I just got done scalping the lawn and cleaning up the thatch. Now I’m trying to figure out how to rent an aerator from Home Depot. It says $77 for 4 hours, but I’ll probably need a trailer or some ramps too… What a hassle. I’ll likely end up spending a few hours getting all this done.
While driving, I saw a yard sign for lawn aeration and texted the number to get a quote. They quoted me $60! They came by today with a big trailer and used a professional Ryan aerator. They were done in 20 minutes and my lawn is about 7500 sq ft.
I’m glad I texted that number instead of going through the trouble myself. Now I just need to add topsoil and seed this weekend.
Dethatching has become more popular lately, especially because of YouTube channels and other similar sources. But there’s a lot of misinformation about it.
Thatch is a layer of roots and stems (both living and dead) that sits on top of the soil. Grass clippings aren’t thatch and don’t cause thatch buildup. You can only know how much thatch you have by digging into the soil.
Having some thatch is good. While different sources have various opinions, most agree that having less than an inch is fine. Thatch helps prevent weeds, deals with foot traffic, and keeps moisture, so removing it isn’t always needed. Too much thatch can be a sign of other issues like overwatering, over-fertilizing, or using too many chemicals.
Using tools like Sunjoe dethatchers can damage your lawn in the short and long term, and they can cause some weeds to spread. A better option for thatch issues is core aeration, which helps break it down naturally without hurting the grass. Other options include using scarifiers or verticutters, which cause less damage.
For overseeding, better choices are slit seeding, scarifying, or using manual rakes. If you want more details on seeding, check out our seeding guide.
Same. Someone in my local lawn care group gave me a number for a guy who does aeration, so I reached out. I ended up paying the same amount I’d spend to rent a machine myself.
