What is Artillery Fungus? Identifying Those Black, Fungus Spots on House Siding
If you’ve ever noticed unsightly black spots that develop on your house siding, windows, patio furniture, vehicles, or other objects, you might have an artillery fungus problem. No matter how diligent you are at keeping your home clean, a quality contractor will tell you artillery fungus can form when you least expect it. The main reason is because it lives in mulch that you might put around the landscaping of your home. It’s virtually impossible to see the artillery spores unless you are specifically looking for them closely, since the fruiting bodies are only about 1/10” wide.
The good news is you can prevent artillery spores from spreading with a little effort. And if you already have an abundance of artillery fungus around your home, then you might need to have an exterior home improvement company take care of the big issue to get it manageable for you to handle going forward. A quality contractor will know exactly how to remove the fungus for you and can give you tips on how to prevent it going forward.
How Artillery Fungus Appears: The Source of Spreading
The first step to preventing and removing artillery fungus is learning a little more about how it shows up on your property to begin with. As mentioned, it lives in landscape mulch, so you might be bringing it to your home if you like to use mulch around your house. And the problem with artillery spores is they thrive in the cool spring and fall seasons, which are typically when people take on their outdoor landscaping projects.
An exterior home improvement professional will tell you that, once the fruiting bodies establish themselves, they can shoot spores as high as 10-feet onto any objects you have close by. And if they shoot their spores on windy days, they can travel even farther. Artillery fungus prefers to aim spores at sunlight, but if you don’t have any natural sunlight visible around the perimeter of your home, then it tends to aim at reflective or bright surfaces. These are commonly associated with vehicles, furniture, and bright siding. If you’ve ever tried to remove artillery spores yourself, you know how difficult it is to accomplish with standard cleaners. While the spores won’t necessarily damage anything they touch, they can create an unsightly appearance.
Can Artillery Fungus Be Prevented?
Now that you know where artillery spores develop and how they get onto different items around your home, it’s time to learn how you can prevent them from spreading. The truth is even an exterior home improvement professional can’t tell you whether there’s artillery fungus in the area until it becomes visible. Even if you don’t use wood mulch for landscaping, your neighbors might and the spores could travel to your property on windy days. An exterior home improvement professional or quality contractor might also indicate the spores could travel from plants you bring home from a nursery or even be stuck to leaves that get blown into your yard.
So whether you ask a family-owned home improvement business owner or any other quality contractor, they will tell you there’s not a lot you can do to completely prevent the possibility of artillery spores forming on your property. The best thing to do to prevent the spread is to clean the spots immediately when they are detected so they won’t continue thriving and make a spotty mess everywhere.
What to do When You Detect Artillery Spores on Your Home's Exterior
Any exterior home improvement professional or quality contractor will tell you to act quickly when you spot artillery spores. The longer the spores sit on a surface, the stickier they will get and the harder it will be to remove them. Scrub the spots firmly with a brush and a non-toxic cleaner to get rid of them. If you’ve tried several times to remove them without success, then a quality contractor can help you since they have more experience.
If you happen to spot some artillery spores in the mulch you just brought home, don’t ignore it. You can remove it by covering it with plastic to suffocate it and then dig it out and remove it. You could also rake the mulch out into a thinner layer so it will dry out quickly and prevent the spores from spreading. Or you could simply add more mulch to the top of the spores where it suffocates it, but then you’re risking more spores being inside the mulch you add.
How an Exterior Home Contractor Can Help
In some cases, an exterior home improvement professional might have success pressure washing the objects where artillery spores are present. The main thing you have to worry about when using a pressure washer is damaging the item you’re cleaning. If you start noticing paint peeling away or similar damage occurring, stop using it and reach out to a quality contractor for assistance if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Artillery Spores
What are artillery spores and why are they appearing on my home?
We often explain that artillery spores are small black spots that show up on siding, windows, patio furniture, and even vehicles. They come from a fungus that lives in landscape mulch around your home, and they can appear even if you regularly clean your exterior.
How do artillery spores spread onto my siding and other surfaces?
We see that once the fungus develops in mulch, it can shoot spores up to about 10 feet—and even farther on windy days. These spores tend to aim toward sunlight or reflective surfaces, which is why they often stick to siding, windows, and other bright areas.
Can artillery spores be prevented completely?
From our experience, it’s very difficult to completely prevent artillery spores. Even if you don’t use mulch, spores can travel from nearby properties or be brought in through plants and debris. The best approach we recommend is catching and cleaning them early before they spread.
What is the best way to remove artillery spores from my home?
We always advise acting quickly. The longer the spores sit, the harder they become to remove. Scrubbing with a brush and a non-toxic cleaner is usually the first step, and in more stubborn cases, a professional may need to step in to safely remove them.
What should I do if artillery fungus is in my mulch?
If we notice spores in mulch, we recommend addressing it right away. You can cover it to suffocate the fungus, remove the affected mulch, or spread it out to dry. In some cases, replacing or managing the mulch is necessary to prevent further spreading.
While artillery fungus isn’t harmful to your health, it creates an unsightly mess on your property. Phil Beaulieu & Sons is a family-owned home improvement business that can help you with virtually any home improvement project you have. Whether it’s improving your roof, siding, doors, windows, decks, porches, gutters, or anything else, our exterior home improvement experts can take care of you. You can trust our family-owned home improvement business like many of our customers have for over 50 years, so contact us today to see how we can help you.
