Moss in your lawn should not be killed with bicarb or vinegar (Image: Getty)
Garden experts are urging gardeners never to use household items like baking soda, vinegar or bleach to kill moss in their lawn this spring and summer.
With warmer weather finally returning this March after months of icy cold and snowy blasts, many gardeners will be rushing back outdoors to sort out their lawn ready for summer. And with tufty , weeds, leaves and all eating into a perfectly manicured , it can be tempting to panic and hammer your lawn with all sorts of chemicals and hacks to try to get it looking its best again. But experts at The Royal Horticultural Society have said that gardeners should not be tempted to kill moss with common household solutions like baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda) or vinegar because these will kill the grass and everything living in it, too, razing your lawn to nothing.
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The RHS said: “Killing with , vinegar, bleach, soap and other household products are frequently mentioned on the internet, but they should not be used to kill moss. They can kill grass and act as broad-spectrum insecticides, and are not HSE [Health and Safety Executive] approved lawn mosskillers.”
They also warned gardeners not to use a chemical moss killer either, adding: “As non-chemical methods are effective at removing moss, there is no need to use a synthetic mosskiller. Also, bear in mind that control with a mosskiller will only be temporary unless the conditions that allowed the moss to become established are changed.
“Many synthetic mosskillers contain iron sulphate and although it effectively kills the existing moss, the black, dead moss then needs to be raked up and removed from the lawn.”
Instead, the best way to get moss out of a lawn is by ‘scarifying’ it, which involves raking the lawn with a spring-tined rake and gathering up all the moss pulled out, or using a scarifier machine.
Or you can use a bacterial moss remover, such as Viano MO Bacter Organic Lan Fertiliser and Moss Remover. The bacteria naturally digest the moss, so you don’t even need to rake it out and doesn’t involve the use of any chemicals.
Otherwise, avoid cutting your grass too short, as shorter grass attracts more moss.