The most effective control for moss is the chemical route. However you have to consider the causes and conditions that enable the moss to flourish. There are several things that contribute to the spread of moss including loads of shade,poor drainage,acidic soil,too much moisture from other than drainage and compacted soil or any combo of the above. There are other ways to attempt the slowing and disappearance of moss. The planting of more shade tolerant grass and mowing your lawn to the correct height to encourage deep roots. If you are not in love with grass in this area you could avail yourself of some ground cover. The extreme action would be to remove all trees and shrubs from the area to allow more sunshine.
I battled moss before and it was not a pleasant ending. Now three years later it has grown to epic dimensions and is quite visible in my lawn. It is really not too good for healthy growing grass. Now that I am in the critical mode,which requires the use of commerically available products,bring on the ferrous sulfate monohydrate sold under numerous brand names. I followed the instructions of the one brand very carefully applying with a spreader. This,in turn,results in the moss turning black but not all of it. I discovered that the granular product was best added to the lawn with a bucket and a garden shovel to pinpoint where exactly you desire the product to land. This seems silly I know,discussing about no moisture,but it requires moisture for the chemical to work. There is a brand of liquid with a feeder nozzle that skips this step.
A word of caution here please use gloves and do not spread this on a windy day. It maybe necessary to rake the blacken moss off the surface because it does not always disappear especially if the moss was very thick. The pH of the soil must be corrected to a factor of 5.8 to 6.5 since moss does flourish in acidic soil. This can be realized by the use of a agricultural or dolomitic lime. It will not help in applying this prior to the moss removal. You can either have your soil tested by the your copperative extension or make a visit to the local nursery and purchase a soil testing kit.
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