One day your grass is beautiful, the next your lawn is covered in moss. “Why do I have moss in my lawn?!” you exclaim.

Moss is a weed, and like most lawn weeds, moss love bare areas. Bare areas in lawn can result from several causes.

• Unsuitable grass varieties
• Poor drainage
• Drought
• Soil compaction
• Excessive shade
• Thatch accumulation
• Poor fertility
• Diseases
• Improper mowing

There are several other reasons why your lawn may be left bare and unhealthy. Whatever the cause, improving these unsuitable factors can lead to a thick, healthy, green grass where moss and other weeds can’t grow.

Moss can be killed with products containing ferrous sulfate, ferrous ammonium sulfate, and a variety of lawn fertilizers with moss control. Moss and algae killing soaps can also do the trick. What’s great is that none of these pose serious threats to the environment. In fact, did you know iron and sulfur are essential nutrients for grasses and tend to improve their color? Still, if you are not actively striving to improve the health of your lawn and eradicate the factors listed above, you will not be able to attain the desired results and moss and other weeds will likely reappear.

The following steps will generally control existing moss and discourage it in the future:

1. Use a moss control product to kill existing moss in late winter or early spring.
2. Dethatch or rake out dead moss, or skip step (1) and dethatch or rake with more vigor.
3. Over seed bare areas with the recommended turf type for your area.
4. Top-dress seeds with about l/4 inch of loose weed-free soil, or potting mix.
5. Keep seeded area moist until seedlings are established.

The professionals at Weed Pro in Atlanta, GA are familiar with lawns in the Atlanta area and the common moss and other weed problems they face during each season of the year. Give Weed Pro a call (770-WEEDPRO) or visit the Services page to request a quote. Before long you won’t need to ask, “Why do I have moss in my lawn?” because it will be gone!