What is a Lawn Scarifier and How to Use it?

If you are excited to know about lawn scarifier and how it is used, you can take help from our helpful guide.

What is Lawn Scarifier?

A lawn scarifier is a garden tool that is also known as a dethatcher. It is operated either by electricity or a manual push to remove the dead moss and other waste such as grass clippings by cutting through the soil and thatch the grass with minimum noise. The harp blades of scarifying unit cut through the turf, pass air, water, and other nutrients to reach the roots more efficiently. You get to choose how hard you would like to work on the grass with a lawn scarifier.

The results of failing to scarify your grass and do other care tasks may be terrible. Whenever dead grass clippings and mosses are left to accumulate on the surface of the lawn, the rainwater will be unable to flow deep under the earth, where it is most required.  The  ‘thatch’ is the covering of dead grass which lies on the surface of the lawn, which is explained by the ‘dethatcher’ phrase. Excessive water and moisture might increase the development of additional moss, causing more harm than good.

When to scarify the Lawn?

Scarifying your lawn is needed to be done once a year. The optimum time to scarify is in the spring or early fall, whenever the grass has had time to develop back and recuperate. Only scarify your grass once the weather is optimal, such as when there is warmth, sunshine, and some rain. If you dethatch after heavy rain or under severe conditions such as dry weather, you may cause more harm than benefit. After you’ve scarifyed the lawn, it will be unable to regrow for quite some time. 

How Lawn Scarifier is Used? 

Now you would be a wonder to know what the lawn scarifier is, let’s look at some helpful hints for getting so much out of new garden equipment.

Clear Any Detritus From the Grass and Use a Moss Killer to Burn the Moss, then Rake up the Dead Moss Before Scarifying

Before you start scarifying your grass, you should remove all big weeds using a trowel or a  fork. Use the moss killer at every spot of moss in your grass approximately 10 to 15 days before scarifying. It will protect the moss which you just cleaned from spreading throughout your garden.

Mowing Lawn at Low Speed or Setting

Once you’re confident the moss has been killed (this just looks like brown or black or dried) you should mow your grass with the best lawn scarifier on a very low setting in dry weather. If you do this before you use the lawn scarifier, you’ll be able to gather the chopped grass at the completion of your work, before it has a chance to cause any harm.

Scarifying Lawn at High Speed or Setting

Take start with a lawn scarifier that has a high setting and visit the entire lawn area many times. Then repeat this process at different angles (must lower the intensity of settings each time).

Add Grass Seed and Surface Soil to Finish

As you completed scarifying your grass there could be barren spots where its thatch and moss formerly thrived. You may add additional grass seed just at the completion of the procedure as an optional feature, which is a wonderful idea when your lawn feels worn. Therefore, the seed should be covered with a blend of sharp sand and fine compost and sharp sand to save it while it germinates. This method is termed ‘Over seeding’. Aerating and Scarifying and your lawn creates a fertile seedbed for new seeds. Apply the seed across the lawn while overseeding, paying special attention to the barren spots.

After you’ve finished overseeding, apply light water to the soil on a regular basis to keep it wet. But be careful not to overwater the soil. Within a week or so, your grass would be looking healthy, pleasant, and new with some LTC.

Fertilize the lawn

You may apply fertilizer in the weeks after the application of fresh seed to aid in the healthy and lush growth of your revitalized lawn. A granulated spring/summer fertilizer with high amounts of nitrogen as well as other nutrients such as phosphate should be used. Granular feeds work best while the soil is still chilly and growth is spotty, so they’re ideal for early spring.

You can distribute the fertilizer manually over small areas. You can also use a fertilizer distributor to ensure proper distribution of fertilizer over greater areas if it is more convenient.

Not only does proper feeding make the lawn greener, but it also improves the quality of the lawn. It also assists in the growth of thicker grass, boosts its strength, and improves the lawn’s overall health. A well-fertilized lawn is far more resistant to moss, weeds, and weather-related problems.

The grass will stay healthy and strong throughout summer if you feed it again 2 months after its initial feed.

You will feel a change in your lawn because a new seed adapts to the grass and begins to bloom. There’ll be a healthy, pleasant, green grass where previously there were moss, thatch, and weeds. You should also aerate your lawn to promote circulation and enable nutrients to enter the soil. The fresh ideal lawn should bloom all summer.

Types of Lawn Scarifiers:

Hand-Held or Manual

It is the simplest spring tine rake or spring book. Manual or handheld scarifier for lawn is flawlessly sufficient for scraping small lawn and moss elimination. Furthermore, if you want to create scraping easily as compared to the rolling lawn, then this is the cheap scarifier for the lawn.

Lawnmower Cassettes

Qualcast, Atco, and various other manufacturers of cylinder mowers make scarifying cassettes for the cylinder mowers. These are top-notch in terms of de-mossing or light raking the lawn and are an excellent way of receiving supplementary use from the mower.

Electric lawn scarifier:

Quite often marketed as the best electric scarifier, garden scarifiers, power scarifier. Electric though called scarifiers for lawn, others have only wire tines and the best lawn raking machine. The electric scarifier for the lawn is of perfect value and in case you have a mossy lawn that varies between 100 and about 250 m then in that scenario these are the perfect investment.

How to Choose the Best Scarifier for Lawn?

If you own a garden, then this question must be included in your book. Take a look below and find what are the main points you have to keep in your mind when you choose a scarifier for the lawn. 

The lawn scarifier’s weight:

The weight is the criterion that is commonly ignored for scarifiers for lawns, but weight is significant because it controls the movability of lawn scarifiers. And to be honest it seems daunting to gather power and lightness. Moreover, if you have a garden that is not big, it is not essential to get a scarifier for a lawn that is too powerful or weighty. In this scenario, it is highly recommended to choose a lightweight scarifier for the lawn. 

The Thermal Scarifier:

The thermal scarifier is appropriate for very huge gardens covers more than 800 m² area. The thermal scarifier suns on the gasoline and provide great power, however, on the other hand, in terms of maintenance, thermal lawn scarifier are a little demanding and daunt to handle because of their heavy weight. 

Lawn Scarifier With or Without Collection Box??

This is the most asked question that what lawn scarifier is best with or without a collection box. So, the collection bag is highly recommended the reason behind this is it avoids you having in order to do the collection work yourself. Care must be paid in order to the ability of the latter. For a spacious lot, and ability of 50L is suggested. If you want to choose a lawn scarifier without a collection bag, reflect transitory the lawnmower right after, as the majority of the lawnmowers are equipped with a lawn scarifier of the collection bag.