Moss and scarification
Author
Discussion

Arrivalist

Original Poster:

1,527 posts

15 months

Tuesday 25th February
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After 4 years with a really healthy lawn I have a massive moss problem right now and the local garden company are suggesting scarification.

At £200 plus £90 for over-seeding it’s not cheap but seems like a necessary evil.

Has anyone else found more moss this year due to the wet weather or am I unlucky.

This is N Yorks.

a340driver

493 posts

171 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Same down here in Glos. Seems expensive to me and ongoing treatment and raking is better than a one off.


wolfracesonic

8,256 posts

143 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Yup, I seem to have got some grass growing in my moss, planning on putting down some Kiss My Grass all in one, then scarifying with my craptacular Bosch scarifier.

Chumley.mouse

720 posts

53 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Get some moss killer, leave a few days till it goes brown/ black. , rake it all out.

Its a really good work out and don’t underestimate how much will come out….. and re seed .

I used to do it every spring on my old lawn to keep it looking good due to heavy clay soil and the moss growing every winter. You could buy the moss killer and a seed for £50

a340driver

493 posts

171 months

Tuesday 25th February
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The ground's so damp here that it looks like the Somme when the scarifier's gone over it! Grass comes back though.

Gnits

986 posts

217 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Moss-tastic in N Hants, what is extra doubley annoying is that during lock down I hand weeded the damn thing for weeks and it was (apart from a couple of high/low spots) perfect. Now it is back to square one (minus broadleaf weeds fortunately).

I too spoke to a lawn care company who quoted about £200 for a treament, saved myself £100 and got myself a scarifier instead. Going to be giving a dose of weed and feed and then breaking that bad boy out and giving the moss what for this year.

Leftfootwonder

1,310 posts

74 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Same here in the East, which is generally drier than most of of the UK.

At that price, assuming you're able, I would buy a scarifier and do it yourself. Will pay for itself in a year or two.

Arrivalist

Original Poster:

1,527 posts

15 months

Tuesday 25th February
quotequote all
Thanks everyone for the replies which make me happy that I’m not alone.

Yes, I thought the price seemed a little steep so will follow the advice on here and do it myself. Mrs A enjoys some garden exercise as much as me so looking forward to giving it a go.

Thanks again!

Arrivalist

Original Poster:

1,527 posts

15 months

Tuesday 25th February
quotequote all
Just to add … I’ve got about 250sq m of lawn to do. From experience would you suggest a manual scarifier or electric?

I can see manual ones (about £40) that look like a rake with wheels and wondered if that was adequate for my area or if it’s best to bite the bullet and go electric for about £100.

Cheers!


Simpo Two

89,229 posts

281 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Arrivalist said:
Just to add … I’ve got about 250sq m of lawn to do. From experience would you suggest a manual scarifier or electric?

I can see manual ones (about £40) that look like a rake with wheels and wondered if that was adequate for my area or if it’s best to bite the bullet and go electric for about £100.

Cheers!
Electric, or get fit...

Up until this winter I've gone out to mow the lawn. Last time I went out to mow the moss. Doesn't bother me much; when we have the annual heatwave and drought it will recede.

Cold

16,050 posts

106 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Arrivalist

Original Poster:

1,527 posts

15 months

Tuesday 25th February
quotequote all
Cold said:
Manual? Electric? No no no.

Petrol. thumbup

https://www.gardenmachinerydirect.co.uk/shop/c/gar...
That’s one hell of a rabbit hole smile

98elise

29,954 posts

177 months

Tuesday 25th February
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I picked a second hand scarifier/rake up for about £30 on FB Marketplace.

pacenotes

371 posts

160 months

Tuesday 25th February
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Go buy some MoBacter. Just put it down with a spreader and after about a month it has killed the moss and broke it down so the grass uses it as fertilizer.

I'm getting ready to put it down next month once it gets a small bit warmer.

Arrivalist

Original Poster:

1,527 posts

15 months

Wednesday 26th February
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pacenotes said:
Go buy some MoBacter. Just put it down with a spreader and after about a month it has killed the moss and broke it down so the grass uses it as fertilizer.

I'm getting ready to put it down next month once it gets a small bit warmer.
Very interesting - I shall take a good look at this.

Cheers!

hotchy

4,720 posts

142 months

Wednesday 26th February
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Everytime I reseed, the local pigeon colony moves in. How did you manage to let the stuff grow without being ate day 1..

I gave up last year and just had a carpet of moss.

Griffith4ever

5,637 posts

51 months

Wednesday 26th February
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Yup- Its the wet. Lots of moss in our garden for the first time ever.

Scarifying works only IF the root of the problem is sorted. In this case its the unusual weather so you should be fine ongoing. I scarified a shaded garden prone to moss and it was a waste of time - it just came back every year. I just learned to live with it.

Arrivalist

Original Poster:

1,527 posts

15 months

Wednesday 26th February
quotequote all
Griffith4ever said:
Yup- Its the wet. Lots of moss in our garden for the first time ever.

Scarifying works only IF the root of the problem is sorted. In this case its the unusual weather so you should be fine ongoing. I scarified a shaded garden prone to moss and it was a waste of time - it just came back every year. I just learned to live with it.
I have one area which is constantly in shade so have always had moss. But the new bits are normally in full sun so should be easily sorted.

MDT

591 posts

188 months

Wednesday 26th February
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hotchy said:
Everytime I reseed, the local pigeon colony moves in. How did you manage to let the stuff grow without being ate day 1..

I gave up last year and just had a carpet of moss.
Look up "lawn fleece for grass seed" on Amazon and put this down on top of the fresh seed for a week or two to let the seed get started.

a .22LR works wonders too but I was getting told off by Mrs MDT about this as a deterrent.

Autopilot

1,326 posts

200 months

Wednesday 26th February
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I have a fairly large garden so find that an electric scarifying device isn't up to the job as it just takes too long. I've found the motor gets hot and the machine shuts off so ends up taking all day. I've used 2 different devices and had the same issue. For a large garden, in my experience, I've found that petrol is the only machine up to the job. I tend to scarify and overseed each year rather than just repair and remove moss or I'd dare say the Bosch electric jobbie I have would do the job ok.

While I've never used a company to scarify my lawn, I'd imagine a chunk of the cost of the amount of waste they have to deal with, you'd be surprised how much comes out!!