The Best Lawn Aerator

Buying Guide

Watering and seeding a lawn can do wonders. With the right approach and a little time, you’ll find you have a lush, green lawn.

But sometimes, no amount of seeding and watering can bring results. There can be several reasons for that, but one of the top issues is soil compaction. When vehicles and foot traffic travel over a piece of land, the top few inches of soil can start to compress. Heavy precipitation can also cause soil to compact. Over time, this creates an area where water and essential nutrients don’t sink below the surface but instead pool and run off.

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Compacted soil also restricts airflow, keeping oxygen from getting to the area beneath. In areas where soil has grass, it can tend to gather as something known as “thatch.” Thatch is a mix of living and dead plant material that can thicken over time. Although thatch less than ½-inch thick can help your lawn, once it expands beyond an inch, it can begin to cause problems. Thicker thatch keeps water and nutrients from getting in, and it can also promote pest activity and cause lawn disease.

If compacted soil causes thatching, you’ll have two issues to remedy. You’ll need to open up the compacted area to get air, nutrients and water in, but you’ll also need to break up some of that thatch. A process called aeration can help with both. However, you may also need to de-thatch to get the areas that your aeration didn’t resolve.

What is aeration? Aeration removes small chunks of soil throughout the compacted area. This removed soil boosts oxygen, stimulating root growth as well as helping decompose the organisms that cause thatch. As root growth increases, the area starts to become more tolerant to drought while also improving the overall health of the grass and soil. For that reason, many people choose to occasionally aerate their entire property, especially if they’re experiencing overall issues with lawn health.

• There’s a right and wrong time of year to aerate. If you live in a hotter area of the U.S., such as the South, you likely have a warm-season lawn. Warm-season lawns should be aerated in the hottest summer months: June and July. If you’re in a cooler area, experts recommend aerating in the fall months. You should never aerate your lawn when the grass is dormant.
• Always aerate when the soil is moist. If you haven’t had rain in a while, irrigate an area before you aerate.
• There are various tools that you can use to aerate your lawn. You can find aerators that you operate manually, as well as those you attach to a tractor, mower or ATV. There are aerators you attach to your gardening boots. You then simply walk around the area to aerate. This could be a great solution if you have a smaller yard or just need to aerate a small area.
• Once you’ve aerated, you’ll notice plugs all over your yard. The first rainfall should break them up, but you can also water the area to kickstart the process. Another option is to mow your lawn and break up the soil.
• Experts recommend aerating your lawn every two to three years, as long as it’s not heavily trafficked. If you notice soil is becoming compact, though, you can aerate as often as once per year.
• Not all aerators are alike. Pay close attention to the tines of any aerator you’re buying. The tines should be designed to dig deep and pull out cylindrical plugs of soil.
• The quantity of tines is important, too. The more tines, the more surface area you’ll be able to cover. However, if you have a small lawn, you may find that a narrower aerator is easier to use.
• Large yards may also not be good candidates for manual aerators. The process of running the aerator will become exhausting if you’re trying to cover such a big surface area. This may be an instance where one that hooks up to your mower or tractor is well worth it.