[rusty_keg_3]

Ok, biz is slow in the spring, and i was thinking a detatcher on the mowers would be nice (well, fiveoboy01 said it in his thread)...

So, lets say we got a dethatcher for our mowers, while dethatching, dont you turn on the mower (blades), and bag it?

And what do you charge? Same as mowing or more?

Thanks,
Russell

 

[doubleedge]

I charge 3-4 times what I charge for weekly mowing. Dont underestimate how much work it is to dethatch and how much dead grass comes up from the ground.

 

[rusty_keg_3]

I charge 3-4 times what I charge for weekly mowing. Dont underestimate how much work it is to dethatch and how much dead grass comes up from the ground.

Yea, we did it for a customer last spring, by hang (rakes, and blowers)... It sucked!

 

[1993lx172]

You can bag as you go with a front mount dethatcher, it'll be dusty as all get out and I highly recommend wearing a dust mask. I prefer to use the lawn sweeper as opposed to the bagger on most yards, it holds more and I feel that it does a better job but that's just me.

As for pricing, go with what doubleedge said. It's an unpleasant, dusty job and you will have A LOT of material to deal with. If possible try to dump on site, if not then be prepared to make multiple dump runs.

 

[rusty_keg_3]

You can bag as you go with a front mount dethatcher, it'll be dusty as all get out and I highly recommend wearing a dust mask. I prefer to use the lawn sweeper as opposed to the bagger on most yards, it holds more and I feel that it does a better job but that's just me.

As for pricing, go with what doubleedge said. It's an unpleasant, dusty job and you will have A LOT of material to deal with. If possible try to dump on site, if not then be prepared to make multiple dump runs.

Ok, thanks...

Our Jd stander has the mulch kit, but we could get a bagger...

We dont have a vac. As for a place to dump, we have land...

 

[doubleedge]

Yea, we did it for a customer last spring, by hang (rakes, and blowers)... It sucked!

It doesnt suck when you get a significant amount of money in the first month or two of the season. At least around here, where most of our clients and many more that arent regular clients want it. I dont remember the exact amounts off hand, but I believe we got over 10% of our income from power raking.

 

[1993lx172]

Do not mulch this stuff, all you would be doing is putting it all right back where it came from. The best thing to do is to bag it, other wise you are doing nothing to benifit the yard or your client.

If you guys still have that JD 400 then what I would have you do is to get a pull behind dethatcher (if you add a little bit of weight to the top tray you get much better results) and a tow behind lawn sweeper. It will cost you guys less initaliy than a Jrco unit and bagger. Just a suggestion, this sort of setup works for me and I do a ton of these jobs every year.

 

[mowerbrad]

I use the front mount jrco dethatcher on my mower and it works awesomely. I can bag while I go and it takes the same amount of time as it does to mow a lawn. It is very dusty, so make sure that your air filter stays clean and your mower stays blown off during the day. Now as far as pricing goes, that depends on what you can get. I can't get 4x my mowing rate, but I can get about 2.5x my mowing rate, but I make pretty good money at what I charge.

 

[AzLawnMan]

I have two de-thatcher's that we break out twice a year. Once now, and another durring over-seeding. They cost me each about $2k, 10 years ago! They both still start on one pull and have made me more money than I would have thought. When a potential customer calls and ask's if I do this, they are surprised when I say "yes". They are an expensive investment, especially when you may not use them. But well worth the money, and you will never have to rent another. I usually charge $175 for an average yard. That includes de-thatching, and fertilizer as well taking all debris away.

 

[Alan0354]

People charge more for dethatching, not just regular mowing. Lots of dry grass come out. Unless you have one that can suck the stuff up, take a long time to cleanup.

I use only my Mantis to do dethatching, still take me longer to rake up the stuff than to run the dethatcher...........Even a Mantis!!!! this is only a toy to you guys!!!!

 

[rusty_keg_3]

It doesnt suck when you get a significant amount of money in the first month or two of the season. At least around here, where most of our clients and many more that arent regular clients want it. I dont remember the exact amounts off hand, but I believe we got over 10% of our income from power raking.

I can imagine, if your charging 3 or for times a mow... How often do you de thatch? Like Spring, and fall?

If you guys still have that JD 400 then what I would have you do is to get a pull behind dethatcher (if you add a little bit of weight to the top tray you get much better results) and a tow behind lawn sweeper. It will cost you guys less initaliy than a Jrco unit and bagger. Just a suggestion, this sort of setup works for me and I do a ton of these jobs every year.

Yea, its a 420 but its our moms not ours...

I use the front mount jrco dethatcher on my mower and it works awesomely. I can bag while I go and it takes the same amount of time as it does to mow a lawn. It is very dusty, so make sure that your air filter stays clean and your mower stays blown off during the day. Now as far as pricing goes, that depends on what you can get. I can't get 4x my mowing rate, but I can get about 2.5x my mowing rate, but I make pretty good money at what I charge.

Yea, if it takes the same time as a mow, and you are basically mowing, if you got 150% of a mow, it would be fine... But the more, the merrier...

And i will remember about the dust masks, thanks.

I have two de-thatcher's that we break out twice a year. Once now, and another durring over-seeding. They cost me each about $2k, 10 years ago! They both still start on one pull and have made me more money than I would have thought. When a potential customer calls and ask's if I do this, they are surprised when I say "yes". They are an expensive investment, especially when you may not use them. But well worth the money, and you will never have to rent another. I usually charge $175 for an average yard. That includes de-thatching, and fertilizer as well taking all debris away.

Yea, its like any other expense... It sucks at first but pays off... We dont fert tho...

People charge more for dethatching, not just regular mowing. Lots of dry grass come out. Unless you have one that can suck the stuff up, take a long time to cleanup.

I use only my Mantis to do dethatching, still take me longer to rake up the stuff than to run the dethatcher...........Even a Mantis!!!! this is only a toy to you guys!!!!

Yea, i looked at those, and the Stihl Kombi... Idk tho...

 

[doubleedge]

I can imagine, if your charging 3 or for times a mow... How often do you de thatch? Like Spring, and fall?

Yea, its a 420 but its our moms not ours...

Yea, if it takes the same time as a mow, and you are basically mowing, if you got 150% of a mow, it would be fine... But the more, the merrier...

And i will remember about the dust masks, thanks.

Yea, its like any other expense... It sucks at first but pays off... We dont fert tho...

Yea, i looked at those, and the Stihl Kombi... Idk tho...

We dethatch only in the spring.

 

[joed]

People charge more for dethatching, not just regular mowing. Lots of dry grass come out. Unless you have one that can suck the stuff up, take a long time to cleanup.

I use only my Mantis to do dethatching, still take me longer to rake up the stuff than to run the dethatcher...........Even a Mantis!!!! this is only a toy to you guys!!!!

I'm with you! I use a little mantis with the dethatching attachment and it works great. It's gentle on the lawn but still pulls up a ton of debris.

 

[CTmower]

Like a few others have said I usually get 2-3 times the amount I normally get for a normal mow.. I kinda feel out my customers and look at the grass when giving the price. Some houses with minimal thatch I can be in and out in less then a hour so charging $100-$150 for my services is a no brainer. My price is usually put into the contract at the beginning of the season, I list my spring cleanup price, weekly mowing price, fall cleanup, and plowing price. My customers review each one and let me know which ones they want. A $50 weekly mowing account will usually have a $150 spring cleanup and about a $200-$300 fall cleanup depending how many trees/leaves I see them having.