Choosing Lawn Aerators for Your Aeration Needs

By Mike Smith

When your lawn turns brown and dead, it can be easy to leap to the wrong conclusions. It can be tempting to blame insect pests for the blight on your yard, or to blame a lack of watering and fertilization. Actually, while these are certainly possible causes, it's more likely that you have another problem entirely. Your lawn might just need to be aerated. Aeration of your lawn is really nothing more than coring into the soil with a device that ensures your grass is able to enjoy more water, air and fertilizer.

If your lawn requires some help, you will find that there are several different types of aerators that can offer a helping hand. Aerators with gas-powered engines are often used to help remedy this problem. They might also be called corers or plug-aerators in your area. These devices utilize long, hollow tines that each remove a core from your yard as the tine punches into the turf. That said, these are large machines, better suited for large yards than for smaller areas.

You will also find another option on the market: pull-behind aerators. These are quite similar to the aerators mentioned above, but are designed to be pulled behind a lawnmower, rather than being self-propelled. Usually, you will have to add some extra weight, which can be done by adding bricks or cinder blocks. Finally, as with the devices mentioned above, these are good solutions for large yards.

Yet another option on the market is the push aerator. In form, these resemble old-time push mowers, though they feature a tine-studded drum, rather than mower blades. When you push the aerator across the yard, the tines bite into the turf, giving air, water and fertilizer better access to grass roots. Of course, you might find that these need extra weight added in order to penetrate hard-packed soil, as well.

A last solution is a set of aerator shoes. You might be more familiar with these as aerator sandals. They fit over your regular shoes and adjustable straps hold them in place. Along the bottom of the shoe, you will find metal spikes, similar to those on a golf shoe, but longer and more vicious-looking. As you walk around your yard, the spikes dig into the soil, helping to alleviate the problem with your turf and ensuring that you have the lush, green yard that you want. - 31813

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