# Mowing at night



## jpos34 (Aug 31, 2019)

Sometimes I just don't have time in my day to get my mowing in before the kids get to bed. After the kids go to bed that is my time to do what I want. Do yall advise against mowing the lawn after dark? Im perfectly fine with strapping on a head lamp and following the dew lines to get my cut done. I've already done this a couple time this year but wasn't sure if it was hurting my lawn. It doesn't appear to be harming it yet, but I feel like I've seen before that it could cause fungus issues. There are lots of times Ill cut my pasture after dark with my zero turn and the light bar I've modded onto it. But wanted to know about the Bermuda and reel mowing.


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## LittleBearBermuda (Sep 25, 2020)

It will be fine....your neighbors might not like it. Maybe you can get a toro greensmaster with headlights.


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## jpos34 (Aug 31, 2019)

LittleBearBermuda said:


> It will be fine....your neighbors might not like it. Maybe you can get a toro greensmaster with headlights.


Luckily my only neighbors are family members, and they already make fun of my addiction .


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

jpos34 said:


> Sometimes I just don't have time in my day to get my mowing in before the kids get to bed. After the kids go to bed that is my time to do what I want. Do yall advise against mowing the lawn after dark? Im perfectly fine with strapping on a head lamp and following the dew lines to get my cut done. I've already done this a couple time this year but wasn't sure if it was hurting my lawn. It doesn't appear to be harming it yet, but I feel like I've seen before that it could cause fungus issues. There are lots of times Ill cut my pasture after dark with my zero turn and the light bar I've modded onto it. But wanted to know about the Bermuda and reel mowing.


Actually, mowing in the wee hours of the morning and knocking the dew off the grass can help prevent fungus by accelerating dry time once the sun comes up. It's a double-edged sward though as it can spread fungus if you already have issues.

I recently spoke with a buddy who happens to be a golf super and has a turf degree, he told me that my evening mowing habit isn't ideal because it exposes the fresh cut blades to moisture and fungus all night long as opposed to cutting in the morning and the lawn drying out relatively quickly. It's probably not solely to blame but he was pretty confident it wasn't helping the rampant dollar spot I had last year.


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## jpos34 (Aug 31, 2019)

MasterMech said:


> jpos34 said:
> 
> 
> > Sometimes I just don't have time in my day to get my mowing in before the kids get to bed. After the kids go to bed that is my time to do what I want. Do yall advise against mowing the lawn after dark? Im perfectly fine with strapping on a head lamp and following the dew lines to get my cut done. I've already done this a couple time this year but wasn't sure if it was hurting my lawn. It doesn't appear to be harming it yet, but I feel like I've seen before that it could cause fungus issues. There are lots of times Ill cut my pasture after dark with my zero turn and the light bar I've modded onto it. But wanted to know about the Bermuda and reel mowing.
> ...


Thanks @MasterMech, i dont intend to make it common practice but some days its just all I have time to do. Hopefully it wont be to detrimental to the turf.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

jpos34 said:


> MasterMech said:
> 
> 
> > jpos34 said:
> ...


I'm forced to mow in the evening just before and sometimes after sunset (season dependent) by my work schedule and my neighbors def aren't going to appreciate me mowing at 5-6am. You are still going to have a fantastic lawn.


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## Pharmower (Apr 19, 2017)

I just recently cut my yard in the cloak of darkness with a head lamp &#128294; for the first time. I felt like it took my hobby to a whole new level! While I know nothing about its effect on fungus, I will say the temperature is way cooler after dark! That alone may convert me to a permanent nocturnal mower


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## jpos34 (Aug 31, 2019)

Im glad to know Im not the only one that cuts after dark. I can know tell my wife Im not the only "weird" one out there


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## UltimateLawn (Sep 25, 2020)

I used to cut my grass in the evening with an Ego electric mower even with close neighbors. I've since moved to a (more powerful) Honda and will probably end up moving my lawn late in the evening during the week or after 8:30am on the weekends.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

I almost only mow evening and night, because of my work schedule. My lawn does fine. I need to mention, I am in AZ and it is hot and dry so fungus is not usually an issue. The beauty of bermuda is you can mess up and the only thing is you have an ugly lawn for a month. When my lawn looks bad I scalp it at 1/4" and start over. In a month it looks good again.


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## rotolow (May 13, 2020)

Mowing in the morning/evening is better than not getting the mow in. I do this all the time because of the exact same reason (kiddos).


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## Boy_meets_lawn (Sep 27, 2020)

No comment.


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

That sure looks hard to do.... But Im going to have to try it! HA!
If you are really going to mow in the dark dark, I think a couple flood lights on the side of the house would help too.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

I have had to finish up mowing using the headlights on my lawn tractor.

Neighbor lady (from Brooklyn) across the street flashed her porch lights at me - three times. So I pulled up to her Ring doorbell camera and flashed my headlights at the camera three times.

They recently moved to Arizona. No one misses them.

When they listed their house for sale, I rolled up into her driveway to speak with her, on my lawn tractor. She was a rude woman.

They wrote me a letter asking me to keep an eye on their house if I would. I threw it in the trash.

When the "Arctic Blast" hit Texas the pipes in their master bedroom burst and did extensive damage. My wife saw the lady's pictures on the Book of Faces (I don't do that but she showed me). If they had been better neighbors I would have shut her water off before the hard freeze.

But not my circus, not my monkeys.

Moral of the story: big city neighbors don't know lawn tractors have headlights. And bad neighbors get to hire repairmen when they move.

And I try to get done with my mowing by sundown. Mosquitoes....


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## jpos34 (Aug 31, 2019)

I just told my wife about the positive response on this. She said I'm glad you finally found some weirdo friends &#128514;&#128514;. She just doesn't understand the addiction.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

My wife bought me a light tower to support my addiction. Pretty awesome.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

FlowRider said:


> I have had to finish up mowing using the headlights on my lawn tractor.
> 
> Neighbor lady (from Brooklyn) across the street flashed her porch lights at me - three times. So I pulled up to her Ring doorbell camera and flashed my headlights at the camera three times.
> 
> ...


My favorite post since the Crazy Neighbor thread! :thumbup:

""But not my circus, not my monkeys." Too damn funny! :lol:


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## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

I think it's pretty bad *** that your neighbors are family. Even though they won't like the sound of the mower in the evening, they probably won't be calling the cops on your (or complaining to the HOA, etc...)

I would think the evening mow is better than the early morning mow only because there's probably less dew on the turf in the evening.
I'm no pro, but I also think that the reason fungus is typically mentioned when folks talk about "mowing wet grass" is because it seems it would be easier to spread any fungal spores already present in the lawn when grass is wet. Again, what do I know?

But I suppose this is irrelevant if your fungicide game is on point.


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

What do you all do to avoid mosquitos at night? That normally keeps me from mowing late.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Like all the others... sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!


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