How To Prevent Lawn Thatching? And How to Get Rid Of It!

Owning a lawn that is in pristine condition is the goal of many homeowners. So, is it not just the worst when you’ve spent all that time, energy and money to make your lawn immaculate, only to have dead spots? There is a good chance that lawn thatching is to blame. So how do we get rid of it once it’s here, and better yet, sort it out before it’s a problem?!

To prevent lawn thatching, proper lawn care is paramount. Watering correctly, applying the correct fertilizer in the correct ratios, and reducing the use of pesticides will help to prevent thatching. Once established, removal can be done through various mechanical techniques. 

As strange as it seems, lawns are a micro-ecosystem. To ensure a lawn remains healthy, we need to look at it from an ecosystem approach. Simply removing the symptom is not enough. The “root” needs identification and addressing.

How To Get Rid Of Lawn Thatching

Once lawn thatching becomes an issue, it needs to be dealt with. There are a few different methods to dethatch your lawn:

Mechanical Mowing 

One of the easiest methods to reduce lawn thatching is to set your lawn mowers’ cutting height lower. Thatching grows above the soil, so by cutting closer to the ground, you cut into the mat of roots and stems. Before any other dethatching methods are used, mowing the law to slightly lower than usual is recommended.

Dethatching tools

To effectively remove thatching from your lawn, you will need to use a dethatching tool. These include:

• Using a dethatching rake. This rake combines short tines and curved blades that dig in and cut a chunk of the thatch (and plant roots) out. This method is very effective when the thatch is not very thick and when the lawn is small. Simply put it into the grass and pull. Remember to move in one direction to limit the damage to grassroots.
• If your lawn is a bit too big to use a hand rake, the use of a power rake may be necessary. This is a combination between a lawnmower and a dethatching rake. This method also requires relatively thin thatching and grass that is hardy enough to withstand the raking.
• The next item on the list is a vertical mower. Unlike regular lawn mowers, these have blades that move up and down. These machines work by digging down into the soil, cutting a chunk of thatch, and pulling the thatch and soil upwards. This is a bit of a heavy-duty method, and it is useful for thicker thatching in lawns that need to be cleared and rehabilitated/renovated.

When using these manual removal methods, removing the cut thatch off of the lawn is important.

This removal of the cover allows for new shoots to germinate, new seeds to be sown and water and nutrients to effectively reach and penetrate the soil. 

Aerating the soil

Another method in controlling lawn thatching is to use a soil core aerator. By poking into the ground and removing “cores,” a core aerator breaks up compacted soil, improves drainage and allows water, nutrients and air to move through the thatch layer into the soil. This, in turn, improves the soil properties and helps to reduce thatch buildups. After aerating the soil, adding a thin layer of topdressing (compost or soil rich in organic matter) will also help to facilitate the return of micro-organisms and proper soil health.

Sometimes it may be worthwhile calling in a professional lawn service. This is especially the case when thatching is 2 inches or thicker. With any manual dethatching, there is a limit to how much thatch can be removed in one season. While the thatch is being removed, grassroots are also at risk. Sometimes a dethatching project will need to run over two or more seasons. With all the time and energy needed (especially on bigger lawns), it may work out cheaper, easier and give you peace of mind, in the long run, to call in a team of professionals. 

It is important to remember that rehabilitation of the lawn is required once any removal method has been used. Thatching occurs when there are underlying problems, so the underlying issue must be addressed to effectively remove thatching.

The Prevention Of Lawn Thatching

A problem is only a problem if it becomes a problem! If we don’t want a thatch buildup, we need to take preventative measures. These measures don’t necessarily have to be costly or out of the ordinary from regular lawn care. 

No technique should be used in isolation. It is important to return healthy micro-organism activity to your lawn, improve drainage and aeration, reduce soil compaction, and correct imbalances in the soil pH.

By regularly mowing your lawn (cutting off not more than one-third of the grass leaves), you break down the fragment sizes of leaves, stems and other organic parts. This, in turn, helps the micro-organisms to break down the particles and prevent thatching buildup. By leaving the grass clippings, you also encourage nutrient recycling so nothing goes to waste.

Do not overwater your lawn or use fast-release nitrogen fertilizers. Both of these will contribute to thatching buildup. Rather instead, use a slow-acting organic fertilizer and water your lawn less often but for longer periods of time. This will encourage proper root development.

It is important to understand what is happening in your lawn, so taking a core sample and looking at the soil-to-thatch-to grass ratio is a good idea. It is also a good idea to have your soil tested every three to four years.  This will provide insight into soil pH, soil type, aeration, etc.

Common Causes Of Lawn Thatching

Lawn thatching is a normal, naturally occurring phenomenon. Simply put, it is a latticework of all the roots and stems from the grass plants above that grow together in a mat above the soil layer. A healthy lawn will have around half an inch’s worth of lawn thatch. Lawn thatching becomes a problem when it starts to get to an inch thick and more. 

Some of the factors leading to this buildup of thatching include:

• Watering your lawn too much or too often.
• In a healthy lawn, micro-organisms, worms and fungus will decompose the thatch layer, thereby keeping it in check. Once these detritivores no longer operate effectively, thatching begins to build. i.e., if the breakdown of the organic material falls behind the accumulation, you will have a thatching buildup. This could be from the use of pesticides and herbicides. 
• Certain grass species are more prone to thatching and need to be monitored/raked more frequently.
• Often times the underlying factors leading to a thatching buildup are related to the soil. If soil is overly compacted, high in either alkaline or acid and high in clay content, it may lead to a thatching buildup. 
• Using too much fast-release nitrogen fertilizer too frequently can also contribute to lawn thatching.

Wrapping Up

In order to have a lush green lawn, we need to avoid a thatch buildup. This can, first and foremost, be achieved by maintaining good lawn care practices, along with a shift away from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to a more natural, organic approach. Remember, your lawn is a micro-ecosystem; every part functions together to produce what’s in front of you!