The Best Rake for Dethatching

No matter how meticulous you are with your lawn, thatch eventually builds up above the soil line. Once this happens, you must dethatch the yard to ensure that your grass gets the water and air it needs to thrive. The best times for dethatching are in the late fall and early spring when the grass is dormant.

Yards with 400 square feet or less of grass require very little time and effort for dethatching. With that in mind, a manual dethatching rake is the best rake for your lawn. A manual dethatching rake has a long handle and sharp steel blades for cutting through and pulling up the thatch. Best of all, most manual dethatching rakes come with two sets of blades set to different lengths to give you greater penetration through thick thatch.

Yards with 1,000 square feet or less might be too large for a standard dethatching rake. For yards of this size, a thatching cutter rake head with wheels and axle will make the job much easier. Similar to a tractor setup, the thatching cutter is set to gently penetrate into the thatch layer without damaging the soil and grass root system underneath. Most thatching cutters come only with the rake head and will require separate purchase of the handle.

If you have a large piece of property, then a power rake is the best dethatching option for you. While expensive to buy, power rakes can typically be rented at hardware and gardening stores. A power rake is a powerful machine that uses rotating blades to cut through and tear out the thatch.

Dethatching a yard is hard work. If you are not adjusted to vigorous work, consider hiring a gardener to assist with your dethatching. Dethatching rakes have very sharp edges, so wear closed-toed shoes and avoid raking while children or pets are in the yard.