Do I Need to Dethatch?

Ottawa homeowners need to pay attention to thatch problems on their property. Composed of both living and dead plant matter, thick layers of thatch can prevent water, air and nutrients from nourishing your lawn. Don't let your lawns suffocate – contact Nutri-Lawn Ottawa lawn care company and book one of our beneficial dethatching treatments today.

Dethatching vs. Power Raking

Nutri- Lawn Ottawa offers two very different types of lawn maintenance treatments focused on thatch: dethatching and power raking. Dethatching is for lawns that have extremely thick layers of thatch (3 inches or more). It's worth noting that dethatching can put stress on your lawn, especially if your turf is only suffering from a light thatch covering. Power ranking may be a better option.

In cases of minimal thatch cover, Nutri-Ottawa recommends booking a core aeration services along with a power raking treatment. Power raking removes dead debris that builds up on your lawn over the winter, making it the perfect treatment for small amounts of thatch.

How Does Your Ottawa Lawn Care Company Dethatch?

When you employ Nutri-Lawn's Ottawa lawn care company to dethatch your lawn, they won't just improve your lawn's breathability – our technicians will actually cut through the thatch layer with knife-like blades and remove the debris entirely. During the treatment, Nutri-Lawn will first wet the soil in order to prevent the equipment from tearing any health turf.

Before your dethatching begins, mow the lawn to its recommended height and make sure you mark all obstacles, such as sprinkler heads or shallow irrigation pipes. The last thing you want to do is replace your inground irrigation system following an unnecessary dethatching accident!

Our Ottawa lawn care company will then use a vertical mower or power rake to make two passes perpendicular to each other in the thatch layer. If the thatch is thick, we won't attempt to remove it all in one day, as dethatching is hard on your lawn (but no pain, no gain, right?). That said, if you try to remove a very thick layer of thatch all in one day, your lawn could be just dirt by the time it's all over.

Once the dethatching is done, there will be quite a bit of debris on your lawn. This will need to be bagged and removed from the property in order to avoid the further suffocation of your lawn. If your lawn mower has a grass collection system, it might be better to simply use that.

Since dethatching is so stressful on your lawn, you can help it recover by doing it at the right time of year and using Nutri-Lawn's fertilization and irrigation services. Ask one of our lawn care company technicians for further details.

What Time of Year Do You Contact Lawn Care Companies About Dethatching?

The best time of the year to dethatch is right before the lawn's most vigorous growth cycle, typically in the spring. Alternatively, you can also prepare your lawn for the cool season and contact your Ottawa lawn care company from late August to early October. The grass begins to grow vigorously again during the fall and should recover quickly from the dethatching process. Fall dethatching is also recommended because weeds are not germinating at this time, so the grass will not have to compete with them. If you choose to dethatch in the fall, do it about 30 days before the end of the mowing season.

Spring dethatching, before the grass starts to green up, is also recommended. This is easier than fall dethatching because the grass has not come up yet and it will be easy to get at the thatch. So if your grass feels a little too soft and the thatch layer is pretty thick, contact Nutri-Lawn Ottawa about their dethatching services. Their quality, eco-friendly lawn care services will put other lawn care companies to shame!