For smaller lawns and irregularly-shaped grass spaces, choose a push aerator, handheld model, or aerator shoes. We think the Yard Butler Lawn Coring Aerator is a great manual option for small yards with clay soil. Whether this will be beneficial for your soil or not can depend on what type of soil you have. Adding sand to clay soils can cause it to lump together more, not less. Choosing the Right Type of Aerator There’s no need to overcomplicate things when it comes to some gardening tools, and the Ames 4-Spike Lawn Aerator is a great example of when simplicity works well.

Using spiked lawn aerators, that pierce the ground, will allow air to reach grass roots as well as water. Grass roots will become stronger which will lead to a healthier lawn that’s better able to withstand heat and drought. Spiked shoes might penetrate about 4cm deep, while a proper pitchfork hollow tine plug lawn aerator will go as deep as 10cm. If you’ve got a small area of lawn that needs attention, a hand tool like the Yard Butler ID-6C Manual Lawn Coring Aerator is worth considering. It’s also an easy machine to assemble. It takes around 15 minutes to put together and all you need is a Phillips screwdriver.

Quick Comparison Table

Good for: small to medium lawns, where you’re looking for the best aeration possible. Manual rolling aerators If you grow your own lawn, you know first hand how challenging this task may be. Even if you water and mow it regularly, creating and maintaining favourable conditions for it to grow isn't always easy. Therefore, if you've noticed that some areas of your lawn look too dry or too damp, buying an aerator can be the answer. These tools typically differ in types, designs, and sizes, but they all work based on the same operating principle, that is, they create holes in the soil to provide the root system of your lawn with more air and water necessary for healthy growth. Generally, it is recommended to aerate the lawn once a year, in spring or in autumn, and do it only when it's clean of dry leaves, moss and other debris. Now, all you're left to do is get a lawn aerator that will best suit your needs. Hopefully, in our selection, you'll find what you need. There are different types of lawn aerator available, which can produce different results. Below, you will find information about how and when to use an aerator, as well as how to choose the best aerator for your garden. Benefits of Aerating the Lawn

Priced sensibly, I wasn’t expecting much quality-wise, but the BMC Lawn Aerator isn’t at all what I would call flimsy. The metal roller and prongs all seem to be strong and robust and they do exactly what they are supposed to- poke neat holes in the grass and soil without tearing it up. If you’re an owner of a middle-sized or large lawn, consider the VonHaus 2-in-1 model. Powered by electricity, it will make an easy job of taking care of your lawn, requiring no elbow grease from you. For an electric machine, it’s reasonably noisy at 102 dB, so you may need to use ear protectors. For reference, 100 dB is a similar level of noise to a hand drill. It’s best practise to aerate your lawn now in late Autumn, as that will give your lawn a few weeks for it to recover before winter strikes. By using this type of tine aerator, it will allow water and air to circulate better through it. It also ensures heavy rainfall won’t ruin your lawn, which can easily be caused by waterlogging.

Rolling Lawn Aerator | Lawn Aerator Roller | Push Aerator

The 1400 watt electric motor delivers plenty of power for scarifying, but maybe a little too much for Aerating if you already have a beautiful lawn , as it will tear up some of the surface while doing its job. For a lawn that is in need of help though, a little bit of surface damage that eventually leads to a more beautiful lawn later is probably worth it. Some assembly is required before you begin using this aerator. However, it’s still easy to assemble – there are only a few parts to put together, and the included instructions are easy to understand. Walk behind aerators are often sold as lawn scarifiers. You need to be careful here, as while lawn scarifiers do a great job dethatching your lawn, their spikes don’t penetrate as deep as most other aerators. They are simple, cheap and work really well if you get a decent pair and the only thing that lets them down is that they require you to walk around the garden for quite a long time and it can be quite tiring – from my perspective as I mention above it’s a great opportunity for exercise and clearing a chore. I like the look of the ABREOME Lawn Aerator Shoes. Fork aerators will hollow tines The maximum working width of both attachments is 32 cm, which allows the aerator to make wider paths in one go and cover bigger areas in a shorter amount of time. Don’t overlook the possibility of adjusting the working depth, an ergonomic handle with a non-slip grip, and manoeuvrable wheels for hassle-free navigation.

Secondly, pitchfork spikes are not particularly sharp. Pitchforks aren’t designed specifically for making holes in grass, so they will require you to use a lot of effort to aerate your lawn.

This lawn aerator/ scarifier has adjustable working heights and there are 3 levels to choose from. This is handier for the scarifier than the aerator but it is still a nice feature to have. Just be careful to get the settings right and maybe try them out on a separate patch of grass first so you don’t destroy your lawn accidentally. Speaking of cables, if you choose an electric lawn aerator, look out for a power cable around 10 m long . This way, you should be able to avoid using an extension cable in most medium gardens. The lawn aerator shoes might not be as effective as hollow tines but they are very easy to use. Just remember you need to use a gentle stomping motion instead of your normal walk to get the spikes to properly penetrate the ground. Weighing just 8.5 kg, this lawn aerator is one of the lightest on the market. It also runs slightly more quietly than other electric machines on this list (though only just), producing 98 dB. Also, another thing to consider is how this lawn aerator creates slits, instead of poking holes. From an aeration point of view, this lawn aerator is less effective at reducing soil compaction. However, by creating slits, you’re cutting through the lawn thatch layer, making this device good at improving the look of your lawn.