How to Get Rid of Moss in Your Yard

 
 
 
 

Moss has an advantage when the lawn is stressed by:

Moss can be found virtually anywhere, even in full sun if enough moisture is present.

Moss is a sign of acidic soil conditions

One of the main reasons moss finds a comfortable home in your yard is that the soil PH level is below 6.0. Low PH levels in the soil make it difficult for grass to thrive because nutrients are not available for the plant to take in.

Moss grows well in the shade

Even if your lawn isn’t shaded by a canopy of trees, clouds filter the sunlight and make it that much easier for moss to grow. And unless your turf is getting several hours of direct or substantial filtered light, it can have trouble competing against shade-loving moss.

What weakens your turf, strengthens your moss

It seems strange that drought would contribute to moss growth, but lawns that have been thinned and dried out by the summer months rarely recover fast enough to compete with moss growth in the fall.

Similarly, lack of nutrients and poor drainage caused by soil compaction inhibit your turf’s root growth. Anything that hurts grass growth gives moss an advantage. So, in general, working to strengthen your lawn will consequently diminish the chances that moss will take over.

Give your lawn some love

We recommend testing and improving the nutrient levels in your soil with lime applications, irrigation, aerating, watering, fertilizing, and mowing.

Doing these things at the right time for the right type of turf can be tricky, so make sure you know what type of grass you have and what type of care it needs at different times of the year.

Removing and Preventing Lawn Moss

Though it’s necessary to use iron-containing moss control chemicals to get rid of moss, it’s not a long-term solution on its own.

The element that kills moss is iron, but since it causes rut stains on concrete or anything else it sits on and oxidizes, try to spread it carefully.

Evaluate the problem areas of your lawn by looking at shade, nutrient, and compaction levels and watch for improvements.

Moss should be killed before thatching or it will spread.

Cultural practices we recommend to keep moss from taking over your lawn:

• Shade reduction
• Lime applications
• Proactive grass management including watering, fertilizing, and mowing
• Dethatching in early Spring
• Aeration
• Irrigation for established lawns
• Application of Pro Spring (our proprietaty product that combines iron and fertilizer) and removal of dead moss
• Overseeding for severe moss problems

Read more about moss in the lawn on our moss resource page.

Keep your lawn moss-free with lawn care products from Country Green Turf Farms