Black Spots On Vinyl Siding Mulch

It goes all the way up to my second story windows and is even under my soffit and on my gutters.

Black spots on vinyl siding mulch.

The black tar like spots that are all over your vinyl siding are more than likely a fungus called sphaerobolus stellatus better known as artillery or shotgun fungus although it s most often found on the east coast it can grow anywhere and especially thrives in areas that have cool damp springs or rainy fall weather conditions. Artillery fungus is a wood dwelling fungus commonly found in mulch. If you notice lots of tiny black or dark brown spots developing on your siding above a landscaped area of your yard as seen below it is most likely artillery otherwise known as shotgun fungus. Here is a photo of what the actual fungus that produces the black spores.

Others have said it s a fungus from mulch. Add a fresh layer of mulch. Replace wood mulch with landscape fabric and small stones. We have thousands of tiny black spots pin head size all over the siding of our house.

The mulch is being contaminated by artillery fungus also known as sphaeobolus stellatus. These are microscopic flowers that shoot tar like substance up the 2. I ve found the following over the counter product works with elbow grease to remove the spots. There is no fungicide registered as an artillery fungus treatment.

A side of my house in new york is covered in the dots. There is research to suggest that blending mushroom compost at a rate of 40 with landscape mulch can suppress the spores. Use big pieces of pine bark or other bark mulch which are a less hospitable place for the fungus. Here is what the spores look like on the vinyl siding.

John shows you images o. The artillery fungus or shotgun fungus is a wood decay fungus that likes to live on moist landscape mulch. The worst thing about this fungus is that it shoots spores up to 20 feet which often land on siding cars. Plant a low maintenance groundcover in the area instead of using mulch.

This will buy you a year before the fungus reaches to the top of the new mulch. It s on the porch my windows but it is worse on the siding. I have been experimenting with various solutions on my vinyl siding to remove the spots. You can power wash them off of vinyl siding but such methods can be damaging to cars and wood siding.