Do I Need To Dethatch?

Q: I am unsure whether I need to dethatch my lawn or not. It is mainly bermuda grass. I am asking because a neighbor dethatched his lawn.

A: It doesn’t look to me like it needs dethatching.

Thatch is a layer of decomposing and undecomposed grass clippings beneath the green blades of grass in a lawn. Thatch interferes with watering and with fertilizing the lawn. It can harbor insects.

I don’t see much thatch in your photographs. A lawn needs to be dethatched only when the layer is at least a half inch thick.

Dethatching could benefit a lawn when thatch is present but if it’s not present it simply tears up the grass for no good reason.