Dethatching a lawn is essential for turning a fairly average lawn into a vibrant, healthy one. However, you can do more harm than good if you don’t know how to dethatch a lawn. So to avoid damaging your grass and spending money on repairs or even grass replacement, let’s go over the six mistakes to avoid when dethatching your lawn.
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Common Mistakes to Avoid When Dethatching (The Overview)
Here are six common mistakes to avoid when dethatching your lawn that will save you time and money and ensure your lawn thrives year-round.
- Picking the Wrong Time of Year to Dethatch
- Using the Wrong Equipment to Dethatch
- Dethatching When the Grass is Wet
- Dethatching With Lots of Weeds In Your Lawn
- Dethatching an Unestablished Lawn
- Not to Fertilize After Dethatching
Dethatching Mistake to Avoid (A Closer Look)
Now that you had a quick look at the mistakes to avoid, let’s take a closer look at each point in more detail and really find out what they mean and how they can be a problem for you and your lawn.
Picking the Wrong Time of Year to Dethatch
One of the key elements to successful dethatching is picking the right time of year to dethatch. This is because the process of dethatching puts your lawn under a great deal of stress, which is best managed while your lawn is actively growing. Therefore, you need to avoid dethatching your lawn when the grass is dormant due to cold weather or extreme heat.
Using the Wrong Equipment to Dethatch
The purpose of dethatching is to remove the thatch from your lawn to improve the growing condition of your grass. Therefore, when dethatching, you only need to address the thatch and nothing more. For example, if you only have a thin layer of thatch, say ¼”, then you only need to use a dethatcher that can remove this depth of thatch. Using an aggressive dethatcher such as a scarifier will likely cut too deep into the thatch and start to disturb the soil. This typically results in root damage, which your lawn may not recover from.
On the other hand, if you do have thick thatch, say ½” or more, then you would need to use an aggressive dethatcher like a scarifier to remove the thatch successfully. However, if you use a less aggressive dethacher, such as a standard power dethacher, this type of equipment won’t remove nearly enough thatch. So, you’ll be wasting your time as you’ll only remove the top of the thatch. In short, you need the right tool for the job.
Dethatching When the Grass is Wet
Dethatching a wet lawn makes for messy, hard, and poor dethatching. First, your dethatcher will become clogged as the thatch clumps in your machine. Second, you’ll have to make multiple passes as the wet grass will slide past the tines or blades due to the lack of friction. So, you’ll likely have to exert extra effort and spend more time to remove enough thatch. Also, cleaning up the soggy thatch is much harder and less enjoyable than dry thatch.
So, avoid dethatching early in the morning before the dew has burned off, after your irrigation has run, or after it has rained. Typically, I turn off my irrigation, wait for the dew to disappear, and pick a day when it hasn’t rained recently.
Dethatching With Lots of Weeds In Your Lawn
Depending on which type of dethatching tool you use, you’ll likely be opening up the top of the soil. This is especially true when it comes to using scarifiers. Now, this is fine for the dethatching process. However, if you are dethatching while there are lots of weed seeds flying around, say, either from your yard, your neighbor’s property, or just in your local area, you’ll create the perfect space for these weed seeds to germinate.
So what can you do to avoid this? Well, you could use a scarifier during the fall when weeds are less of a problem and dethatch using a power dethatcher during the spring. How would using a power dethatcher in the spring help? Well, power dethatchers don’t disturb the soil anywhere close to what a scarifier does. So, you won’t create holes in the soil for the weed seeds to land and germinate.
Dethatching an Unestablished Lawn
The next mistake to avoid when detaching a lawn is dethatching an unestablished lawn with a weak root system. This could be newly laid sod or newly seeded lawn. This is because dethatching is an aggressive and harsh process that pulls on your lawn. The last thing you want is for your dethatcher to pull the thatch and grass from your lawn completely. So, avoid dethatching recently laid grass, whether sod or seed. The best approach is to skip dethatching and wait for the following dethatching season. This six-month gap should be enough for your lawn to take hold and be ready for dethatching.
Not Fertilizing After Dethatching
The final mistake to avoid when dethatching is an aftercare step, not the dethatching itself. So for best results, make sure you fertilize a week or so after you dethatch your lawn. Because your lawn will be stressed and trying to recover from the dethatching process, it can use some help to bounce back stronger and faster.
You don’t want your lawn to remain patchy and the weeds to take over. So, a good application of quick-release fertilizer within seven days of dethatching and then a slow-release fertilizer 45 days day later should do the trick.
Dethatching Frequently Asked Questions
Dethatching your lawn takes more than knowing which dethatching mistakes to avoid. However, when you know the basics, everything else should fall into place. Here are a few frequently asked questions to help you get started.
How Do You Dethatch a Lawn?
To dethatch a lawn, you simply need to remove the thatch using a dethather. First, mow the lawn, then dethatch, and finally, clean up the lifted thatch. How to dethatch a lawn is a really simple process once you know the steps and mistakes to avoid.
What Tools Do You Use to Dethatch a Lawn?
Dethatching equipment can range from rakes, power rakes, scarifiers, electric dethatchers, and many other options. Ideally, the dethatcher should suit both the lawn’s and the operator’s needs. For example, you could use a rake for a small lawn, while you may want to use a towable dethatcher for a large lawn. However, rakes require a lot of physical effort, and towable versions require something to tow them, such as a tractor mower. As you can see, these options may not suit everybody. So what should the average person with an average-sized yard use to dethatch? Well, I think the best option is a corded electric dethatcher with 2-in-1 interchangeable dethatcher and scarifying attachments. These are fairly inexpensive tools that can tackle most levels of thatch. Personally, I use the Sun Joe 13-inch Electric Scarifier and Dethatcher for my medium-sized lawn and achieve great results.
Which Is Better, Scarifying Vs. Dethatching?
I mentioned two different types of dethatching tools when talking about using the right/wrong equipment for dethatching: dethatchers vs. scarifiers. Now, which is better? Well, it depends on what you are trying to achieve and how much thatch you need to remove. I’d recommend standard dethatchers for small amounts of thatch, and for thick thatch, say more than ½”, I’d use a scarifier. This is another good reason to own a 2-in-1 dethacher with interchangeable dethatching and scarifying attachments.
When Should You Dethatch a Lawn?
You should only dethatch your lawn during the spring and the fall. However, the best time to dethatch a lawn will vary depending on your location, as the seasons differ between cool, warm, and transition zones. But you should be fine as long as you wait until your lawn is actively growing in the spring and still has a few weeks before going dormant in the fall.
How Often Should You Dethatch a Lawn?
Figuring out how often to dethatch your lawn can be tricky, as no two lawns are the same. So many factors can affect how often to dethatch a lawn, from grass type, soil type, specific climate zone, and general health of your lawn. But as a general rule, you should dethatch your lawn twice a year. However, this will vary from one lawn to the next.
Can Dethatching Harm a Lawn?
Dethatching is obviously great for your lawn’s health, but there are some cases where it can do more harm than good. However, with careful planning and understanding of your lawn’s health, you can prevent or offset most of these problems. Here are 5 ways dethatching can harm your lawn:
- Damage From the Dethatching Process
- Spread of Disease & Fungus
- Promotes Weed Growth
- Makes Grass Vulnerable to Hot/Cold Weather
- Creates High Levels of Stress for the Grass
What Should You Do After Dethatching?
Once you have finished dethatching, there are an extra few steps you’ll want to take so that your lawn feels the full benefit of dethatching. I include the following items in my dethatching aftercare process:
- Remove Thatch
- Mow
- Water
- Aerate
- Overseed
- Fertilize
- Schedule Next Dethatching
