Thatch on your lawn can make it look unhealthy and unsightly, even when you spend plenty of time caring for it. This is the name for the brown layer that lies between healthy soil and green grass in your yard. Compressed roots and stems, along with other dead and decaying organic material, form thatch that makes it difficult for your lawn’s roots to grow normally. When this happens, your lawn is in danger of being taken over by pests and the diseases they bring with them.

Here at The Lawnsmith, we recommend that our customers schedule an appointment for lawn dethatching in mid to late August. Our crew removes some of the thatch layers that have built up between the soil underneath it and the grass on top of it. This is essential to the long-term health of your lawn. When we are done with dethatching, we remove all debris from your property at no extra charge. We are happy to recommend a regular dethatching schedule based on the size of your lawn and the type of grass it contains.

Why Timing is Important When it Comes to Lawn Dethatching
Late summer is the ideal time for dethatching because heat waves are most likely over and the grass still has plenty of time to recover before the first frost. In a cool-weather state like Minnesota, grass grows most vigorously at this time of year. Dethatching can be hard on a lawn, so leaving adequate time for it to re-grow healthy grass is ideal.

It’s also best to start dethatching when the soil is moist, neither too dry or too wet. Our lawn care crew can determine the best time by visiting you at home and measuring the moistness of your soil. We never dethatch during a drought as this could permanently damage your lawn. Lastly, we recommend mowing your lawn to approximately half its normal height before we start the dethatching process.