It is very common that many times lawn grass either gets dead or it gets moss. In both cases, either you use don't irrigate your lawn grass properly or you don't have a proper drainage system.
There are multiple reasons for moss on the lawn. People get frustrated because of lawn moss but it is not harmful. Although there are many disadvantages of lawn moss it is not harmful to humans or animals.
Let's understand why moss appears on lawn grass? And how can we demoss lawn with and without using chemical moss killers?
Moss in lawn removal and treatment of affected area in USA
What causes moss on the lawn?
Moss is a sign of disturbance in soil health, lack of drainage system, and a shady atmosphere.
It is seen that moss can appear due to single or multiple reasons. But a common reason for moss on the lawn is overmoisture. Moisture is related to both mosses appearing causes like soil situation and shady atmosphere.
Acidic soil is very bad for the lawn because its combination with moisture invites moss in the entire lawn.
Sometimes, by mistake, people make their lawns in shade because of heavy temperature. But in winters and rainy seasons, it may create trouble and become a reason for moss to appear.
Is moss bad for your lawn?
Although the moss garden looks so green and shiny comparatively green grass garden.
Moss is not bad for your lawn that's for sure. But if you don't clean the growing moss with lawn grass then moss can take over the lawn grass. Without cleaning of moss, your lawn will convert into a moss lawn from a grass lawn.
People want to clean because of the following reasons-
- Moss is slippery and holds a lot of water. It is not easy to walk and to wet to sit in a moss garden.
- Moss takeover the garden grass easily. So there will not be any grass pasture for a poultry farm or to make organic compost.
- Moss can reach the house because it grows continuously by taking control of the lawn. But grass remains in the lawn soil only.
- How to remove moss or demossing from the lawn in the USA
Moss removing methods in USA
Permanent moss removal
- Scarifier and permanent moss killer
Permanent moss removal includes the scarifier method and then a spray of moss killer.
Practically, if you don't manage basic moss problems then there is no permanent solution for the demossing lawn.
So first, a professional worker removes the present moss with the help of a scarifier. Then he checks the soil pH and according to it, he uses moss-killing chemicals. This method is so effective but not so deeply explained of its side effects on pets and humans.
- Maintaining moisture
Moisture maintenance is one of the permanent solutions to the moss problem. It is applied just before planting grass. It is important to make a 10 degrees slope in your lawn for drainage initially.
In case of no slope in the lawn, you have to manually install a drainage system. In case of heavy rain, you can use moisture-absorbing mat rollers on your lawn.
Other ways to drain the moisture from the lawn are the installation of internal drainage pipes, a sprinkling of sand, and moisture-absorbing cloth movement in the lawn.
Temporary removal
Temporary removal uses to clean appeared moss directly from the lawn. Although it uses to clean all the moss from the lawn you have to cut the lawn grass with it too. Temporary methods can work as permanent without any use of chemicals if you follow the basics of the process of demossing.
Following are some of the temporary moss-removing methods-
- Use of scarifier
There are many scarifiers available in the market. Some of them are automatic and some are manual working scarifiers.
Scarifier cleans the moss directly with the roots and demosses your lawn at least for a period.
The scarifier process is similar to cutting lawn grass.
- Access to direct sunlight
If your lawn is in the shade of any object then you must aware of it. Direct sunlight is very important in high humidity areas. If your lawn is under the shade of the house and no possibility of sunlight access then you should not be a worry.
Use light reflection methods with mirrors. You can use big size mirrors to reflect sunlight towards the lawn. It is the easiest way to get direct access to sunlight. You have to prepare a framework with proper angles that reflect direct sunlight on the lawn.
What are moss killers?
Moss killers are market chemicals made artificially to kill moss permanently from the lawn. These chemicals are Ferrous sulphate, Zinc sulphate, zinc chloride, baking soda, etc.
Many people think that they can use these harmful chemicals on their own but is not a good idea. It is always better to call professionals to demoss your lawn or kill moss permanently from the lawn.
Moss killers increase the soil pH and reduce the chances of moss growing with lawn grass. Even if your lawn doesn't have proper drainage and very less sunlight, moss killers can kill moss in those cases too.
Moss killers can harm your pets while walking, and one can harm himself if he does it without proper practice and knowledge, you don't know how much moss killer to use on the lawn without disturbing the balance of grass growing, and maybe it will not work if you do it by yourself.
Removing dead moss from lawns and recovering lawn grass
Dead moss is non-growing solid dried moss. It can regrow if it gets enough moisture to grow.
Dead moss removal is important and easy. You have to clean it with a one-inch layer of soil. You can use sharp and wide tools to remove it directly with the roots. Be aware and clean the soil moss surface properly.
After cleaning dead moss, you have to prepare for grass recovery. For that, you need to check the soil pH of that moss removed area. If it is weakly acidic(6. to 6.8), then you need to use ordinary fertilizer that slightly neutralizes the soil. If the soil is strongly acidic, then ask experts for the best fertilizer to reduce the acidity of the soil. After mixing proper fertilizers, you need to make the soil moist for growing grass.
Take some small grass sections and plant them in this area. If you maintain your lawn properly, then it will take some time to get roots strong and recover your lawn from dead moss to green grass.
Do we really need harmful liquid or solid chemicals to remove moss from lawns in the USA?
If you want to remove lawn moss and the possibilities of lawn moss in the future, then you can go for chemical moss killers. But you should call for professionals for this work. It is not safe to use and spray moss killers on your own because in many cases, people don't know about the property and circumstances of overusing or less using moss killer chemicals. They may be harmful to pets or children or any living being.
When you call for professional moss killers then crosscheck the chemicals and ask for proper details and the impact of those chemicals in the future.
Although, moss killers are not the only solution for lawn moss removal. If you don't want moss on your lawn, then maintain your lawn with proper sunlight, a drainage system, and soil health. Keep your soil optimized with necessary fertilizers. Don't let the overmoisture on your lawn and fix the drainage.