Although most turf grasses are great at resisting diseases, lawn infections do sometimes occur. If you notice your lawn looking thin, dry, or discolored, it may be the result of a lawn disease. Treating the problem early will prevent it from spreading and causing permanent damage to your yard. Here are eight of the most common lawn infections to watch out for:

1. Rust
Rust appears as small, yellowish specks on stems and leaves. Over time, the specks may spread and grow into orange pustules. When the disease becomes severe, the lawn may start to develop an orange or red hue. The disease often occurs as a result of drought or lack of fertility.

2. Brown Patch
Brown patch is a lawn disease that causes brownish-yellow circular patches in the grass. The patches can range from six inches wide to several feet wide, and the infection can affect warm season and cool season lawn grasses. Brown patch often occurs during periods of heat or humidity, but it can also be caused by excessive irrigation, poor drainage, and compacted soils.

3. Powdery Mildew
Powdery mildew is a common fungal disease in cool season grasses, especially Kentucky bluegrass. It tends to appear in shady areas or during a prolonged period of overcast weather, and it causes a white dust to form on leaf blades.

4. Red Thread
Red thread is common in cool season grasses and is caused by low nitrogen levels in the soil. It causes a red webbing to appear on the grass, but it's mostly harmless. Fungicides can treat red thread, but most people eliminate the disease just by fertilizing with nitrogen.

5. Leaf Spot
Leaf spot occurs during cool, wet weather and affects a wide variety of grasses. It causes small, dark lesions on the leaf blades, which eventually cause the plants to die and turn brown. Leaf spot often occurs in large patches and can kill entire sections of a lawn. Mowing the grass slightly higher rather than lower can help prevent the disease.

6. Snow Mold
Snow mold usually appears at the end of winter or the beginning of Spring as the snow melts. Gray snow mold infects the leaf tissue of a plant, and pink snow mold infects the crown. Pink snow mold is usually more harmful, but both types can hurt or kill a lawn. The affected spots tend to shrink when the weather becomes warmer, though.

7. Fairy Ring
Fairy rings are dark green circles or semi-circles of grass that can affect all types of turf grass. The surrounding grass usually dies or dries out, but the problem is very difficult to deal with. Proper fertilization and irrigation can prevent fairy rings from forming.

8. Dollar Spot
Dollar spot mostly affects bluegrass and ryegrass. It causes small, straw-colored patches with lesions across the leaves. The disease usually doesn't cause permanent damage, but it can be prevented with infrequent but deep waterings.

By taking time and identifying which disease your grass may have, you will be able to accurately provide the cure for your lawn.

Mowing your lawn at the proper height will ensure your yard looks fantastic, your grass stays healthy and resistant to drought-like conditions, as well as reduce the possibility of undesirable weeds. While there seems to be much debate over the proper height your lawn mower should be set at, it really comes down to a solution that best fits your type of grass, the season of the year, and the growing conditions.

Type of Grass
There are two major categories of grass, which are warm-season and cool-season. Identifying the type of grass you have and determining the proper height it should be at is where you need to start. The heights listed is what your grass should be at after a fresh mowing.

Warm-Season
Bermuda, Zoysia: .5 to 2.5 inches Centipede, Kikuyu: 1 to 2 inches Bahia, Buffalo, St. Augustine: 2 to 4 inches
Cool-Season
Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass: 1 to 2.5 inches Fine Fescue, Tall Fescue: 1.5 to 4 inches

Time Of The Year
Just as the seasons change the climate, they also change the growing patterns of the grass. At the start of Spring, you want to mow warm-season grasses shorter than normal to remove any dead grass blades. For cool-season grasses, you want to mow the grass shorter for the final Fall mow to prevent against snow mold that could damage the health of your grass.

When it's getting close to the last few mows of the season you should start slowly increasing the amount of grass you cut off. Most people tend to wait until the last mow of the season to go really short. This works for some grass types, but not for all. It can leave the grass in somewhat of a shock with a larger portion of the grass missing than usual. Avoid this by slowly taking off more and more as you near the end of the season.

Some additional information to follow is to keep the grass higher in times of drought conditions. In more shaded areas of your lawn, it's ideal to leave the grass slighter higher than the rest as it doesn't grow back as fast.

The 1/3 Rule
The one-third rule is the simplest method to follow when determining how low to cut your grass. If you followed the initial step above, you should know the ideal height range for your lawn. You want to start mowing your lawn when the grass height is one-third above the recommended level. This will ensure you cut one-third off of the top of the grass blades and that the two-thirds remaining makes up the total recommended height for your lawn.

By following all the tips above you should be able to determine the best height for your grass no matter what time of the year it is. When you get the height right your lawn will look lushly green and be healthy all year round. Don't just take a guess at the right height. Take the time to figure out the ideal setting at the beginning of the year so you can enjoy your grass all year long.