In addition to aeration, regularly dethatching is one of the most important things you can do for maintaining a healthy and beautiful lawn.
Over time pieces of grass and lawn mower clippings die and gather in a layer just above the soil. This layer that you can’t easily see is called thatch. Thatch ultimately is decomposing grass and organic material that is broken down by microbes in the soil.
Although some thatch can be beneficial, too much can cause your lawn to be susceptible to diseases and rot. Too much thatch can build up a layer that traps moisture and can lead to bacteria and fungi. This can happen when it builds up too quickly for natural processes to break it down. One way to remove excess thatch is a process called “dethatching” (of course!).
How to Dethatch
If you have a small patch of lawn, you can remove thatch using a rake. Although a regular garden rake will work, there are specialized designs for rakes that will significantly reduce your time and effort. When using a manual rake, simply rake the lawn vigorously. You should start to see the dead grass coming to the surface. Keep raking your entire lawn and collect the dead grass into piles and then remove them.
As noted above, specialized rakes make the effort a lot easier because they’re designed to exert more force into the grass to remove the thatch, without requiring as much effort from you.
If you have a larger lawn, then you may want to consider using a powered dethatcher. These come in electric and gas operated designs, with the latter being intended for really heavy duty applications and very large areas. If you’re a typical homeowner, you’ll probably be quite happy with an electric dethatcher. Both types will do an excellent job of quickly and easily removing thatch from your lawn, and will most likely remove a lot more than you could ever collect with a rake. Our top favorite for an electric dethatcher is provided below. We really like it because of it’s excellent design, ease of assembly, and great price. It’s well worth the investment, and the manufacturer even provides spare rake parts with your purchase.
When to dethatch
The best time to dethatch is late summer or early fall. That’s when your grass is growing most vigorously. Before dethatching, mow a little shorter than normal. Also, you’ll achieve better results if you do it after a light rain or watering.
