Would you like a light dethatch? power de-thatch? or aeration?  Don’t know how to answer the question? 

If your lawn has thatch over a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch deep you have a few options to bring it back to a healthy depth.  Well here are some ideas as to what each will do.

Light dethatch uses a spring tine rake on the front of our Walkers.  This is great for spring time to lift up the matted grass and bring up the dead blades of grass from last year.  This does not remove much thatch.  It is great for cleaning up the yard and getting it ready to grow if it already has a healthy depth of thatch. 

Power de-thatching uses a device that has a rotating drum with slicing blades on it.  It aggressively cuts through the top layer of thatch and lifts it to the surface.  It is set to leave 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of thatch behind.   To power de-thatch we go over the lawn 2 twice in perpendicular directions.  We use the Walkers to pick-up the debris that are lifted. When you have an 1 or  more of thatch you could benefit from an instant reduction that the power dethatching accomplishes.  This should be done before the lawn starts actively growing or at the end of the season.

Aeration is the machine that pulls out the plugs of sod.  This should be done once the lawn is actively growing.  This increases air and water movement to aid the bacteria in decomposing the excessive thatch.  Aeration is an overall improvement to the health of the lawn which in turns allows the natural bacteria to keep the thatch in check so that you should not need to power de-thatch again.   

Our recommendation is a light dethatch with the Walker in the spring to lift the matted grass and give the spring feel.  Then we recommend aerating yearly or a minimum of every 3 years to keep your lawn healthy.  Call us to get you on the schedule!