How do you kill moss on lawns?

Answer 1

Killing the moss in lawns is simply a short term measure.

Moss in Lawns is probably one of the least understood of all grass lawn problems. Treating or killing the moss is not the answer. Moss is a sign that something is basically wrong with your lawn. Too often, gardeners attempt to kill moss in lawns without tackling the problem that actually causes it. They are helped to this decision by the huge range of 'moss killers' available at local garden centres.

There are two basic moss killers for lawns that are available - Ferrous Sulphate and Dichlorophen. One or the other is usually incorporated into typical lawns Feed and Mosskiller combinations. The latter is also available as a ready to use 'Moss Gun' for small patches. Neither do anything by way of treating the basic problem of moss in lawns. They simply kill the moss which is there. It will return

If you really want to eradicate moss from your lawn, then you have to find out the actual problem that is causing it, rather than just treating it. The reasons are various, but not too difficult to isolate.

They can be one or several of the causes outlined below

• Waterlogging - in winter or summer.
• Poor feeding regime - usually denoted by light green grass.
• Acid soil - carry out a test.
• Shaded Lawns - overhanging trees or large shrubs.
• Mowing lawns too close - a common cause, for it weakens the grass - allowing moss to take hold
• Drought - if severe enough to harm or kill the grass. Not to be confused with a bit of summer-browning
• Sandy - free-draining soils. This can weaken the grass and allow moss to take over. Some mosses are quite happy in these conditions.
• Compaction - continued use by children and pets with no remedial attention by way of aeration in the Autumn.

Generally, lawns that are well maintained - which includes being well fed, cut properly, aerated and not allowed to develop thatch - then the problems which result in moss will not occur in the first place. Moss can rarely compete with strong growing grass in lawns. It is allowed to develop and take a hold when the grass growth is weak. Get the grass growing properly and the likelihood is that your lawn will not suffer from moss problems.

Treating small areas of lawn moss can be carried out with a moss killer containing Dichlorophen. After a couple of weeks, you can rake out the dead moss and re-seed. If you need to use a feed for the area, it is better to feed the whole lawn in order to avoid patchiness!

Assuming that you have inherited a lawn with a moss problem, you should carry out the following maintenance regime - rather than simply treating the moss which is there. (The details of all operations are to be found elsewhere in this section. Quick fixes just do not work, other than to kill the moss which is present.) Unless you tackle the underlying problem, the moss will return!

• In Spring, apply a Ferrous Sulphate based moss-killer to the whole affected area.
• Two weeks later, rake out the dead moss.
• Re seed the bare areas
• Early summer, apply a lawn fertilizer to get the grass growing again
• Mow the lawn properly, regularly, throughout the summer - NOT too short
• Keep the lawn well watered i n drought conditions to allow the new grass to keep growing.
• Take note of any areas of dense shade on your lawn, and try to minimize this if possible.
• In Autumn, give the lawn a good raking or mechanical scarifying, and aerate.
• Apply top dressing at this time if the lawn is either uneven, or in need of an organic 'injection'. Particularly useful on weak sandy soils.
• Carry out a soil test at some stage in the summer/autumn to assess the acidity of the soil. If in need of adjustment, then lime can be applied in the autumn.
• Keep off lawns in the winter months in order to avoid compaction of the surface.

If by the autumn, your lawn is growing well, then most if not all of the moss in your lawn will have been controlled or even eradicated. Further spot treatments may be needed, or maybe even a full treatment for most lawns again the following spring.

• Dry soil is susceptible to mosses which tend to grow in upright habit with small leaves.
• Damp, compacted and waterlogged lawns usually results in mosses that have a creeping habit.
• Cushion habit mosses usually state that you are mowing the grass too short.
• First signs of moss taking hold in this generally uncared-for lawn. It has a build-up of thatch, and has been lacking in proper care and attention resulting in poor grass that leads the way open to moss taking over. The maintenance regime as outlined above for moss in lawns would do much to alleviate this problem.

  Simply treating or killing the moss in your lawn is not the answer.

Answer 2

by pulling down your trousers and doing a massave pee on them

Answer 3

Iron chelate or iron sulphate