So, you hired a professional, they treated your lawn, but you still have weeds. Your lawn companies fault… maybe, but not necessarily.

There may be lawn companies out there that perform low quality work, but the majority are professional in their treatment of your lawn. But there always seem to be these pesky weeds. So who’s fault is it? THATCH!!

What is thatch? Thatch is a layer of debris (clippings, old grass, and roots) that accumulates near the soil surface. Imagine the hair that gets caught in your hairbrush… that is like thatch. You can remove the thatch (called dethatching… clever, huh?), but we’ll talk about that later.

One of the drawbacks to having a thick layer of thatch in your lawn is that there are certain weeds that only grow in this debris layer. Unfortunately, the product that  your lawn professional is using to prevent weeds only works at the soil level. The product is applied, then it soaks into the soil. This leaves the thatch vulnerable. The good news is, since the root layer on these weeds is so small, they can be easily pulled up or mowed down and are not usually a chronic issue.

Examples of weeds that grow in the thatch layer are: