What causes moss in lawns?
In a healthy lawn, the grass will usually grow strongly enough to prevent moss, so a heavy growth of moss in lawns is a sign that there’s a problem with the lawn. Some of the most common problems are:
Poorly drained lawns
Moss grows well in damp conditions, so it’s often found in poorly drained lawns. The drainage problems may be due to inadequate soil preparation before the lawn was sown, or soil becoming compacted over time due to heavy foot traffic. Grass struggles to grow in these conditions, and can quickly be out-competed by moss.
Shade
Moss grows well in shade, so it can quickly colonise shady lawns where grass growth tends to be weak and patchy.
Acidic soil
Although moss can grow in practically any soil, it’s more common in acidic soils, mainly because lawn grasses tend to struggle in these conditions.
Lawns mown too short
Regularly mowing the lawn too short weakens the grass, allowing moss to move in.
How to get rid of moss in your lawn
Preventing moss in your lawn requires a two-pronged approach:
- Removing the moss, either by raking it out or with the help of lawn moss killers.
- Improving lawn health to reduce the risk of the moss growing back.
Scarifying to remove moss from lawns
The first step in getting rid of moss is to scarify the lawn, using a spring tine rake or a mechanical scarifier. Rake firmly over the lawn to loosen the moss. If your lawn only has a small amount of moss, scarifying by hand may be enough to remove it. If there’s a lot of moss in the lawn, scarifying before applying moss killer will thin the moss out, allowing moss killer to penetrate and deal with the remainder.
Raked-out moss can be added to your compost heap, but it breaks down very slowly, so add it gradually over several weeks and layer it with other plant material.
Using moss killer to remove moss from lawns
Heavy moss growth can be tackled with moss killers.
Moss killers usually contain ferrous sulphate (also known as sulphate of iron) which is very effective at killing moss in lawns. Our range of moss killers includes products that solely target moss, and also products like Miracle-Gro Complete 4 in 1 which kills lawn weeds as well as moss. They also feed the lawn, thickening up weak patchy grass so that moss is less likely to grow back. Moss killers are available in both liquid and granular form, so you can choose the product that best suits your garden’s needs.