How To Dethatch A Lawn With A Mower Attachment: Step-by-Step

Want to boost your lawn’s health and appearance? Dethatching with a mower attachment is an effective method. Our guide provides a step-by-step approach to help you achieve a lush, green lawn.

How to Dethatch a Lawn with a Mower Attachment:

Check grass sponginess. Trim grass to half height. Remove the mower blades and attach the dethatching blades. Mow with dethatching blades at a higher deck setting. Reattach cutting blades and mow typically. Overseed bare spots. Fertilize and water the lawn to recover.

Elevate your lawn’s health and appearance with our comprehensive guide. Discover the effectiveness of a mower attachment in dethatching your lawn. Don’t stop here; there’s more to explore!

How to Dethatch a lawn with particular lawnmower dethatching blades

Dethatching your lawn with dethatching blades means replacing your current cutting blades with dethatching blades.

The size of dethatching blades may vary depending on the lawnmower’s deck size. So, knowing your lawnmower’s size is essential before purchasing the dethatching blades. Changing the blades is not a difficult job.

● Step 1: Check if your lawn needs dethatching

Before starting the dethatching process, checking whether you need to dethatch your lawn is a good idea. It is easy to see if your lawn needs dethatching by examining it. Generally, a lawn’s surface should feel firm once you walk on it.

If the texture is spongy, that is a clear indication that you need immediate dethatching. Sponginess represents the presence and build-up of dead grass in your lawn.

You can also examine your yard by pressing the grass with your hand and ultimately judging its relative firmness. If it feels spongy enough, one must perform the necessary detachment operations.

● Step 2: Trim the grass:

Before performing the detachment process, it is necessary to keep the height of the grass in check. Grass height has a significant impact on the efficiency of the process. The smaller the grass size, the better the dethatching process will be will be.

Thus, if the grass is tall enough, one must trim it accordingly, as the dead grass must be dethatched just above the soil. Mowing the lawn to half its height is recommended. Once the size is optimum, you are set to dethatch.

● Step 3: Remove the cutting blades:

Once the grass has been trimmed, the next step is to remove the cutting blades and replace them with the dethatching blades. To remove the cutting blades, one should tilt the mower towards the handle end and prop it with a heavy object.

When a riding lawnmower sets the cutting deck at its highest position, use a ramp or lawnmower lift to access the blades. We advise disconnecting the spark plug cables before working on the blades. This ensures that the mower can not unintentionally start.

In the case of an electric lawnmower, disconnect the main cable. If you have a battery mower, remove the batteries. Mark the cutting blades so that you know what side should be at the bottom when you reinstall them later.

● Step 4: Attach the dethatching blades:

Once the cutting blades are removed, place them aside and attach the dethatching blades. Ensure that the springs are facing downwards. Generally, the thatching blade attachment has a considerable resemblance to ordinary blades.

However, the metal or plastic projections hanging downwards could be considered a distinguishing characteristic of dethatching blades. Once the blades are in their proper place, tighten the bolts. Reconnect the spark plug cables and fill the gas tank.

● Step 5: Mow the yard again:

Once the dethatching blades are in place, adjust the mowing height to a higher level than you would use for regular mowing. Now, perform the mowing process as you usually do with cutting blades.

The lawnmower’s back-and-forth movement would make the dethatching blades’ springs remove the roots and the dead grass. Once you have been all over the lawn several times, lower the deck and proceed again. This way, you remove any remaining thatches.

● Step 6: Reattach the mowing blades:

Once you have completed the thatching process, remove the dethatching blades and replace them with your original cutting blades. Mow the lawn, and once done, inspect your lawn thoroughly for any remaining thatches.

The remaining thatches could be removed with the help of a rake. Once you are done with mowing and dethatching, collect the grass and dispose of it in a compost heap. Ensure you dispose of the organic material accordingly by placing it in plastic containers and dumping it.

● Step 7: Cover the patches:

The detachment process can make your lawn look awful at first. Maybe you see bare spots on it. Use some grass seeds in places where much of the grass has gone. Give it some time and care, and it will look nice soon.

● Step 8: Fertilize and water the lawn:

After the dethatching process, make sure that your lawn is watered frequently. Use some fertilizer that you spread evenly over your grass. The new grass would take around three to four weeks to grow back.

You should schedule dethatching to consider the spring season, as the grass grows actively during spring, and the lawn holds enough moisture to expedite this process.

Other Lawnmower Dethatching Attachments:

Besides using dethatching lawnmower blades, you can also use other lawnmower attachments. They are attachments in front or behind you riding a lawn mower or lawn tractor. These units consist of sturdy steel gauges covered with epoxy paints.

JRCO is a renowned company that manufactures these attachments. A front or back-mounted unit could be easily installed on your lawnmower by putting the dethatching attachment’s spindle into already present adjustment attachment points on your lawnmower or lawn tractor.

These units come in different shapes and sizes, and details about suitable fits are available in your lawnmower’s instruction manual. Once you have mounted the attachment, you are ready to dethatch the lawn by following the steps mentioned earlier, except for changing your lawnmower’s blades.

Related Questions:

1. What is the best time to dethatch your lawn?

The period to perform the dethatching varies from lawn to lawn. It depends on your yard’s location, the soil quality, grass type, and the season. However, scheduling your dethatching in the spring is always recommended.

The main reason for opting for the spring season is that grass actively grows in spring due to the soil’s added moisture. Thus, your lawn grows back immediately. However, one should always ensure not to perform the dethatching when your yard is in dormant condition as it could harm more than recover.  

2. How often should I dethatch my lawn?

Dethatching is recommended once a year. First, inspect your lawn. One should start with dethatching if the thatch has grown over an inch.

3. Is it better to Dethatch or Aerate?

Dethatching and aeration are two completely different processes, and both are crucial for your lawn’s health. Dethatching removes dead organic material, roots, and grass from the yard to ensure the grass’s health is improved and the lawn looks fresh.

At the same time, aeration ensures that the soil has easy access to natural elements like water, air, and other nutrients. In aeration, one makes holes in the ground to ensure this supply. Those holes can be easily made with a small pick.

The hole’s size should be around a quarter of an inch to ensure a steady flow of water and other nutrients to the grassroots. It is recommended for both processes, but one should perform the dethatching operation first and then aerate as if aeration has been done before.

4. Do I need to overseed after dethatching?

It is recommended to be overseen after dethatching to ensure no patches are left, as detachment causes patches on your lawn. Applying some quality seeds is advised to give your yard a presentable look.

5. Can I dethatch and mow simultaneously?

It is recommended that you initially trim your lawn to reduce the grass height. Once cut, you can perform the dethatching using the detachment blade attachment on your lawnmower.

After you finish it, mow the lawn with the lawnmower and rake off any demanding thatches. Using a dethatching attachment behind your lawnmower makes it possible to dethatch and cut simultaneously, but success may vary depending on your situation.

Remarks

The presence of thatch, a layer of organic material consisting of roots, grass clippings, and stems, in your lawnmower is detrimental to the grass and has harmful soil effects. This dense layer hinders the flow of essential nutrients, water, air, and other beneficial elements to the soil.

Which results in its deteriorating health. So, what is thatch, and what does thatch look like? Thatch is a layer of living and dead organic matter between the green matter and the soil surface.

Excessive thatch build-up creates a favorable environment for pests and diseases, reduces the effectiveness of specific lawn treatments, and can cause significant problems such as drought stress or winter kill. It is necessary to remove these thatches as soon as you spot them.

• The Importance of Dethatching Your Lawn

You may wonder, do you need to dethatch? The answer is yes. If the thatch layer is more than one-half inch, it can harm your lawn, and you must dethatch. Raking is a cumbersome process, and hiring a professional can be costly. So, how to properly dethatch your lawn?

Using the dethatching blades is a suitable and cost-effective method to dethatch. These blades are designed to pull the thatch up from the soil and toward the mower, where it can be easily collected and removed.

• Choosing the Right Dethatching Blades

You can mount the dethatching blades on your existing lawnmower, whether a push mower or a riding lawn mower. Making the switch is simple: you need to remove the bolt that holds the current blade in place, replace it with the dethatching blade, and then replace the bolt.

This blog helps you with all the necessary steps to dethatch a lawn properly. Remember, the health of your lawn is the most important thing, and the process of dethatching is an integral part of maintaining that health.