How often do you need to aerate your lawn?

If you have high-traffic areas or heavy clay soils, you'll want to air every year. If you have sandy soil or if your lawn is growing well, you can aerate your lawn every 2 to 3 years. Aeration should be done once a year for healthy lawns and twice a year for lawns with compacted soil and straw accumulation. The best time of year is just before the high growth season, which, for cold-season lawns, is the beginning of spring and fall and, for warm-season lawns, is late spring.

You don't need to hire a landscaping company to air every spring. Instead, add a turf inspection to your to-do list each year. Pay close attention to worn areas, low spots where puddles form, discolored spots, and areas of uneven growth, and perform the screwdriver test as described above. If your lawn fails the screwdriver test, then it's time to aerate the lawn.

Constant aeration keeps your lawn healthy and green, saving you dry grass, unsightly brown spots, and turf problems on the road. Lawn aeration is the act of placing a special machine on the lawn that drills holes about 2 to 4 in length and one inch in diameter. Lawn aeration should be done at least once every two years to maintain an average looking lawn. Aerating your lawn is definitely worth the money and expense if your lawn needs aeration.