Living in the Pacific Northwest means my .3 acre yard sees a lot of wet, gray weather and spring rain. While all that moisture is great for the surrounding woods, it makes my lawn an absolute paradise for moss.
For a long time, the only way I knew how to get rid of the moss and dead grass had to forcefully drag a heavy metal rake across the grass. But with all the moss in my yard, I lasted about fifteen minutes before calling it quits. It was grueling, backbreaking work, and it barely made a dent in the problem.
That’s when I discovered that my favorite yard tool brand makes a chipper/scanner combo. This tool from Greenworks managed to completely clear my yard of moss in just 30 minutes. Plus, I also used it to scarify my entire lawn for reseeding!
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What is a Dethatcher?
(Image: Future)
To understand why a decanter works so well, you need to understand how moss grows. Moss does not have deep roots. Instead, it forms a thick, spongy mat that is woven into the “thatch” (the layer of dead grass stems and roots sitting right on top of your soil).
A hand rake will often just slide over this spongy layer unless you use back breaking power. However, a rake uses a rotating cylinder of metal tines to dig up and comb the grass. Because moss and thatch are shallow, these fast-spinning metal tines easily grab spongy mats and pull them right out of the soil, while leaving your deeper, healthy grass completely intact.
Clearing my yard efficiently and effectively
As my colleagues here at Gardening Know How are probably sick of hearing at this point, I absolutely swear my Greenworks lawn tools. I already have a lawnmower, leaf blower and hedge trimmer from Greenworks, so when I realized I needed a decoder, looking at the Greenworks range was a no-brainer. However, for such a high-energy job as tearing through compacted moss and dead grass, I actually chose wired electric puller and scanner.
Greenworks 13 Amp 14-inch Corded Dethatcher / Scarifier
This lightweight, drag-and-drop detachable/sweeper effortlessly pulled thick moss across my yard in just 30 minutes.
Using this tool is just like pushing a light lawnmower. I started in my front yard, just walking in straight lines, and was shocked at how much hidden debris was pulled up. It looked like it was snowing moss and dead grass!
I quickly moved to the back yard, which accepts much more shade and had a much worse moss problem. The Greenworks weeder tore through the spongy moss effortlessly. It totally is takes the strain off your jointswhich requires a fraction of the effort of manual raking. I was able to clean my front and back yards in just 30 minutes total. Removing debris from the bag many times actually took longer than operating the tool itself!
Using the Scarifier attachment
(Image: JeanUrsula/Getty Images)
Getting rid of the moss was only half the battle. Because the moss had smothered so much of my healthy grass, I was inevitably left with bare patches and had to was imposed both yards. And you can’t just throw grass seed into hard, compacted dirt and expect it to grow. The seeds need direct contact with loose soil to actually germinate.
This is where this tool becomes a huge two-for-one value: before I put down a single grass seed, I swapped out the included attachment and ran the tool over my entire lawn again. While the skimmer combed the surface, the sweeper essentially broke up the crust of the hard surface and created the absolutely perfect channels for my new grass seed to settle and take root.
If you’re struggling with a spongy, mossy lawn, put down the hand rake like I did and get yourself a decoder.
Shop My Lawn Care Staples
As a new home owner, I’ve learned a lot about what I realistically need my lawn to thrive. Here are some of my favorite products that I have used to reseed and care for my lawn.
Scotch
Mini Broadcast Spreader
Once you’ve pulled all that moss and raked the soil, overseeding is critical so new moss doesn’t immediately take over those bare patches. This Scotts mini broadcast spreader is a game changing way to distribute grass seed evenly and efficiently across my lawn.
Scotch
Grass Seed Sun & Shade Mix
If you have moss growing in your yard, there is a very good chance that the area is getting a lot of shade. Don’t waste your money dropping typical sun-loving grass seed into these newly cleared patches! This combination of sun and shade is my favorite for reseeding my lawn.
tell me
Smart sprinkler controller
This may sound extra, but I really like my smart sprinkler controller. With so much rain, it’s much easier to make sure my lawn is well watered (rather than overwatered) with a controller that uses real weather data.
