The Advantages of Lawn Dethatching

Soil Aeration

• Soil aeration is the primary reason for lawn dethatching. Thatch is thick clumps of grass blades, root pieces and stems forming a layer between the soil where the roots start and the blades of healthy grass. When this layer is too thick, air cannot get to the root system. Brown or yellow spotting across your lawn as the grass begins dying are signs of too much thatch. If not treated, the entire lawn may end up affected. Lawn dethatching lets air reach the soil layer and keep roots breathing.

Extreme Temperature Tolerance

• When thatch layers are not too terribly thick, they can act as a sort of insulation for the root system. For example, if it is too hot, a thin thatch layer helps keep the roots from drying out. If temperatures are extremely cold, the thin thatch layer helps keep the roots from freezing. The opposite is true when too much thatch is present. It freezes itself and hastens root freezing in cold temperatures, and it hastens roots' drying out in hot summer months.

Drought Resistance

• Your grass needs every drop of water during drought. A thick thatch layer prevents water from reaching the roots, causing major lawn problems. If you provide daily irrigation, this problem may appear gradually. If, where you live is experiencing drought conditions and you are not able to irrigate your yard regularly, maximizing the amount of water reaching your grass is an advantage of dethatching.

Diseases and Pests

• Dethatching minimizes the lawn's exposure to diseases and pests. Thatch creates the conditions for these menaces to thrive. Mold begins growing at ground level without good soil aeration and that opens the door to diseases. Thatch might cause a visual barrier to pests, keeping you from spotting pests and initial signs of damage. By the time you see symptoms of a pest or disease problem, it may be so far along that you can do nothing for it. Dethatching your lawn minimizes these problems.