Arterial Fungus On Siding

In home gardens it often takes up residence in wood mulch.

Arterial fungus on siding.

The worst thing about this fungus is that it shoots spores up to 20 feet which often land on siding cars and anything else that surrounds the mulch. Artillery fungus is a common fungus in north america. There is no fungicide registered as an artillery fungus treatment. We have not found a good efficient way to get them off without leaving a stain or damaging the siding especially on old dry siding.

Artillery fungus orients itself toward bright objects such as light colored siding windows or shiny automobiles parked nearby. You can power wash them off of vinyl siding but such methods can be damaging to cars and wood siding. These sticky black dots cling to vinyl siding like glue. Artillery fungus or sphaerobolus looks like mud or dirt spots and while the spores aren t harmful they can stain your home deck or car if not cleaned thoroughly.

The artillery fungus or shotgun fungus is a wood decay fungus that likes to live on moist landscape mulch. The common fungus can be found in bark mulch and manure and has the ability to propel spores several feet giving the spots a splattered appearance. Its primary job is to decay dead wood. The spore masses of the artillery fungus stick like super glue.

There is no recommended artillery fungus treatment. The fungi eject the sticky spore mass which can be blown by the wind as high as the second story of a house. Power washing may work on brand new only vinyl siding that still has a shiny oily sheen.