fetched text.
We did not use product names, mulch brands or weed-control products. The Michigan answer mentions weed control articles, but the scope of this explainer is the fungus and the mushrooms, so those articles were not used.
What we could not verify
The sources agree that mushrooms in mulch are usually harmless and that they are often temporary. They do not agree on a single removal method, and they do not test any one method against another. The statements below mark what the sources do not establish.
What the sources do not say
The sources do not say how long a given mushroom will last in a given bed, and they do not give a time for the mulch to finish decomposing. They do not compare raking with mowing or with leaving the mushrooms, and they do not measure how many new mushrooms appear after removal. The sources do not describe a chemical or physical method for stopping the fungi, and this article does not offer one. They also do not identify a specific mushroom species from the description given, so a closer identification would need a local extension service or a field guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are mushrooms in mulch harmful to my vegetables?
The Michigan State answer says most mushrooms do not harm plants or the soil, so it is okay to plant vegetables in that area. The Penn State fact sheet also describes these fungi as normally a temporary nuisance.
Should I remove mushrooms before planting?
The sources do not require removal before planting. The Michigan answer says it is okay to plant in the area, and the removal options are about appearance and safety.
Can mushrooms in mulch be eaten?
No. Both sources warn that many mushrooms are poisonous. The Michigan answer says never to eat a mushroom found in the landscape unless you are confident you can identify it.
Will the mushrooms go away on their own?
They often do. The Michigan answer says that mushrooms will disappear when the weather is warm and dry, although the spores remain in the soil and they can return when conditions are suitable.
Does raking the mushrooms stop them from coming back?
The sources do not say that raking stops new mushrooms. They say that removing the fruiting bodies does not remove the rotted material the fungi live on, so new mushrooms can appear when conditions are right.
Sources
- Penn State Extension, “What Is Growing in My Landscape Mulch?” (fact sheet hosted by University of Tennessee Extension), https://knox.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/202/2020/11/What-is-Growing-in-My-Landscape-Mulch.pdf (opened 2026-10-27).
- Michigan State University Extension, Ask Extension answer “Mushrooms on mulch in a vegetable garden,” https://ask.extension.org/kb/faq.php?id=867418 (opened 2026-10-27).
