8 Best Lawn Aerators for 2024

Why Aerate Your Lawn?

Aeration is a process of creating small holes in the soil. This releases the compaction that occurs over time (especially in high-traffic areas) and makes it easier for the roots to access the air, water and nutrients grass needs to grow.

When the soil is compacted, grass growth is stunted because the roots can’t get through the hard soil. This also makes the soil more resistant to moisture and more challenging for fertilizer to penetrate.

So, even if you are doing everything else right, your lawn may not be getting the benefits of your care.

What Areas of Lawn Benefits from Aeration?

Playground Spaces

If your lawn is often used as a playground, then you’ll likely start to see the grass start to die off even if you are watering it well. That’s because the repeated foot traffic not only wears the grass down but compacts the soil.

Play areas will usually need more aeration more frequently to keep the grass healthy.

Construction Sites

During a construction process, the topsoil is often covered by contrition materials such as cement, building sand and displaced soil that compacts the ground below.

Heavy foot traffic and equipment/materials will also quickly compact the ground, making it impossible for grass to grow. To restore a construction site and get your lawn growing again, you’ll need to loosen the soil well.

This can be done with a lawn aerator or, in more severe cases, a cultivator or tiller.

Eroded Spaces

Erosion can be caused by wind, high traffic, or water. It removes the softer, nutrient-rich layer of topsoil and leaves behind a hardened layer of soil that grass and plants won’t grow easily on.

Areas of erosion need to be dealt with quickly because they can expand and worsen rapidly, especially in more extreme climates.

To restore the ground, you’ll need to aerate the area well, mix in plenty of nutritious compost, and overseed to promote strong, healthy grass. Don't miss our guide on how to make compost for your garden.

Established Lawns

Lawns that have been in place for many years can start to become compacted over time. While it may have looked healthy a few years ago, you’ll see that without aeration, each season it becomes a little more patchy and poor, especially where you park vehicles, where your kids play, or where your pets run.

To keep the lawn a uniform, healthy green carpet, it’s important to aerate it well once a year to keep the soil spongy, absorbent and circulating fresh air.

Signs that Your Lawn Needs Aeration

Not sure if your lawn needs to be aerated? Look for these signs:

• Long-lasting puddles – If water pools on the surface of your soil or lawn after you water or it rains, then the ground below is likely compacted.
  
  This is especially common in soil types that contain more clay, as they become dense and sticky rather than letting the water penetrate deep into the ground.
• Dry or bare patches – If your grass is looking worn and dry in patches, especially where there is more traffic, it’s likely that the soil has become too compacted for the grass to grow.
  
  The grass is then dying off because water, nutrients, and air can’t get down to the roots.
• Poor growth – If you are regularly irrigating and fertilizing your lawn and just not seeing results, then it may be because the water and nutrients are being washed off the surface of the lawn rather than soaking down to where the roots can reach it.
  
  In these conditions, the grass may look stunted or pale/yellow.

When Is the Best Time to Aerate and Overseed Your Lawn?

You can aerate your lawn at any time of the year, but you’ll get the best results if you do so in the early spring, just as your lawn starts its main growth period.

This will ensure that grass growth is maximized during this time, and it makes healthy growing space for new seeds if you are overseeding your lawn to help it recover.

It also means that any unsightly patches or dirt from the aeration process are quickly hidden by fresh, new growth. Ideally, you should aerate your lawn once again in the early fall, especially if you have clay soil.

Types of Lawn Aerators

There are a few different tools you can use to aerate your lawn, each with their pros and cons.

Hand Held Aerators 

These can be claw-shaped, small garden forks, or longer pole forks. The longer forks are much easier on your back and give you good leverage while you work, but all these manual options take some effort to use so they aren’t recommended for larger lawns.

Tow Behind Aerators

Can I Aerate My Lawn by Hand?

You can aerate your lawn by hand using a garden fork, aerator boots, or a hand aerator, but this is only really suitable for very small areas.

It’s very labor intensive, but it’s an easy way to improve small dead patches of lawn or loosen soil in a flower bed. If the soil is quite hard, it’s a good idea to wet it thoroughly to help make it easier to work with.

The best lawn aerator for our team is the Garden Weasel Garden Claw Pro! It’s easy to work without straining your back, and even though it is a manual tool, it’s comfortable and lightweight to use.

In addition to aerating lawns and flowerbeds, it’s also great for weeding and cultivating, making it good value for money.

Few things beat these basic Bear Paws Cultivator Claw for simple effectiveness! Made in the USA, they’re durable, practical, and take up no space at all in your garage or shed.

The claws are fun to use as well as effective for weeding and aerating, making them a great buy at an affordable price.

If you have a ride-on mower or a garden tractor, the Agri-Fab 45-0543 100 lb. Tow Spiker/Seeder/Spreader is our recommended choice – especially if you have a larger lawn that needs a lot of work.

In addition to aerating your lawn, it also has functionality for spreading fertilizer and seed, making it great for new lawns and lawn maintenance.