# Lawn Moss



## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

Any suggestions on stopping or possibly curtailing the creeping of moss into our lawn? Weed and feed has not helped and don't want to consider new sod...


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

I' ll be testing with some lime.


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

Rake it out if it is a small lawn. Then over seed with a shady blend of grass seed unless you have a rare instance of moss growing in a sunny lawn. (If that lawn gets less than 8 hours of direct sunshine it is a shady lawn.)

Lime will change the pH of the soil but it takes a lot of lime to kill off moss. The downside is that enough lime to do a good job of killing moss will often change the pH to the point where the grass will not grow properly.

Do a search using terms like:

will lime control moss
how to control moss in a lawn


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## WALLEYE MIKE (Jan 7, 2001)

Too much shade. Eliminate that problem.
Very common problem on the north side of a building.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

Agree with Mike that shade is the root (no pun intended) cause. I thought, but may be mistaken, that Weed-B-Gone kills moss.


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## Josh R (Dec 4, 2010)

I have moss growing in my yard with ZERO shade. I gotta send out a soil sample, I know for sure I'm low on nitrogen also probably need some lime


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

Weed b Gone and commercial week killer application has not remedied the problem, shall do the lime application next...

Thanks for the input.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

I have been dealing with moss in my lawn. My main problem is acidic soil. I have been spreading pelletized lime and it's helping. Lime takes a while to neutralize the acidic conditions in your soil. Lime twice per year until you get near a PH of 7.


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## jiggin is livin (Jan 7, 2011)

frenchriver1 said:


> Weed b Gone and commercial week killer application has not remedied the problem, shall do the lime application next...
> 
> Thanks for the input.


It must be something close to the water. My cousin's lawn in more moss than grass, he is on Pt. Au Gres. It is shady in his backyard but I have never seen it to the extent of his. It is like carpet.


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## tuckersdad (Oct 30, 2010)

Lime and diluted dish soap in a spray bottle...or better yet rake out as described and amend soil...


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## jimbo (Dec 29, 2007)

They sell a moss killing spray. Once it turns black, you need to rake all the dead black moss out. Then plant your grass.
Moss is a bit*# to kill


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## wicklundrh (Mar 18, 2014)

When my dad built golf courses, this is an issue they delt with in Northern Michigan. I asked him about this very question and his reply was:

Lawn spike the area (I.E) the moss. They make a roller that has spikes on it to penetrate the moss so that you spread application can penetrate to the roots. This is the first thing they would do. I did not ask what they spread.

The second issue, as mentioned, is the result of moist or damp areas for too long of a period. As Mike said, often times, shade can be the culprit. Another issue (as stated by my dad) was the lack of air current or movement. In an area that doesn't get direct sunlight, air current can have a big impact in "drying" the area quicker. If it is not possible to remove the effective shade, the next logical choice might be to select cut low hanging branches in the area in order to allow for more breeze and air current.

Moss also tends to grow in more acidic soils. Similar locations where pine trees and Oaks likely grow. Lime applications can be effective to change the PH balance to sweeten the soil however this does take time.


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

wicklundrh said:


> Lime applications can be effective to change the PH balance to sweeten the soil however this does take time.


I did some google searching and read several sites on this, plus an article that was in the newspaper just a couple of weeks ago, and they all said the same thing. Several years for the lime to take effect. People are expecting almost immediate results like they will get with a dose of fertilizer. Lime does not work that fast and people will think that they have to add more lime and before they know it they have overdosed.

Then it gets really hard to change the pH of the soil back to something the grass can grow in.

In the long run it sounds like the best bet is to rake the stuff out, loosen up the soil, plant shade tolerant grass, and cut less often and generally bear with what nature has thrown your way.
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