What is the problem?
Moss can be a temporary problem following drought or waterlogging, or more persistent, suggesting a problem with underlying conditions. On new lawns this may be due to poor site preparation. On established lawns poor vigour, acidic soil conditions, a lack of feed, insufficient aeration, poor drainage, shade, close mowing and over-use are likely to blame.
Killing and removing the moss is just the start. To remain moss-free, the vigour of the grass must be improved and any other contributory factors addressed. Good autumn lawn maintenance is essential to maintaining lawn health.
If, despite remedial action, moss remains a problem, such as under trees or in a poorly-drained site, consider alternatives to grass. Bear in mind that artificial turf may also suffer from problems with moss and other green growths.
Appearance
There are several types of moss that grow on lawns. These are usually coarse, loose, green or yellowish-green tufts between the grass, but can form densely matted tufts or, in the case of Polystichum, appear like small forests of miniature Christmas trees.
Moss gives the turf an uneven colour and surface. Loose mosses make the lawn feel spongy to walk on.
Control
Non-chemical control
Scarification: Remove loose moss in autumn, by scarification (vigorous raking). On small lawns this can be done by hand, raking out the moss with a spring-tine rake, but on larger lawns mechanical scarifiers can be hired.
Chemical control
For moss control use a proprietary product (e.g. Vitax Green Up Mossfree), such as those based on ferrous sulphate (sulphate of iron) in spring or early autumn. The ready-to-use formulations of ferrous sulphate (e.g. Doff Lawn Moss Killer Spray) can be used to spot treat small patches of moss on lawns. When the moss blackens after two or three weeks use a spring-tine rake to remove it. The dead moss can be added to the compost heap. Although slow to rot in bulk, moss can be composted if well mixed with plenty (four times the volume of the moss) of other ingredients. Moss can be stored and added gradually as other ingredients become available. As moss is very widespread any spores that survive the composting process won’t add significantly to the risk of moss forming in the garden. Best practice is to avoid consigning moss to the green waste collection, and disposal by composting, or in extreme cases stacking or burial is recommended.
Mosskillers combined with a fertiliser (nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium, indicated by the abbreviations NPK) (e.g. Scotts Lawn Builder Lawn Food Plus Moss Control, Vitax Green Up Lawn Sand Moss Control or William Sinclair J. Arthur Bower's Autumn Lawn Food & Mosskiller) are beneficial where grass vigour is low.
Apply mosskillers either by hand or with a push-along spreader. Be careful not to apply lawn sand (ferrous sulphate mixed with a carrier) at too high a rate as this can blacken and kill the grass as well as the moss. Apply lawn mosskillers in fine weather. Some require watering after 48 hours if there has been no rain. Check pack for details.
Control with a mosskiller will only be temporary unless the conditions which allowed the moss to become established are improved.
New lawns: Good preparation should ensure moss control is rarely required on a new lawn. However, if the need does arise, double check the manufacturer's recommendations on the pack before applying. Many products should not be applied within the first six months or after a certain number of cuts.
Artificial lawns: Brinton's Patio Magic (containing benzalkonium chloride) will control moss on artificial turf. Keep artificial turf in good condition by regular brushing. Ensure water is not allowed to pool on the surface.
Note on ferrous sulphate: Although ferrous sulphate is widely offered as a fertiliser and soil acidifying agent, unless it is contained within a proprietary lawn mosskiller it is not approved for use as a pesticide and cannot be legally used to control moss. In addition, if it were to be applied as a mosskiller on lawns there is a high risk that it will blacken and potentially kill the grass - a problem seldom encountered with proprietary lawn mosskillers, especially those in pelleted forms, making them easy to apply evenly and accurately.
Download
Weedkillers for gardeners (Adobe Acrobat pdf document outlining weedkillers available to gardeners - see sections 1d and 2a for lawn mosskillers)
Links
Chemicals: using safely and effectively
Moss removal programme
This is an example of a programme you could follow to get rid of moss, and prevent it coming back.
Autumn treatment:
- Early Autumn: Apply autumn fertiliser and mosskiller
- When moss has browned or blackened, scarify the lawn. Aerate with a garden fork or hollow tiner if necessary. Brush in a light lawn top-dressing of three parts loam, six parts sharp sand and one part peat substitute by volume
- If grass is sparse, lightly over-seed before applying the top-dressing, at a rate of 17-34g per sq m (½-1oz per sq yd) with new lawn seed
Spring treatment:
- Mid- to late March: Apply spring fertiliser and mosskiller during fine weather
- Early April: Lightly rake out dead moss
- Lightly over-seed sparsely grassed areas and lightly top-dress as above if necessary
Moss prevention
To prevent moss returning, encourage vigorous grass growth by feeding and regular lawn maintenance, paying particular attention to the following:
- When seeding or laying a lawn in a shaded area, use a grass seed mix or turf specified for shady areas. Reducing shade will also help
- For compacted areas use a garden fork to spike the lawn, or a mechanical slitter on large lawns. This will aerate the turf
- On heavy soils use a manual or mechanical hollow-tiner in autumn to take out small plugs of soil every three or four years, and then brush in a mixture of three parts sandy loam, six parts sharp sand and one part peat substitute by volume
- Avoid mowing grass too short
- On very acid soils an application of garden lime at not more than 50g per sq m (1½oz per sq yd), will slightly reduce acidity and discourage moss