Lawn care is a necessity. However, a majority of homeowners think that it only involves mowing, fertilizing, and watering the lawns. But there is another vital activity that homeowners tend to neglect, dethatching. A lawn dethatching service plays a significant role in the health and future of a lawn as long as it’s done correctly and by a professional. That’s why we advise homeowners to look for a dethatching service near me when they need such lawn care done. Dethatching will help to restore your lawn to a healthy state, keeping your property beautiful for years.
With that said, we will describe some of the most notable advantages of dethatching. And also why you need a lawn dethatching service done by professional landscape designers.
What is Thatch?
First, we need to define what thatch is, and how it affects your lawn. Simply put, thatch is a layer of organic debris that forms at the base of grass plants. It is usually a mixture of dead and living plant material, including leaves, stems, and roots.
Normally, thatch appears as a layer between the soil and grass blades in your lawn. It appears when the turf produces organic debris faster than can be broken down. Thatch, however, hardly comes from mulched leaves or tiny grass clippings because such organic matter breaks down much faster, especially in a healthy lawn.
When your lawn starts to have a spongy feel, then it probably has thatch. As such, you need to call for a dethatching service near me to get your lawn maintained before the thatch layer grows thicker.
Another way you can tell if your lawn has thatch issues is when the grass develops greyish-brown patches. Alternatively, when the water starts to run off your lawn rather than soaking. But when you seek a dethatching service from qualified professionals, such problems will get solved. Keep in mind that thatch can come about as a result of compacted soil on your lawn.
As such, we advise against DIY services. Why’s that? You see, the proper lawn dethatching service experts have the necessary experience with lawn. They will not only use the right equipment but also assess the real cause of thatch build-up on your lawn; hence, carrying out the appropriate maintenance practices that are required. But if you decide to do it yourself, you may end up causing harm to your lawn, causing long-term effects.
With that out of the way, let us check out ten benefits of hiring a lawn dethatching service:
1. Ensures healthy root growth in your grass
One of the key benefits of looking for a dethatching service is to ensure that the grass on your lawn has healthy root growth. Thing is, when there’s thatch build-up on your lawn, healthy root growth is problematic. So, that means that your lawn will not have the desired greenness or thick covering.
Roots are responsible for the absorption of water and nutrients. They also control the physiological activities of the parts that are above ground notwithstanding.
But you see, for optimum performance, roots need adequate moisture and air. They also need some fertilizer to grow healthily. Unfortunately, thatch limits that because it creates a barrier above the soil. However, that’s nothing a lawn dethatching service cannot solve on your lawn
Besides, a dethatching service will provide the right amount of carbon dioxide to the roots. When there’s proper circulation, the existing roots will grow robustly plus it will promote the growth of new roots to your lawn.
2. Promotes draining
By now, you already know that thatch creates a barrier between the grass blades and soil. As such, your lawn will not allow proper seepage to the grass. And the right amount of moisture is required to ensure proper lawn growth.
When the water doesn’t penetrate to the roots, your lawn will ultimately become unhealthy after some time. But with the right dethatching service, this issue can be remediated to make sure the water penetrates the soil on your lawn. Such a service will also reduce the run-off rate on your lawn, to promote proper growth. Besides, it will prevent the saturation of the plant system on your lawn.
3. Makes sure that fertilizer works on your lawn
Adding fertilizer to your lawn is one of the most common lawn maintenance practices. But did you know that dethatching allows fertilizer to blend well with the soil? Therefore, if you notice that your lawn has thatch build-up, and you’d like to apply fertilizer, you should first call a dethatching service near me.
When the organic debris is eliminated from your lawn, the fertilizer can spread well across your lawn, mixing well with the soil. The results? A healthy, thick, and green lawn.
4. Ensures your lawn gets sufficient nutrients
When your lawn doesn’t get enough nutrients, it will lose its lush green. You will start noticing that large parts of your lawn have turned brown. If the reason for this is because your lawn has thatch, then you need to look for a dethatching service near me to get the issue resolved immediately.
The organic debris prevents your grass from receiving the nutrients it requires. So, that’s why it becomes unhealthy, losing its green lush. But once the experts do proper dethatching, then your lawn will have sufficient nutrients, retaining the attractive lush green.
5. Gives your lawn an attractive appearance
Truth is, a well-maintained lawn preserves the aesthetic quality of your home. Such a lawn will be well mowed, and the lush appearance improves the general appearance of your home. If your home has thatch build-up, however, then it will have brown patches all over, thus making the entire space unattractive.
After all, nobody wants an unappealing lawn. To retain the beauty of your lawn, you must look for a dethatching service. The dethatching service professionals will get rid of the debris to keep the lawn healthy so that it can retain the attractiveness.
6. Ensures air is available to your soil
Dethatching is mostly compared to aeration. Why’s that? The removal of the organic layer by a dethatching service promotes proper air circulation to the soil. If your lawn has thatch build-up, it will restrict adequate air from getting to the soil.
And the air is necessary to promote healthy root growth, which translates to a healthy plant system. So, if you ignore calling a lawn dethatching service, your grass will lose its vibrant green, making your lawn unappealing. Therefore, it is necessary to get your lawn dethatched if you want proper aeration to the soil on your lawn.
7. Prevents disease
Another major reason to rely on a dethatching service near me is to prevent diseases. A diseased lawn is an unattractive lawn. And nobody wants their landscape to be repulsive. Thing is, the living and dead stems, roots, and leaves that make up a thatch could act as a breeding ground for parasites.
Worse even, thatch could harbor diseases on your lawn. And it can obstruct pesticides from penetrating the soil. To prevent all these, you need to make sure you get a lawn dethatching service near me. You want to make sure your lawn is healthy throughout the years.
8. The work is done to perfection
In case you didn’t know, thatch removal is a mechanical process. Consequently, it requires the application of the right tools. Besides, the work needs to be done with the utmost precision. That means it has to follow a series of steps and also the work should be done by a professional.
However, a majority of homeowners don’t know how to go about it. But if you look for a dethatching service near me, the work will get done professionally, making sure your lawn retains its lushness.
9. Gives your property a healthy lawn
The purpose of landscape design and lawn maintenance is to make sure your lawn remains healthy. However, neglecting it might cause it to lose the green color. It could even be a breeding ground for parasites and also promote diseases which affect the grass.
Luckily, a dethatching service will make sure your lawn is in proper condition throughout the year. The thatch removal will see to it that the plants have proper nutrients while the roots and soil receive adequate air. Overall, a dethatching service will keep your lawn healthy throughout the year.
10. Regulates the temperature
Now you see, some light layers of thatch could work to keep the soil cool. However, if a lot of thatch accumulates, and you leave it there for long, it could have serious consequences. Among these consequences include high temperature levels, which might affect the health of your lawn.
Once your lawn gets a dethatching service, however, the grass spades will not have temperature fluctuations. This means they will retain their health and color. Moreover, the soil temperature will be at the desired level, thus promoting healthy plant growth on your lawn.
When does your lawn need dethatching?
Now that we’ve covered the main benefits of a lawn dethatching service, it is time we discussed when you need to carry out the practice in addition to listing the tools you will need to carry out the process.
Before you call the experts for a dethatching service, however, the first thing you need to do is check the thatch layer on your lawn. To do that, you will need to use a spade or a garden trowel. Use the tool to dig up a small wedge on your lawn but make sure you also reach some soil. Why’s that necessary, you might ask. Well, this will help you to measure how thick your lawn’s thatch layer is.
Note that a thatch that is about 2 inches or more means that you need a dethatching service. Alternatively, you may need to call for a lawn dethatching service when you notice that your lawn has poor grass color or when the grass looks unhealthy.
We always recommend that you hire a dethatching service when your lawn’s grass is at its peak growing season. Why’s that? Because at such a time, the grass has active growth, which means that the recovery rate will be fast. However, you must keep in mind that the peak season varies with the grass type.
For instance, warm-season grasses like Zoysia grass need thatch removal prior to the summer’s peak growing season. On the other hand, cold-season grasses need to be dethatched during early fall or late summer.
Talk to a Dethatching Expert
Most importantly, you need to use the services of dethatching experts because they know when to carry out such tasks. Additionally, thatch removal cannot be done when a lawn is stressed or dormant. Why’s that? Doing so might end up damaging your lawn permanently.
Sometimes, dethatching may need to be carried out for more than one season. This, however, depends on how thick the thatch layer is, or how much damage it has caused to your lawn. The task also requires the use of special tools with the ideal tool for the job being a dethatcher. You will also find some models that are pulled using a garden tractor while others are motorized.
A dethatching expert will be able to give you the service you need to keep your lawn healthy throughout the year. Contact us for questions or to get a quote for lawn dethatching service for you yard.
