Pest Strategies

Aeration aids in grass growth. It also keeps your lawn healthy and strong to fight off unwanted pests. Read here to learn about the best lawn aerators.

Aeration allows air to reach the deeper layers of your lawn, improving soil drainage and removing thatch. Additionally, a well-aerated lawn is better equipped to fight off unwanted diseases and insects. If you’re searching for the best lawn aerator, Pest Strategies has you covered. We researched several models on Amazon and created this guide to help you choose a product and learn about aeration.

 

Buying Guide

Increasing the overall health and longevity of your lawn is simple and accessible thanks to the variety of lawn aerators sold online. However, choosing the best aerator for your yard comes down to several factors, including grass and soil type, yard size, and desired aeration method. Here’s what to think about before you make a final purchasing decision: 

• Aerator type: Below are summaries of five types of aerators.
  • Push aerators: Push aerators can be manual or powered by electricity or gas. Their spikes create holes in your soil when the rotating piece they’re on is pushed across your lawn.

• • Handheld aerators: Good for small lawns, these tools take the shape and size of a garden shovel or hoe. They come with a wide foot platform that allows the homeowner to use their body weight to force the tines or spikes deep into the soil. 

• • Tow-behind aerators: Those with a large yard and a riding lawn mower will find using a tow-behind aerator relatively effortless. Connect the lawn aerator to the tow hitch to quickly cover ground. 

• • Aerator shoes: If you have a pedometer and need to reach a certain step count, aerator shoes are for you. These lawn aerators strap onto your shoes, using your body weight and force to dig into the soil. However, they’re only effective for mildly compacted soil. 

• • Liquid aerators: These potent solutions naturally condition soil to increase water uptake and drainage without requiring heavy manual labor, expensive machines, or sharp spikes. 

• Material and durability: The metal spikes in lawn aerators are inherently strong and durable. However, they’ll lose their sharpness over time. Shoe aerators will also bend after several uses. If you’re looking for the longest-lasting option, find one made of stainless, galvanized, powder-coated, or heat-treated steel.

• Yard size: If you have a large yard with a lot of grass, using a manual push aerator, handheld aerator, or shoe aerator will take a lot of time and effort. A pull-behind model is a better option if you have a riding lawn mower. If not, consider a liquid aerator. 

 

 

The Benefits of Aerating Your Lawn

Are you wondering why you should aerate your lawn? There are several benefits associated with regular lawn aeration. 

• Circulation of nutrients, air, and water: Aeration’s primary benefit is ensuring that nutrients, air, and water reach the deeper layers of your soil. The remaining advantages stem from this first one.

• Thatch elimination: Thatch is a collection of lawn clippings, weeds, stems, and other organic materials that sits between the grass and soil. A thick layer of thatch can be an inviting environment for disease-carrying insects. By aerating your lawn, you’ll reduce or eliminate this layer.

• Puddle reduction: Poorly irrigated lawns can form puddles, which are attractive to mosquitoes and other insects. Aerated grass absorbs water to ensure that there’s at least one less place for bugs to congregate in your yard.

• Improved soil conditions: Aerating your lawn increases the health of the soil underneath your grass. This ensures healthy grass growth.

• Heat and drought resistance: Aeration helps grass thrive using less water. With compacted soil, it takes more watering to get the lower layers hydrated. However, with aeration holes, this water reaches these layers faster and easier. 

• Recovery from pet urination: If your pets tend to relieve themselves in the same few grass patches, you might see discoloration or premature death. Aeration can help revive this turf by making sure that more nutrients reach the soil below the grass. 

How To Aerate Your Lawn

These step-by-step instructions will help you successfully aerate your lawn. 

• Step 1: Prepare the grass. Before you get started, mow your lawn as short as possible, and kill any remaining weeds. Water your lawn the day before you plan to aerate, or wait one day after a rain shower before getting started. 

• Step 2: Mark any obstacles. Mark irrigation heads or invisible fences to remind yourself to avoid them while you’re aerating.

• Step 3: Aerate your lawn. This is the most laborious part of the aeration process. Follow the instructions that come with your machine or tool to ensure proper use.
• Step 4: Break up remaining soil plugs. While this isn’t a necessary step, your lawn can look unsightly if you have cylinders of soil lying around. Allow the plugs to dry for a few days before breaking them with a lawn mower, a dethatcher, or the back of a rake. It’s worth noting that you can avoid this step by using a spike aerator rather than a core or plug aerator. 
• Step 5: Resume your regular lawn care. Basic lawn care practices, such as proper fertilizing, mowing, edging, and watering, will ensure that your lawn thrives after all of the hard work you put into aerating it. 

 

 

 

FAQs

• What’s the difference between a spike aerator and a core aerator? 

Spike aerators leave small holes where the force of their spikes have caused soil around them to compact. On the other hand, core aerators remove entire chunks of soil, leaving cylinder-shaped plugs on top of the grass. Most manual tools are considered spike aerators because they don’t have powerful mechanisms that can remove large chunks of soil. Though spike aerators aren’t quite as effective as core aerators, they’re easier and less time-consuming to use and more affordable.

• Should I aerate my lawn before seeding? 

Yes. Aeration allows the seeds to penetrate the soil better, increasing the likelihood of germination. 

• What are the most common lawn aeration mistakes that I should avoid? 

Most homeowners don’t use enough force, limiting how deep the spikes penetrate. With a manual aerator, use your body weight to push the spikes into the ground. With a pull-behind aerator, weigh it down with dead weights or heavy bricks. Another common mistake is aerating the lawn when it’s too wet or too dry. Dry soil is harder to get into, while wet soil allows mud to seep into the holes. Water your lawn the day before you plan on aerating, ensuring that water reaches six inches deep.

• How often should I aerate my lawn? 

Most homeowners aerate their lawn once a year in the fall or spring. In many cases, it doesn’t hurt to aerate twice a year. 

• What insects cause the most damage to lawns?

A variety of pests, including chinch bugs, sod webworms, cutworms, white grubs, armyworms, and billbugs, can cause serious damage to your lawn. These insects thrive in excess thatch, which could build up if you don’t aerate your lawn at regular intervals.

 

 

Pest Strategies provides reviews of select products that are top-selling on Amazon and/or popular in consumer searches. Our team evaluates the products based on industry research, consumer reviews, pricing data, and other objective criteria. Unless otherwise noted, these product reviews are intended to help inform buying decisions for non-professionals. Because pest control products can be dangerous to your family if mishandled, we always recommend consulting with an exterminator, even if just to ask for advice on how to apply pest control products yourself.