Can You Use A Regular Rake To Dethatch? (Better Dethatching Options)

If you have a thatch problem in your yard, but you don't have a special thatch rake or machine, you might be wondering:

"Can I use a regular leaf rake to dethatch my lawn?"

Yes, you can use a regular leaf rake to dethatch your lawn. But you likely aren't going to get see very good results. While a leaf rake can be used to remove some of the surface debris from your lawn, it is not the most effective tool for thatch.

The best way to dethatch your lawn is to use an electrical dethatching machine or a special thatch rake. We also don't recommend using a dethatching blade mower attachment.

Dethatching With A Regular Leaf Rake

A regular lawn rake can be effective at moving grass clippings around your lawn, which can help to introduce new air flow into your soil.

A regular rake can also help to surface any debris issues, like pine needles and dead grass.

But for removing thatch—where the thatch is below the surface debris—we don't recommend trying to use a regular rake.

The issue with leaf rakes is that they're not strong enough. Their curved tines are too flexible and bendy. You won't be able to achieve that aggressive raking motion that's needed to really scrape, score, rip, and get down into the thatch layer.

Not to mention: you'll be wasting a lot of time and sweat equity for no good reason.

Put simply: a regular rake is too weak and ineffective for dethatching.

Let's explore other options.

Using A Dethatching Rake

If you can't use a regular rake, then what's your next best option?

We really like dethatching rakes, especially the Groundskeeper II.

This lightweight thatching rake (it weighs just two pounds) is ultra-sturdy and works MUCH better than a regular rake when it comes to dethatching.

It really gets in and hooks onto all the twigs, debris, and ticks in your yard, without much downward pressure required on your end. The tines do a great job of cutting through the grass and really grabbing all the stuff you want to remove.

Now, while a specialized thatch rake is an excellent way to manually remove thatch ... it's still very much a manual process, and really only works with a thinner thatch layer.

So, we really only recommend using a rake if you have a smaller yard. Because if you tried detaching a LARGE yard with this rake, you're going to get REALLY tired.

With a dethatching rake, the tines are made so they don't bend back and forth at all. They're extremely sturdy. They will easily dig into the thatch, and pull it to the surface. While they're significantly cheaper than an electric dethatcher, they can be tiring to use on larger yards.

Related: Does your yard still look bad after dethatching?

Using An Electric Dethatching Machine

In our opinion, the best option for dethatching your lawn is to use an electric dethatcher, like the Greenworks 10. It operates much like a lawn mower does.

This nifty little machine provides the best of both worlds when dethatching:

It's nearly as big of a workhorse as the bigger, heavier machines you can rent from Loews and Home Depot ...

... and it's just as effortless of using a dethatching rake, while only being moderately more expensive. And, it won't tire you out on larger yards!

Basically, it hits the sweet spot: you can dethatch larger yards quickly, without breaking the bank (or your back), and it's quite easy to use.

It's easy to assemble, lightweight, a great bang for your buck, and works on large yards. The only thing to be aware of is you're going to need a heavy-duty extension cord to operate it.

Using A Verticutter

A verticutter is basically a more expensive, more powerful version of an electric dethatcher. In our opinion, they're a bit overkill for doing a dethatching job.

When might you want to use a verticutter? Well, perhaps the main benefit is that they run on gas, instead of electricity, so there's no need to worry about getting a heavy-duty extension cord, like you would with an electric dethatcher.

One benefit of verticutting is that is really slices the grass and pulls up the thatch, which is a nice way to prep for overseeding your lawn.

That said, verticutters aren't that easy to find. I wasn't able to locate a single one on Amazon.com, and most local Home Depots and Lowes' don't have them, either.

Using A Power Rake

A power rake is a heavy-duty garden tool that you're more likely to find a professional landscaper using than your average homeowner.

Power rakes feature dethatching blades that you can adjust to the correct height to avoid damaging grass roots and healthy grass, which is definitely a huge advantage. Another advantage is that a power rake can remove much more thatch material than a regular dethatcher.

Power rakes have heavy-duty blades and feature a rotating motion that aggressively cut and lift thatch.

In our opinion, a power rake is overkill to dethatch a lawn since it's too aggressive for most homeowners, and you risk ruining your healthy green grass if you don't know how to use the machine.

A scarifier is another tool that's overkill as well.

Dethatch Carefully

While dethatching your lawn has many benefits, you should be mindful that it's not always necessary. And you shouldn't need to dethatch more than once per year, at most. There are both pros and cons to dethatching. 

In fact, dethatching too often or without a real need can actually be detrimental to lawns. The aggressive raking associated with dethatching can damage grassroots and make the lawn more susceptible to disease and pests. So, unless you have a good reason, you might want to think twice before dethatching your lawn.

Here are some tips for making sure you're only dethatching when it's truly required.

• If a thatch layer greater than 1 inch is present, then you should dethatch your lawn. If you have a thin layer of thatch—less than 1 inch—that can actually be beneficial for your lawn since it reduces soil compaction. In that case, you don't have to do anything.

• Before dethatching, mow your lawn to two inches, as this will produce the best results when removing excess thatch.

• Use a dethatching rake or an electric dethatching machine for the job. A regular leaf rake won't get the job done up to par.

• The best time to dethatch is when the lawn is growing most actively. This is going to depend on the type of grass that you have! For cool-season grasses, that's usually going to be either early spring or early fall. For warm-season grasses, that's typically end-of-spring through the beginning of summer.

• Don't dethatch after it rains or when your lawn is overly wet.

And here are some tips on what to do with the thatch after dethatching.