If you don’t want to get your hands dirty (and smelly) from the stinkhorn, put on a pair of cheap latex disposable gloves. Put these in an airtight plastic bag and throw them away immediately after you finish killing the mushrooms.
Place the excavated soil (or other material) in the plastic bag along with the stinkhorn fungus. Then, seal the bag firmly shut.
After these steps, if mushrooms begin to reoccur, you may need to apply a chemical agent.
You should be able to find a safe, nontoxic fungal killer spray at your local plant nursery or gardening center.
When working with bleach, make sure to wear clothes that you don’t mind ruining, since the bleach will remove color from any fabric it splashes onto. Also consider wearing eye protection (such as safety goggles) to avoid the risk of splashing bleach into your eyes. Be aware that removing mushrooms using bleach or lime will likely harm—and possibly kill—other plants in the area. The chemicals will also damage your soil.
If you choose to first dig up the mushrooms before you apply bleach, simply pour the hot bleach solution over the entire area from which you dug up the stinkhorns.
You should be able to purchase lime at a local hardware store, plant nursery, or gardening center. Before applying the lime to the soil, read the instructions printed on the package. You may need to first dampen the soil before laying down lime.
Although the stinkhorns may smell offensive, they are not poisonous to humans or pets. Stinkhorn fungi will not harm your pets or any other plants in their vicinity. Stinkhorns use their unpleasant smell to attract flies. Flies land on the mushroom, pick up spores on their legs and bodies, and distribute these sports wherever they fly. So, if you notice a large number of flies around a specific mushroom, you may be dealing with a stinkhorn.
Varieties of stinkhorn fungus grow naturally throughout nearly all of North America and into Central America. Some varieties prefer subtropical and tropical regions, including parts of Mexico. [10] X Research source
At the very tip of a stinkhorn mushroom’s brown cap, there is a white ring-like circle with an opening at the tip.
