How Does Aerating Help to Prevent Thatch from Developing?

Posted on 8th May 2012 in Dethatching Rake Articles

This year, I had a lot of thatch in my lawn. I had so much of it in fact that my front lawn developed a fungus. In order to get rid of this lawn disease, I had to spray my lawn with a fungicide. In the future, I would like to prevent this either by renting a lawn dethatcher and power raking my lawn, or else taking the time to aerate my lawn every year.


When you aerate your lawn on a regular basis, it helps to prevent thatch buildup. The reason why is because thatch tends to build up slowly at first. This is because oxygen helps to break down the thatch layer. In time, the thatch layer gets thick enough that the oxygen can’t penetrate, and that means that the aerobic bacteria can no longer break down the thatch that is developing in your lawn. Most of the thatch comes from the grass. A lot of thatch comes from rhizomes and stolons, and some of it even comes from grass clippings. When you take the time to do lawn aeration, you open it up again so that it can breath. This makes it easier for the oxygen and aerobic bacteria to break down the thatch layer.

Another reason why aerating helps break down the thatch, is that the plugs that you get out of your lawn contain bacteria that also helps to break down the thatch. Aerating doesn’t help to get rid of thatch when it is caused by moss, but it does a lot to help your lawn when the thatch is caused by the type of grass that you have.

If you aerate your lawn on a yearly basis, it will make it a lot harder for grass thatch to develop. Since aerating is a lot easier than dethatching your lot, it also helps you to develop a thicker turf by stimulating your grassroots. I strongly recommend that you aerate your lawn every year and see if this doesn’t help to control the amount of thatch you get in your lawn.

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How To Use A Dethatcher Or Power Rake

Posted on 15th March 2012 in Dethatching Rake Articles

Power Lawn Dethatchers and Dethatching

A lawn dethatcher is one of the most important tools for lawn care. It works kind of the same as the lawnmower and it is the same size also, except that a lawnmower has blades that spin horizontally, and a dethatching machine has blades that spin vertically. A lawnmower cuts the grass as it grows but a thatching machine helps to prevent grass from getting lots of thatch built up in it.


What Is Thatch Exactly?

Thatch is generally composed of the grass stolons and rhizomes that interconnect in your lawn and can eventually compete with the grass for air and sunlight.  In addition, thatch can also be derived from moss and other types of weeds that grow in the grass like Clover. There are certain types of grass like creeping baskets, bank grass, and St. Augustine’s that tend to develop excessive amounts of thatch. If you have these in your lawn, you may need to use a lawn dethatcher on a yearly basis to help get rid of the thatch build up.

What Kind of  Dethatcher Should I Use?

There are basically three different types of dethatchers: manual, gas, and attachment. Manual or hand dethatching tool is great if you have a very small yard, or you only have thatch around the edges of your lawn.  Manual dethatchers look a lot like a rake and you use them similar to a rake as well. The end of the dethatcher has small blades.  These go down into the top inch of the dirt and bring up the thatch.  The downside to this type of rake is that it takes a very long time. My next-door neighbor has a very small yard of only about 700 sq ft.  Manual dethatchers are suitable for that kind of yard.


You can also use a dethatching liquid. It is important to note that liquids only work with thatch that has been dead for quite some time. Grass that has recently died, may not decompose when you use a liquid dethatcher.  In my opinion the best type of lawn dethatcher that you can use is a power rake.  These machines work great to dethatch a lawn because they have lots of blades that beat the surface of the soil and remove anything that is dead or doesn’t have roots. They do a great job at removing all of the rhizomes and stolons that are in your grass. In addition, they can also do a pretty good job at getting rid of moss and taking out the majority of your clover.

How to Use a Dethatcher or Power Rake

A lot of people feel like they know how to use a power rake after they have used it on their lawn.  The first thing you want to do is to start it. Make sure that your choke is on before you pull the start cable. After the engine starts, put the choke lever from choke to run. Then, make sure you have your lawn dethatcher in the corner of your lawn when you start. Make sure that you have the settings adjusted so that the blades just barely scrape the top of the soil.  Just make sure that you are not putting your settings too deep. If you start to tear out grass, then raise your settings up a little bit. If you feel like you are not getting the thatch out of your lawn, then lower the settings. Make sure to keep an easy pace when you’re going over your lawn, and don’t go too slow or too fast, or you won’t do a very good job with the power rake either. When you are done going over your lawn with a power rake, all you are going to have left to do is simply rake it into piles and then dispose of it.

How to Use a Dethatching Blade

A dethatching blade also works great for dethatching your lawn.    The trick to using a dethatching blade on your mower is to mow your lawn a little bit shorter before you replace the blade, and then make sure you have it set at the right setting as you are slowly going over your lawn. It is actually harder to do a good job and easier to mess up if you are using a lawnmower attachment, but it can be done. A mower will put additional stress on your grass because it actually cuts the ground rather than just beating the surface of it. In addition, usually you only have three or four blades that spin around rather than several blades, so it takes some time to do a good job when you are using a lawnmower dethatching blade. You have to be especially careful if the ground is uneven because you can scalp your lawn. Most of the time, all you need to do to get started is remove the existing blade on your mower and replace it with your lawnmower dethatching blade.

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What Is the Best Way to Handle Thatch Problems?

Posted on 15th March 2012 in Dethatching Rake Articles

There are a lot of different problems that can be caused by thatch.  Thatch can choke out water, and basically everything else in your lawn. You make it much harder for the healthy part of your lawn to grow.  The little bit of thatch in your lawn is no big deal, but once you have a lot of thatch, your grass will turn yellow and you’ll want to get rid of the thatch as soon as you can.

What is thatch? It is a buildup of unwanted debris in your lawn. It can be in the form of moss and pine needles, but it is often in the form of rhizomes and stolons. As these grow in your lawn, they are mostly yellow. They can grow very quickly, and over time, they can create a dead layer of grassy material that sits on the surface of your soil. Most of the time, you get problems with thatch if you have a lot of superficial root growth.  The grass doesn’t really have anywhere to grow except along the top of the soil. The result is that your lawn will turn yellow whenever you mow it. And you’ll start to feel a spongy layer of thatch on the top of your lawn.

Once you have a buildup of thatch, you want to get rid of it as soon as you can. The best way to do this is by using a dethatching rake or else by renting a power dethatcher.  For lawns that are more than 1,500 ft.², we normally recommend renting a dethatching machine.  Having your own dethatching rake is a good idea, in case you find some spots that need to be redone, or you want to be able to get a little bit closer to the edges.  Typically, you’ll want to run your power dethatcher over your lawn at least twice before you rake everything up. Once you get rid of all of the excessive thatch in your lawn, you should start to see your lawn recovering and getting better. If you take the time to fertilize or seed your lawn, you can see a full recovery in 4 to 6 weeks. On top of that, when your new grass grows in, your lawn will look even better.

Whether or not you need to dethatch your lawn will depend a lot on the type of grass that you have. It also depends on how much sunlight variation you get throughout the year, and it will depend on the amount of fertilizer that you put down on your lawn. Sometimes putting down excessive amounts of fertilizer can cause thatch to grow. Sometimes not having enough fertilizer will cause thatch to grow as well. Aerating your lawn on a regular yearly basis is another good way to help prevent thatch from forming.

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All About Dethatching Rakes

Posted on 14th August 2011 in Dethatching Rake Articles

Dethatching rakes also know as thatching rakes are designed to remove thatch from your lawn, which improves lawn health and appearance. For the best variety and prices on  thatching rakes, lawn mower blades, and liquid dethatchers available online please visit our online dethatching store. Regularly dethatching the grass is important for improving the movement of essential nutrients, water and air from the surface to the grass roots in the soil.   What type of rake you should use and how often you need to use it depends on the conditions of the lawn and how deep the thatch is.



Which Rake to Use

Dethatching rakes can be generally categorized into three types: manual, tow-behind and power. Manuals are better for smaller areas and when there is less thatch. It can be time-consuming and work-intensive to remove a lot of thatch from a large lawn by hand. Tow-behinds attach to trailers or riding lawnmowers and are pulled behind them over the ground. They are great for covering large areas quickly. Power rakes remove the most thatch in one or two passes and are also hardest on the lawn. It is best to power rake when there is a significant amount of thatch that needs to be removed and only when it needs it.

Manual Rakes
Manual dethatching rakes resemble their more common garden and leaf rake counterparts. However, the tine blades are sickle-shaped and have sharp edges along both sides. To use one, hold the rake away from you with the tines just touching the soil, then pull the rake back to you.  Go over a small area using varying directions to remove the thatch from that spot before working on another. These rakes are also useful for getting to areas the tow-behind or power rakes may not be able to get to (like tight corners or curves) and for working on the more problematic areas of the grass in between dethatching the entire lawn.

You can get one for only $10, but spending closer to $30 on a better quality one that will last much longer is a smarter idea. It will be easier to use and do a better job too.

Tow Behind Rakes
If you already own a tractor or riding lawnmower, a tow-behind that will attach to it is an easier way to do a large area. Because they are wider than other rakes, they cover ground more quickly.

You just drive over the ground back and forth to make vertical rows before going over the grass a second time to make horizontal rows. You can also do crossing diagonal patterns if you prefer. The different directions help you remove more thatch.

Tow-behinds are a little pricier, starting around $150-$200, but save you a lot of time and the expense of renting a power rake. Before you buy one, be sure that it is compatible with the mower or tractor that will pull it. Also look for one that can be moved when the tines are in the thatch and top layer of soil because they are easier and faster to use.

Power Rakes
With an electric or gas-powered mower and a design more like a lawnmower than anything else, power rakes are the mechanical way to dethatch the grass. About 1 ½ to 2 feet wide, the blades go into the thatch and rip it out as the rake is moved along the lawn. Blade heights are adjustable to control how far they go into the ground so you can better control how much thatch and grass is pulled out. After doing a small section, you can check that the height is right and adjust the blades if necessary.

Because power rakes cost $1000 or more to buy, most people prefer to rent one if they plan on doing the dethatching themselves. At around $50 for a four-hour rental, it is more cost-effective for the typical residential homeowner to do it that way.

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Buy a Dethatching Rake or Thatch Rake

Posted on 22nd February 2011 in Dethatching Rake Articles

Find the best prices and selection on thatching and dethatching rakes, lawn mower thatching blades, and liquid lawn dethatchers online!

Our Online Best Seller is the Ames True Temper Thatching Rake!
Completely Safe and Secure (partnered with Amazon and Paypal).  Products Ship out in 3 days or less!

These are some of the best thatching rakes on the market. The ames true temper is a personal favorite. I have used it before and really like it.

If you don’t want to use a dethatching rake, you may want to consider getting a dethatcher rental

Dethatcher Rental Guidelines

You might be wondering wondering what a dethatcher rental is since it is not a familiar name that you often hear on a daily basis. Well to fully explain what it is, you can continue to read the rest of this article to gain some informative knowledge’s that you can use if ever you will need the service for a future use. A dethatcher machine is like an innovated type of rake that is sometimes called as a power rake. This is often used in some outdoor landscaping project for improving your lawn. If you plan to purchase a dethatcher machine for your personal use then don’t be shocked to discover that they cost a fortune. This is the reason why most of the people who needs the service of this machine prefer to rent it than buy it especially if you don’t need its service for a regular basis.

The main job of a dethatcher machine is to remove layers of old and withered grass to make way to the new and fresh ones to grow. Old grasses are needed to be removed because they stop the water and nutrients from penetrating through the ground underneath. Dethatching your lawn will make your lawn and your grass greener and healthier compared to its original state. It is like giving your lawn a well deserve break after all the harsh season changes all year round. Dethatcher rentals will commonly cost you around %50 to %90 dollars a day. There are also some rental companies that offer an hourly rental fee that will cost you %30to %50 dollars. Comparing the rates, you can notice that a daily rate would cost you lesser rental fee. Hence it is more effective to rent the machine for a daily basis. Try looking for a company that offers some beneficial compensation to their customers like a free transfer service to save you up from paying for a truck for transfer.

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Choosing Which Dethatching Rake to Use

Posted on 13th August 2010 in Dethatching Rake Articles

Dethatching rakes are used to remove thatch from the lawn, making sure that it does not get so thick it adversely affects the growth and health of the grass plants. Though often overlooked by many homeowners, dethatching should be done regularly as part of routine lawn care to maintain a healthy, green and lush lawn.

There are three basic groups of dethatching rakes: power, tow-behind and manual. Sometimes it is better to use one rather than another, but they are all designed to remove excessive thatch from the lawn. They have sharp, two-sided blades that cut through the thatch layer and pull it out from the grass. Going over the lawn more than once in different directions will remove the most thatch and result in a more thorough job.


Power rakes. These are more similar to lawnmowers than rakes and are much faster to use than manual rakes. The blade height and width is adjustable so you can determine how deeply they go into the ground and make it less stressful on more delicate grasses. To do less damage to the grass, use spring tines instead of blades to remove thatch if it is not very thick. Because they are the most stressful to the lawn, power rakes should only be used when the grass has time to recover. Spring is usually ideal, though fall works in most areas too. Avoid power raking in the hot and dry summer months or just before them.

Tow behind rakes. This type of dethatching rake hitches to a riding lawnmower or tractor. Since it is wider than other ones, it covers ground more quickly and is nice for very larger areas of grass that would take much longer with another type of rake.

Manual rakes. These are the most like typical rakes and are used similarly. They are great for small areas and in between touch-ups. They can be used more frequently throughout the year and are inexpensive. They are a good addition to any shed.

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When to Use a Dethatching Rake

Posted on 12th August 2010 in Dethatching Rake Articles

Dethatching rakes are designed specifically to remove excess thatch from a lawn and should be used before the thatch layer gets too deep and starts affecting the health of the grass. Even if it has gotten that far already, a thatching rake can still be used to remove some of the thatch to help mitigate the problem. Of course, it is better to regularly dethatch so that doesn’t happen.

What Is Thatch?

Thatch is a layer of organic materials that knit together as they decompose. It is found on the soil surface and often feels spongy. Usually it consists of leaves and grass clippings with other lawn debris such as pine needles in it as well. A mulching lawnmower that is not working properly can lead to a deep thatch layer that builds up quickly.

Measuring the Thatch
Remove a soil plug from the lawn and look for the thatch layer between the grass and dirt.
Around ½ inch is fine and will help the lawn weather drought and hot temperatures. More than that and you should remove some with a dethatching rake.

When to Dethatch
Dethatching rakes of every kind work better when the ground is wet but not overly soggy.
Springtime is a good time to dethatch, especially if you are power raking, because the grass
will have plenty of rain and mild temperatures as it recovers. Manual raking is less stressful to the lawn and can be done more frequently throughout the year. Fall is also a popular time for dethatching as part of preparing your lawn for winter.

How to Prepare for Dethatching
Whenever you choose to dethatch, be sure to prep your lawn first. Walk around the lawn and pick up any toys, rocks, pinecones or other debris that will get in the way of the rake. Mow the grass very short, about half the length you normally would. Check the soil and water the night before dethatching if it is too hard and dry. You can dethatch wit a rake or simply by adding a dethatching blade to your lawn mower.

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