Residential Lawn Aeration Services for Healthy, Lush Lawns

Also known as core aeration, the process involves using a lawn aerator to puncture the soil with small holes. These holes in the soil allow air and water to penetrate the grass roots, improving soil drainage and encouraging microflora, microfauna, and worms that require oxygen. When you aerate your lawn, it enhances grass growth and has many other benefits that keep your lawn looking lush and healthy.

Is Aerating Your Lawn Worth It?

You may be wondering what this added step in your lawn care routine will actually do. Before you begin, it helps to understand all the benefits of lawn aeration.

Lawn aeration offers the following benefits:

• Encourages healthier and more durable grassroots
• Allows water and air to flow to the soil and roots
• Helps break up dense and highly compressed soil
• Enables better fertilization
• Prevents mushroom growth
• Improves insect resistance
• Improves drought resistance
• Encourages new growth
• Reduces lawn maintenance requirements

When to Aerate Lawn

When you should aerate depends on the type of grass you have. If it’s cool-season grass, it is better to aerate in the spring and fall. For warm-season grass, spring through summer is the ideal time for aeration. Timing is critical so you can ensure that it is done when the grass is active and growing. This will produce a healthy and green lawn.

You can tell your lawn needs aeration if water is gathering and not seeping into the soil, if the soil has become compressed, and if the grass has lost its luster or is sparse. For thinning grass, you may need further lawn treatment, but aeration is beneficial.

It’s time to consider lawn aeration services when turf problems occur. Contact us if your lawn exhibits any of the following conditions:

Dry and hard soil: Does your grass feel bone dry or rock hard? Is it difficult to insert a shovel trowel into the ground? These are signs of soil compaction.

Uneven grass growth: Are there bare patches on your lawn? Will grass or weeds not grow on these patches? If so, the soil underneath these patches is likely compacted.

Poor drainage: Are there pools or puddles from rainwater or water from irrigation in your lawn? When the soil is compacted, the water cannot drain.

Excess thatch: If you are able to remove more than 1 cm of thatch, this is a sign to aerate your lawn.

Lawns with high traffic: Heavy equipment and foot traffic from people and pets can cause soil compaction.

How Frequently Should I Aerate?

We recommend that homeowners aerate their lawns on an annual basis. However, if your lawn sees a lot of foot traffic that may cause the grass and soil to wear down, we advise you to aerate more regularly. Aeration should be a part of your spring or fall yard cleanup.

How Much Is Aeration?

Several factors determine the cost of lawn aeration. The most significant price factor is the size of your yard. Smaller yards will cost less than larger ones, and obstacles or hard-to-reach areas may also affect the price. Suppose you’re planning to aerate your lawn yourself. In that case, you’ll need to rent or buy a mechanical lawn aerator, which can cost a significant amount for machines that do a smooth and accurate job. Hiring The Grounds Guys for lawn aeration services is your best bet because we have high-quality professional lawn aeration equipment and know how to use it correctly.

Save time and stay safe by hiring an experienced professional lawn aerator. At The Grounds Guys, we provide free estimates on all our lawn care services. Our experts will be happy to answer any questions.

Can You Aerate Your Own Lawn?

Some homeowners prefer the DIY approach. You might save a little bit of money if you own the proper lawn aerator equipment. Still, inexperience means you may aerate your lawn incorrectly and not dig deep into the soil, which limits the air, nutrients, and water the soil needs for healthy grass.

There are many tips, techniques, and common errors to be conscious of before, during, and after aeration. We suggest consulting a landscaping professional to find out all the necessary information.

Preparation for Lawn Aeration

If you do decide to tackle lawn aeration yourself, we have some helpful tips to help you do it correctly.

The following are matters to be aware of before you aerate your own lawn:

• Avoid aerating if your lawn is sodden or too dry—the ideal soil is a happy medium of these two.
• You should aerate before placing any fertilizers on your lawn.
• Consider mowing your lawn prior to starting.
• Take note of any lawn fixtures, such as sprinklers or irrigation lines.
• Ensure that the consistency of the soil is damp (not too dry or too wet). If the ground is too dry, watering your lawn can be a quick solution.

Types of Aeration Tools

Lawn aeration is no small task, and you’ll need to decide which aerating technique is best for you and your busy schedule. To do this, you must first find the right tool to use. The different aeration methods depend on the type of product you choose.

• Spike Aerators—The tools penetrate the soil, creating holes for better ventilation, but they don’t actually remove any grass and soil plugs from the ground. Consider using a garden fork, a rolling aerator, or spiked lawn shoes for this method.
• Core or Plug Aerators—These tools perforate the grass, taking a soil core plug from the ground. A manual core aerator, walk-behind aerator, or tow plug aerator are great tool options for this method.

You can decide whether you would prefer to use handheld or machine-powered lawn aerators; both have benefits. While machine-powered lawn aerators are more efficient, manual tools are easier to operate and are better for small or hard-to-access areas.

What to Do After Aeration

To get the most out of your recently aerated yard, utilize these practices:

• Leave the grass and soil cores on the lawn so they can dissipate into the ground.
• Water and add fertilizer to the grass.
• Spread grass seed in thinning areas or throughout the entire yard if the grass is thin.

Professional Lawn Aeration Services

Aeration can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Mechanical lawn aerators are heavy pieces of equipment that require expertise to operate. Instead, hire The Grounds Guys. Our professionals use the best techniques and equipment to deliver exceptional lawn aeration services.

Once you have completed the aeration process, you can enjoy a healthy lawn. Just be sure to continue your general lawn care practices. The Grounds Guys know how much time and energy this can take from your already busy schedule, and we can help! We're a Neighborly™ company and stand by the Neighborly Done Right Promise™, so you can rest assured that we'll make it right if you're not totally satisfied with our service.

Call us today to learn more about our aeration services and other landscaping offerings.