Moss is a type of spore-producing, non-vascular plant, meaning that they lack a number of characteristics you are used to seeing in plants, like leaves, branches, and roots. 

Mosses grow in many different places and are highly adaptable, meaning that they can easily take hold anywhere with the right conditions, including your lawn.

It can grow in almost any type of soil and, if left to spread, it can quickly overtake your grass, forming dense, irregular spongy mats. 

Not only does moss ruin the aesthetic appearance of your lawn, but it also negatively impacts the health of your grass. 

Moss suffocates the grass by competing for growing space, and prevents essential water and nutrients from reaching the grass roots by absorbing them on the surface.

While there are chemical treatments to remove moss from lawns, specialists at The Turf Grass Group have suggested a homemade remedy that “works great”.

They noted that if gardeners don’t want to introduce herbicide into their garden or just want something they can do at home, there is a “moss-killing solution” they can “easily make at home”. 

The pros said: “You can mix baking soda with lukewarm water to create an effective DIY herbicide that will work great to kill moss.”

For the baking soda method, mix two gallons of water with a small box of baking soda.

Two gallons should cover 1000 square feet of moss-covered lawn. For a larger area, increase the amount of solution, maintaining the same ratios. 

Use a garden sprayer to apply a heavy coating of the solution to the moss. 

The experts recommended that gardeners need to try to saturate the moss “for the best results”. 

Don’t worry about the grass as this solution will not damage the surrounding grass.

The pros claimed that this remedy “kills the moss in 24 hours”. At this point, the moss will have turned orange or brown.

Once the moss is dead, it should be easy to remove with a metal rake. 

Moss roots grow very shallow, so a rake should be able to remove the whole plant. 

Once you have collected the moss, dispose of it in sealed bags away from your lawn as spores can still escape, carried by the wind, and reseed your lawn with more moss.