There’s Plenty of Fungus Among Us in Connecticut

Damn Torrington, you're extra juicy and humid this summer. It seems like overnight the whole South end of town is covered in mushrooms. Are we seeing the first signs of the Cordyceps invasion?

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I live on the Naugatuck River on S. Main Street in Torrington, and I've been watching the river rage all week from that flooding rain that soaked Vermont and the Berkshires. All of that incredible humidity and muggy air must have been carrying, or somehow activated every single mushroom spore in town. I took my dog out for a walk yesterday afternoon in our complex and was shocked at the hundreds of little orange mushrooms that had popped up everywhere.

Maybe I've watched 'The Last of Us' way too many times this year, but for some reason I'm weirded out by one of my favorite foods of all time lately. I've eaten over 100,000 fried mushrooms from Frankie's, pounds and pounds of Portabellas, eaten the shiit out of Shiitake, but I was shook by hundreds of little orange caps?

Over a thousand species of mushrooms have been found here in Connecticut according to Uconn.edu. I tried to identify what kind of mushrooms these were using the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society's website, but they've got so many subcategories and excellent member photos, they all kind of looked alike to me after awhile.

What can you do to help yourself keep the mushroom invasion away from your lawn? Most sites suggest aerating your lawn, but mushrooms are actually beneficial. Dish soap is a cheap remedy mentioned a few times.