Moss, a common sight on lawns and patios across the country, thrives in shaded areas or those with poor drainage.
Tackling the root causes of moss may not always be feasible, leaving gardeners to fight a yearly battle against its growth.
Lawn care experts at Joe’s Lawn Care suggest three methods for removing moss from grass.
Firstly, they recommend using a specialised moss killer, which often contains iron sulphate. Moss dislikes high iron levels in the soil.
Although deemed a “good” option by the specialists, they also note it’s “not great”.
Alternatively, gardeners can physically rake out the moss. The lawn care professionals advised: “To get rid of your unwanted moss is to head to your shed, rummage around for a bit, finally find it and then physically remove the moss from your lawn using your trusty rake and some elbow grease.”
The final suggestion to “eradicate moss” involves using dish soap, described by the experts as “good, safe and cheap”.
They explained: “I know this sounds odd, but mixing 60ml of dish soap into four-and-a-half litres of water and then filling up a hand sprayer is one of the most incredible moss-killing recipes you could ever come across.
“Simply take your mixture outside and spray on any patches of moss you come across, holding your bottle just a couple of inches away as you drench the moss with your epic creation.”
But how will you know if it’s worked? Well, they explained that over the next day, gardeners should see their “moss invasion turn from a lush green colour to an orangey-brown before it totally dries up and succumbs to the surrounding grass”.
Ideally, you’ll want to have checked the weather first and time your homemade moss spraying session with a rain-free period of 24 hours or more, otherwise, your solution will be “washed away and rendered useless”.
However, as long as you do that, “there’s no reason this won’t work”, claims the lawn specialists.
Tom Monson from Monson Lawn and Landscaping also recommends using dish soap. He said: “Killing moss without decimating your grass can be tricky, but a dish soap solution can make it look easy with a little care and attention.”
Then, once your moss has turned that weird orangey-brown colour and died, simply grab your rake and remove it from your lawn.
