How to get Rid of Moss in Spring

Moss spreads everywhere during cool, wet winters like the common cold. However, moss doesn’t move in on a dense healthy lawn so quickly. Moss grows where the grass is thin, patchy, weak, and healthy. This means good lawn care is required, so if you need to beef up your lawn maintenance, read our Lawn Care Advice section, particularly Lawn Moss Prevention. 

The key point is that moss grows in cool conditions, usually too cool for good, strong grass growth. Start moss control too early, and your lawn will not grow into the spaces left by the dead moss! Killing the moss early or even twice isn’t a timing issue, but raking the moss out and overseeding need to be done ONLY when the grass starts growing well. See our Moss Treatment videos.

Kill the Moss and Feed the Grass

If you’ve maintained the lawn well and the moss is hardly noticeable, give yourself a pat on the back. Your objective now is to stop the moss from worsening, so the grass has no competition for space.

I always used Green-up Ferrous Sulphate as a liquid spray during cooler, wetter spring weather. The iron in it is also an essential mineral. It makes the grass greener without causing growth and helps suppress worm casting. You can do this every 4 to 8 weeks from winter to early spring.

If you feel your grass needs a nutritional boost late winter or early spring, use our Winter Green High Iron Lawn Fertiliser. It will kill the moss and green the lawn without interfering with the important spring feed.

Kill the Moss, Rake it Out and Feed the Grass

As above, but if the moss is readily visible, you’ll probably want to rake it out in April. Once you’ve raked it out, you’ll be better positioned to decide whether you need to overseed. If the lawn has no bare patches and is still reasonably dense, then overseeding isn’t necessary. However, it can be very beneficial to overseed and introduce new young grass plants into the lawn, thus improving the overall health and look.

The other change here is that you can rake first, then spray ferrous sulphate afterwards to kill what moss is left. The choice is yours and down to experience. Watch the Raking Video

Kill the Moss, Rake it Out, Over Seed and Feed the Grass

This is the full procedure and is required for heavier moss infestations. In addition, if your lawn is over 5 years old, I would always follow this procedure, particularly if I wasn’t scarified and overseeded in autumn.

You’ll find the full procedure in the article Moss Removal

The Spring Feed is the Best Defence

A thick, dense, healthy lawn is the main defence against moss. Regular mowing and a spring feed are essential for thickening the lawn. Apply the fertiliser on the same day as the last step of the procedures above (or within 2 weeks), or if over seeding, when new grass shoots are seen as your seed germinates.