Yes, there seems to be a higher ratio of lawns with excessive thatch, but a light raking is all that is needed to remove most of the dead grass and promote new growth.
Going to the extreme and using a Dethatcher is not recommended in our opinion.
Dethatching at this time of the year can be very harsh on your lawn and soil. It dredges up weed seeds that will create massive problems in May, and given the lack of effective weed control in Ontario, you'll be chasing weeds all season, cursing while you do.
The easier way to attack this problem is with, as mentioned, light raking. If it hurts to do this then you're applying too much force. If you seeded in the fall, you must be vigilant not to rip up new growth with over zealous physicality.
Another avenue is aeration to breakdown thatch. However, traditional mechanical core aeration will give you the same weed headaches, and presto, back to square one. We would suggest liquid aeration if you are hell bent on aerating in the spring. (We will discuss the benefits of this application in another post.)
Also, I'm glad people are getting the memo to leave their grass 3 to 3 1/2 inches high when cutting. Yet, this practice does not include the fall. When the leaves start to fall, so should your mower height. The last cut of the season should be roughly 1 1/2 inches in height.
This way come next spring you'll have less thatch to rake, your grass and your muscles will thank you, and dethatching will be a nasty word from last year.
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