It’s pretty easy to get distracted by the benefits of dethatching and overlook the downsides. Now this is not to say that dethatching is a lawn care process that you should avoid, but it is important to understand that there are some potential side effects. So before you head out to remove the thatch from your lawn, let’s find out how dethatching can hurt your lawn.
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Can Dethatching Damage Your Grass? (Overview)
The process of dethatching can lead to several harmful effects on your lawn. Damage may occur during dethatching, with grass being pulled out and the potential for disease and fungus to spread. Additionally, dethatching promotes weed growth and makes the lawn more susceptible to cold weather. Finally, stress from dethatching and other sources can lead to poor lawn recovery.
Can Dethatching Hurt Your Lawn (A Closer Look)
As you can see, your grass could experience several potential problems from dethatching. So, let’s look at the risks in more detail and how you can avoid them.
- Damage From the Dethatching Process
- Spread of Disease & Fungus
- Promotes Weed Growth
- Vulnerable to Hot/Cold Weather
- Creates High Levels of Stress
Damage From the Dethatching Process
Regardless of what type of tools you use, dethatching equipment will cause some level of damage to your lawn. This is because of the aggressive nature of dethatching. Some equipment will be more aggressive than others. For example, verticutters and scarifiers use cutting blades to remove thatch from deeper within your lawn. Whereas standard dethatchers and dethatching rakes tend to be gentler as they use metal tines to rake out the thatch. However, no matter what dethatcher you use, you’ll definitely see some kind of damage.
Dethatching Spreads Disease & Fungus
During dethatching, the aim is to remove as much of the thatch as possible. Part of this process will include removing any thatch in contact with diseased grass or with fungus such as Anthracnose. So, if you are unaware that your lawn is unhealthy, you could easily spread the disease across your lawn when dethatching. To avoid such problems, it’s always best to resolve any issues before dethatching.
Dethatching Promotes Weed Growth
The dethatching process can help weeds take over in several ways. The first is that dethatching tools aggravate the ground and assist in pushing weed seeds into the ground. In other words, the dethatcher is planting the weed seeds in preparation for germination. Then secondly, dethatching can leave a lawn patchy and provide space for weeds to germinate and take over. Usually, your grass will do a pretty good job smothering weed seedlings, but if your lawn is patchy, then this isn’t happening. Therefore, be prepared for a potential weed bloom soon after dethatching.
However, there are a few ways to keep the new weeds to a minimum. One way is to treat the weeds beforehand with a targeted herbicide and to avoid deep dethatching when there is high weed pressure. For example, weeds tend to seed more in the spring just as you are getting ready to dethatch. Therefore, opting to use a standard dethatcher vs. scarifier in the spring can help. Also, you can use a pre-emergent weed killer or herbicide to stop the weeds from germinating once you have finished dethatching. But, because dethatching weakens the grass, just be sure to use a suitable product so you don’t accidentally cause additional harm to your lawn.
Vulnerable to Hot/Cold Weather
Part of why it’s important to pick the right time of year to dethatch is to avoid very cold or hot weather. This is because you want your lawn to bounce back as quickly as possible. So if you dethatch while your lawn is dormant, then your lawn isn’t prepared to recover and grow back. Also, if your lawn is stressed due to high summer temperatures, it won’t be able to bounce back as you would like. Therefore the best solution is to dethatch your lawn during the active growing season and when your lawn isn’t stressed.
Dethatching Creates High Levels of Stress in Grass
Stress is one common theme shared by all of the potentially harmful effects of dethatching. When grass does not receive all the elements it needs to thrive, it becomes stressed. For example, your lawn experiences stress if it lacks food, water, or sunlight or is battling weeds, fungus, and pests. Similarly, being torn apart by dethatching causes stress for your grass. Therefore, it’s important that you don’t add unnecessary stress to your lawn. What does this mean? If your lawn lacks nutrients, is facing a drought, or is struggling with disease, then dethatching can be a bad idea. The key is to make sure your lawn is healthy and happy before you pull out the dethatcher. Also, limiting the number of times a year you dethatch your lawn is another way to limit stress.
Pros & Cons of Dethatching Your Lawn
Before all these potential problems scare you away from dethatching, let’s compare the cons and pros. You’ll soon see that if it is done correctly and with plenty of planning to avoid things going wrong, then dethatching is well worth the while.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Provides Partial Aeration | Grass Can Be Damaged During Dethatching |
| Helps the Soil Access Nutrients | Disease & Fungus Can Spread During Dethatching |
| Improves Fertilizer Absorption | Encourages the Spread of Weeds if Present |
| Improves Water Absorption | Creates High Levels of Stress for the Grass |
| Reduces the Amount of Water Needed | |
| Enhances Soil Condition | |
| Helps Reduce Disease | |
| Discourages Pests | |
| Promotes Lawn Seed Germination | |
| Increases Your Lawn’s Curb Appeal |
Common Mistakes When Dethatching a Lawn
It is best to have a good idea of the common dethatching mistakes to avoid any problems. This list will give you a pretty good idea of what to stay clear of and how best to approach dethatching.
- Not Knowing How to Dethatch a Lawn
- Picking the Wrong Time of Year to Dethatch
- Using the Wrong Equipment to Dethatch
- Dethatching When the Grass is Wet
- Dethatching After Using Pre-Emergent Herbicides
- Dethatching With Lots of Weeds On Your Lawn
- Dethatching a Lawn With an Unestablished Root System
- Dethatching a Stressed Lawn
- Dethatching a Lawn With Disease & Fungus
The Complete Process of Lawn Dethatching
Dethatching a lawn really comes down to three different things—planning, dethatching, and aftercare. If you get the three right, then you should have no issues.
- Planning – When planning your dethatching, you’ll first want to ensure your lawn needs to be dethatched. Then you’ll need to check your lawn is ready to be dethatched. For example, make sure that your lawn isn’t stressed or suffering problems such as disease or lack of nutrients.
- Dethatching – When it comes to dethatching, you’ll want to follow the dethatching process and use your dethatching equipment correctly.
- Aftercare – When you finish dethatching your lawn, there are several additional steps you should take to ensure that your lawn springs back to life and has everything it needs to thrive in the future. Here are the dethatching aftercare steps to follow.
- Dispose of Thatch
- Mow
- Water
- Aerate
- Overseed
- Fertilize
