My lawn is next to a small forest which has maple trees in it. I have noticed baby maple saplings(?) sprouting up in weird places. Should I kill the baby Maple trees and are they an indication that Maple tree roots are competing with my lawn? My priority is to grow a better lawn.

My lawn is next to a small forest which has maple trees in it. I have noticed baby maple saplings(?) sprouting up in weird places. Should I kill the baby Maple trees and are they an indication that Maple tree roots are competing with my lawn? My priority is to grow a better lawn.
I just mow them down. They make a mess of my lawn and garden !

I think that maple tree have seeds that fall, that is where your small maples are coming from. I sure that there are roots that stretch far and wide esp. on the older maples, so they probably are on your property,but they are prob deep. If I did not want the saplings to continue growing I would try to pull them a out by the roots. We have maples next door to our house. Hope this helps

Some Maples produce seeds in the spring, and some in the fall. The little Maple trees come from the seeds, not the roots. As tickle said, the mower should take care of the ones in the lawn. You can apply broad leaf weed killer to any others although brush killer is stronger.

Yes the roots are stealing nutrients from your grass. You can combat that with extra fertilizer. If you have to, introduce shade tolerant grasses including fine fescues and perennial rye.