A homeowner in Tacoma showed me a weird trick for spotting root rot

I was checking a big maple in their backyard and they pointed out a patch of mushrooms I'd missed, saying 'Those little guys only show up when the wood's already gone soft inside.' It made me look closer and sure enough, the base was spongy. Do you guys trust fungal growth as a first sign, or is it too late by then?

4 comments

4 Comments

luna_wright6d ago

Reminds me of a neighbor who ignored a tiny crack in their foundation. Said it was just the house settling. Two years later, the whole basement wall bowed in. @jennifer833 is right about broken systems. You see the one small thing, but the rot is deep. Like finding rust under a car's shiny paint. By the time it's visible, the damage is done.

kelly.hannah6d ago

Spot the small signs before the whole thing falls apart.

holly_reed556d ago

Wait, they had mushrooms growing right out of the tree? That's wild. I always thought those were just in the dirt. If you see actual mushrooms on the trunk, isn't that basically the tree screaming for help? That's like seeing smoke before you even smell the fire.

jennifer8336d ago

Yeah, it's like that with so many things now. You see one weird little sign and it means the whole system's already broken down under the surface.