Of course, aerating your lawn is recommended whenever you experience dry and drought conditions which will help the water and nutrients to reach the lawn’s roots. This helps in the growth, development as well as the production of the stronger lawn. You need to aerate your lawn to perforate the soil with small holes that allows air, water, nutrients to penetrate the lawn’s roots which is the best treatment for your lawn.

Aeration of the lawn is important as this process creates holes down into the soil to penetrate air, water, and nutrients to the roots and this thick-layered soil maintains the beauty and health of your lawn. Aeration can be used for the dechlorination process as it removes chlorine compounds from water and normally, you can aerate your lawn following these aerating methods.

1. Diffused air aeration
2. Mechanical aeration
3. Combine aeration

Regular attention to the lawn is essential to preserve its beauty and health and it's your responsibility to protect your lawn. Aerate your lawn once or twice a year according to its requirement, water your lawn, check the moisture of the soil and grass and maintain the beauty and health of your lawn.

How do I know if I need to aerate my lawn?



You can aerate your lawn whenever you notice your yard stopped growing due to the compacted soil which is a sign of aeration of your lawn. Discoloring of the areas with yellow and brown grass is another sign of the aeration. So if you see any area of your lawn with yellow and green grass, remember that it’s time to aerate your lawn. If the roots of your lawn are unable to absorb water and nutrients, you can observe slow growth and bald patches which results in the grass to die which is another sign of aeration of your lawn. It’s better to aerate your lawn in the growing seasons as the temperatures are warm, not so hot for the roots to absorb water and nutrients and makes them stronger which maintains the beauty and nature of your lawn.

Cost of hiring a professional for lawn aeration?
A professional lawn aerator charges at about $50 for an average-sized lawn of about 1000 square feet but in some regions, aeration of the lawn of this size costs up to $100. The professional aerators charge according to the size of the lawn, the larger the yard, the lower is the price per square foot. For the aeration of 2000 square feet lawn, their starting price is $75. Not only that, most of the aeration companies charge $10 to $15 per additional 1000 square feet.

How often should you aerate a lawn?
Normally, if your grass is green and healthy, it’s not necessary to aerate your lawn every year. You need to aerate your lawn whenever your lawn has clay-heavy soil with thick-layered and loose soil doesn’t need to be aerated. You can aerate your lawn if you are renovating or installing a new yard. The best time to aerate the lawn is spring season, also called the growing season as the grass can grow, heal and fill in all open areas. So, you can aerate your lawn every 2-3 years if your lawn is growing well and you have sandy soil in your lawn which protects the natural beauty and health of your lawn.

What is the best way to aerate a lawn?



The best natural way to aerate a lawn without using any aerating machines is a hand aerifier that has a hollowing tube with ¼ to ½ in diameter which hollows through your lawn grass and reaches into the soil. You can pull your hand aerifier from the soil and check the moisture content of the soil, if the soil is wet and sticks to the tool, then it’s better not to aerate at that time. Another best way to aerate a lawn with softer soils is with a screwdriver in which you can insert your screwdriver over the moist soil and check whether you can aerate your lawn or not. If your screwdriver is not inserting over the moist soil, then know that your lawn needs to be aerated. However, you can use other aerating tools like Yard Butler, Plug Aerator, DIY lawn aerator which will make your lawn more beautiful.

Can I DIY aerate my lawn?
Absolutely. You can aerate your lawn using a DIY lawn aerator with a PVC pipe filled with sand and adding strips of wood in it. In the DIY aeration process, firstly you need to mow the grass, water the soil in it, use your DIY lawn aerator, and start aerating your lawn by breaking the remaining soil plugs. To make your lawn nourished and healthy, all you need to do is its regular care and protection.

Pros and cons of DIY aeration

Pros
The main benefit of DIY aeration to aerate your lawn is the cost which will be much cheaper than hiring the professional. All you need to have is the tools and materials needed to aerate your lawn and you can easily aerate your lawn by checking the moisture of the soil. According to your lawn’s requirement, you can water it and have regular attention to it that helps to preserve the beauty of your lawn.

Cons
Besides its advantages, DIY aeration is back-breaking work as aeration machines and tools are heavy. So, it's better to have a look at your health first. It’s better to hire professionals as they have experience and the right equipment to aerate. You don’t need to divert your mind over what kind of machine to buy and use. The charge of a professional aerator is equal to the cost of renting your aeration machine.

Does Spike aeration work?
If the soil of your lawn is not strongly compacted, spike aerators function perfectly but they are less effective to lose the soil and don’t remove any material as they are pushing soil out of the way to make their holes. Spike Aerators push the soil down and to the sides instead of removing the compaction of the soil and the soil will be readjusted to its original level after some time. This means spike aerators only work for a short time which is not a much effective aerating tool to use.

Why is a plug aerator better?



Plug aerators not only poke the holes but they remove a heavy core of grass and soil from your lawn which is a much more effective aeration method than spike aerators. They not only remove a huge amount of grass and soil from your lawn but also consume your time of aeration as they are much more effective to use. Professional aerators can use plug aerators to aerate larger-sized yards to earn money in a short time-period with effectiveness.

Can you aerate too much?
It's better to aerate your lawn once or twice a year depending on the moisture of the soil, grass, and time-period of use. If a lawn experiences large traffic, it should be aerated twice a year but most of the lawns with loose soil are aerated once a year. You can aerate your lawn every 2-3 years if your lawn is growing well with sandy soil. Aeration of your lawn mainly depends upon the condition of the grass, soil, lawn’s roots, temperature, and growing seasons. Too much aeration of the lawn leads to the destruction of the grass and soil. So the best way to protect the beauty and health of your lawn is to aerate your lawn according to its requirement.

Is overseeding after aeration worth it?
After the aeration of the lawn, you need to overseed, fertilize, and water your lawn within 48 hours that helps them to get down into the holes. It's better to overseed after aeration every year to protect your lawn from insects, weeds, and diseases, or overseeding can be done at least 3 to 4 years for a better result for your lawn.

If done correctly, overseeding after aeration can be beneficial to revitalize the grass and for the development and protection of the lawn but since aeration is best in the growing seasons or spring seasons and summer seasons, overseeding is not necessary after aeration as warm-season grasses spread through stolons or rhizomes. You can do overseeding and aerating your lawn in fall for cool-season grasses and the summer or spring for warm-season grasses.

How long does lawn aeration take?
Generally, aeration can be done in about a couple of hours depending on the size of the lawn and the aerating equipment utilized but plugs break down in about two weeks. Most of the lawn care companies take about 30 minutes to aerate a ten thousand square foot lawn. Aeration of your lawn depends upon the size of the area you are aerating and the method you apply for the lawn aeration process.

Lawn aeration should be done considering the weather, moisture of the soil, grass, and the condition of your lawn.