I don't know how many years it has been since we've had such a wet August. The average rainfall for August in Augusta is 4.48 inches, but I had just under 10 inches of rain at my house.

Usually, we get that much only in years when the remnants of tropical storms move through the area.

One thing that pops up a lot when we get this much rain is mushrooms. A band of large, white ones surfaced in one of my neighbor's lawns a couple of weeks ago.

They're pretty, but you can't eat them: They're poisonous.

Mushrooms usually emerge when a lot of rain follows extended dry periods. Dry weather stresses the fungi, then when water becomes available, it triggers the reproductive mechanism and we get the mushrooms.

Mushrooms don't contain chlorophyll, the chemical that makes most plants green, but they are plants. Mushrooms are fruiting bodies of fungi that live below the surface. A lot of people think mushrooms are a sign of soil problems, but they're not bad for the soil. In fact, fungi are a vital part of a healthy soil ecosystem. The fungi that live in the soil help break down dead plants and other organic materials.

While the fungi that produce mushrooms are good for soil, they're not good for your lawn, though, and they can be harmful to pets and young children.

Circles or partial circles of mushrooms, called fairy rings, show where a colony of fungi is hard at work helping material decay. The "fingers" of the fungi extend radially from the colony, and mushrooms grow where the fingers emerge from the soil. Fairy rings are the hardest mushrooms to deal with. Not only are the plants hard to control, they can damage your lawn.

Fairy rings and other mushrooms produce toxins that can kill grass. So, even when you get rid of the mushrooms, you could still have a dead patch in your lawn. The toxin mushrooms most commonly produce is a cyanide based chemical. So keep children and pets away from mushrooms to avoid poisoning or other health problems.

If you know a child has eaten a yard mushroom, collect a sample of it and call poison control immediately. Usually, doctors will need a description of the mushroom to properly treat the child.

The best way to keep mushrooms out of your yard is to irrigate your landscape before it gets too dry (that doesn't mean over-watering, though). If it stays somewhat moist, the fungus will stay underground and won't produce mushrooms.

Yards that tend to get the most mushrooms are those that never get watered during drought.

If you have mushrooms, pull them up, kick them over, practice your golf swing, or run over them with the lawn mower. That keeps them from releasing the spores that spread the fungi. Then prevent further lawn damage by aerating the soil. Do that by poking holes in the ground with a pitchfork, garden cultivator, or rent an aerator.

After aerating the soil, water the area to dilute any toxins and wash them through the soil. If a patch of grass has died, re-establish grass in that area next spring, and keep it moist to prevent new mushroom growth.

Sid Mullis is the director of the University of Georgia extension service office for Richmond County. Call him at (706) 821-2349 or send e-mail to smullis@uga.edu.