Moss is a small plant that provides a habitat for small invertebrate animals. Most mosses are natural and small, as part of the plant's natural growth alternation. Moss covers the bare soil surface and prevents it from eroding. Moss doesn't kill the grass in your yard, but it can take its place if your grass starts to die. To get rid of moss, you need to do it physically, or maybe use chemical means as well. In recent years, homeowners and gardeners have tended to favor the growth of moss, because of its beauty, as well as part of reducing the use of chemicals around the home. The perfect lawn might have a few bits of moss in between, and that's no big deal! But if you don't like seeing moss on your lawn, then read on for the next explanation.
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Part 1 of 3: Getting Rid of Moss Physically and Chemically
Step 1. Remove the moss by scarification
Scarification, also known as wetting, is the process of scrubbing or moving the lawn to remove loose moss and other solid organic matter.
- On small lawns, you can do this by hand. You just need to rub the harrow all over the yard with enough force to remove the moss. Use a spring-tine rake.
- If you have a large lawn, attach a thacth cleaning knife to your lawn mower. Adjust the height so that the blade touches the ground, but not so low that it doesn't cut your grass. Cut the moss from your lawn using this method, and remove any moss you managed to cut.
- You should clean the thacth from your lawn after using a chemical herbicide to weaken the moss beforehand.
Step 2. Try the herbicide glyphosate
The glyphosate-based herbicide is one of the most widely used herbicides currently on the market, but results vary when used to kill moss.
- These chemicals work by being absorbed through the leaves and into the soil.
- The conditions required for glyphosate to be effective against mosses are currently unknown, but for best results, use the herbicide if there are no other plants that might be a target for the herbicide as well.
- As with any herbicide, follow the directions for use carefully.
Step 3. Use ferrous sulfate or another sulfate-based herbicide
Although this herbicide is used less frequently, it has a higher success rate when used to kill moss. Ferrous sulfate is the most frequently recommended option, but the herbicides ammonium sulfate and copper sulfate are also effective.
- The iron will weaken the moss, often either killing it altogether or making it easier to remove manually.
- Spray 20 l of herbicide mixture on a 305 sqm yard. This mixture should contain about 90 ml of ferrous sulfate in 20 liters of water.
- If using copper sulfate, use 60 to 150 ml for every 16 liters of water, and spray this mixture on a 304.8 square meter yard.
- Always follow the instructions for use carefully.
Step 4. Consider using a mildew-killing soap
Cryptocidal soap can kill the moss it comes in contact with. This ingredient will bleach the moss, giving it a yellowish white color, and should be used in small amounts.
- This soap will not cause any damage to the paths in your garden, or other buildings.
- For best results, apply this soap during the dry season, when the moss is at its weakest.
- Follow the instructions on the label when using it.
Part 2 of 3: Reducing Conditions that Support Moss Growth
Step 1. Plant shade-loving perennials and shrubs
Grass doesn't grow well in light shade, but sadly, moss does. If you can't control the shady spots in your yard, try growing flowers and other plants that do well in such conditions that moss can't grow there.
Plants that do well in the shade are astilbe, brunnera, heuchera, hosta, hellebore, ferns, hydrangeas, pulmonaria, and tiarella. There are other flowers and shrubs that also grow well in the shade. Look for plants that do well in the shade the next time you visit the plant shop
Step 2. Let the sunlight into your yard
Moss grows well in shaded soil, but normal grass varieties do not. If you want to make your lawn healthier, consider cleaning anything that can block natural sunlight from reaching your lawn.
- Store piles of firewood, bricks, or other debris in a storage area such as your garage or garden shed.
- When building a new barn, think about how the position of the building will cast a shadow over your yard.
- Prune overgrown trees and shrubs so light can pass through.
Step 3. Avoid over-watering your plants
Moss grows well in places with high humidity. If the grass in your yard is not growing well for other reasons and is prone to mildew, overwatering it will only accelerate the growth of the moss.
- In particular, you should avoid watering the grass at night in early fall or spring, when moss growth is highest.
- If your grass is naturally wet, try improving its ability to drain water by changing the height of the grass, aerating the grass, clearing the grass thatch, or installing drains below the soil surface.
Step 4. Give your grass enough water to grow well
While humidity that is too high will create ideal conditions for moss growth, humidity that is too low will also weaken the grass and make it more susceptible to moss.
When your grass is too dry, it will turn brown and appear wilted. Grass like this may also be too weak to grow back when it rains or you water it. As a result, when it rains, the moss will grow faster while your grass dies
Part 3 of 3: Making Your Grass Healthier
Step 1. Avoid breaking your page
While most people want to enjoy their lawn, if you do too much work on it, your lawn will weaken. As your grass begins to die on its own, you may notice moss growing in its place.
- Damage to the yard can occur when you exercise, ride a bicycle, or if your dog digs in the yard.
- Longleg fly (Tipulidae) larvae can also cause damage to your yard. If you notice that you have lots of flies like this on your lawn, consider getting rid of them or preventing them from entering your yard.
Step 2. Improve your page aeration
Over time the grass in the yard will become so dense that air, water, and fertilizer cannot reach the roots. As a result, the grass will die and moss will grow in its place. Regular aeration can help control and prevent this from happening.
- Borrow, rent, or buy an aeration machine to do it. This machine will shoot hollow stems into the yard, and remove 2.5 cm of soil.
- By removing this soil solid, you're giving the soil space to spread out and become looser.
- Try to do this at least once before the start of the growing season and once before the end of the growing season.
Step 3. Clean the lawn of thatch regularly
This process will displace the grass deeper than aeration. If you aerate regularly, you won't need to clean the thatch too often. But if you have a lot of moss in your yard, clean thatch in your yard too.
- Remove thatch from your yard during the spring each year.
- The thatch cleaning knife will dig into the yard and remove most of the plants growing on the top layer of your lawn, and not above the soil. Since this is where moss grows, changing its location will prevent moss from growing.
Step 4. Plant the grass seeds in a thin lawn
If some areas of your lawn are thin, planting grass seeds in those areas is a good way to improve the overall quality of your lawn.
- Consider planting grass seeds that are resistant to growing in the shadows. These grass varieties include ryegrass, fine fescues, roughstalk bluegrass, and bentgrass. Alternatively, you can also purchase a grass seed mix labeled "sun-shade".
- When giving new seeds, cover the seeds with loose soil or 0.625 cm of sand on top, and keep the area moist until the young plants begin to grow.
Step 5. Apply fertilizer to your lawn
Moss can also grow in an infertile yard. An infertile yard means that it cannot provide the nutrients needed by the grass to grow properly. Ordinary fertilizer is the most suitable to overcome this condition.
- You can enlist the help of a professional gardener to test a sample of the soil in which the moss grows. But, in general, poor lawn fertility is when the dry, sun-exposed soil is overgrown with moss.
- Use a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content and sufficient potassium and iron content.
- The most beneficial fertilizers are applied four times a year: in early spring, late spring, midsummer, and early fall.
Step 6. Sprinkle garden lime
Lime can be used to control the acidity of your lawn. Moss often grows when acidic soil restricts nutrients to your grass, allowing moss to grow in its place.
- Use calcium-based lime for best results.
- Test your lawn's soil pH. Ideal conditions are neutral, in the range of 6.5 to 7. If your soil pH is below 6 it is acidic, and above 7 it is alkaline.
- Only use lime to improve acidic soil, not alkaline soil.
- Apply lime to your lawn twice each growing season if the soil test results are acidic.
