[UHH47]

I hired Adams to thatch my Zoisia grass lawn. They use a riding mower with a low mower deck that is supposed to suck up the thatch. The process cut the grass real short (ground level)and picked up some of the top thatch, but not the embedded thatch.
The minimum fee was $60 for three dumps from the grass catcher and $20 for each additional dump. My observation was that 1/2 of the of the dumps was from cutting the grass down to ground level.
In my previous lawn thatching I rented a thatcher from Home Depot that thatched the lawn down to the dirt. Opporating the thatcher was easy. It was work raking, bagging and disposing the thatch, but this procee did a better job.

[Golfer222]

3...2....1...

[Tvflguy]

Zero.

Had Adams do our lawn - the DEthatching worked nicely. If I recall 4 bags although it was all deposited in his truck. It DID dethatch. Got up a lot of the underground junk inhibiting good drainage and growth. Happy.

[D&BSmith]

Can You Dethatch St. Augustine Grass? Let’s Settle This! – Thriving Yard

Excellent article on why and how to dethatch. Has to be done correctly or will destroy St. Augustine grass.

[Ozzello]

Cutting low in the spring and disposing of the cuttings is good to do but is not dethatching. You should cut low every year, sometimes twice. Dethatch every 1-2 years as needed. Not at the same time.

[UpNorth]

Anybody have any experience with a "liquid dethatcher" that several landscapers use?

[Michigan Farmer]

You are so right, lawn clippings ect. above the ground is not thatch. What you were sold was what I call "power raking". Thatch is below ground level and requires a vertical mower, like you can rent from Home Depot. There are some small machines you can buy on line advertised as dethatchers but if they do not include a scarfier blade they are only power rakes. For about $20 you can buy a blade for your lawnmower with replaceable plastic rake fingers that works well for power raking.