Should I Hire a Professional to Aerate My Lawn or Try DIY?

When your lawn is left looking lackluster after fertilization and regular mowing it can be really frustrating. You want your grass to be healthy, green, and thick, not brown and dry.

One of the most forgotten lawn care services is aeration. Lawn aeration helps your grass to get the water and nutrients it needs most. And it helps the overall health of your soil too.

Since aeration is a service many homeowners don’t know much about, you probably have some questions. Let’s look at what aeration is so you can decide if it is a task you want to hire a professional for or try to complete yourself.

DIY Lawn Aeration

Researching Google, it is easy to find some simple steps to aerating your own grass. While equipment rental facilities have made aeration a potential DIY task, we believe it is a service better left to professionals. Let’s look at a few reasons why you may want to think twice about doing it yourself.

While you can rent equipment from local rental stores, it can be pricey. If you do not have a trailer or truck to easily transport the aeration machine, usually a delivery fee is charged for both drop off and pick up. Considering aeration should be done in the Fall months, it can be hard to reserve a machine if it is in high demand.

It is important to consider that the equipment you are renting has been rented by likely thousands of others who may be aerating their grass for the first time just like you. This typically means that the aerator is not operated exactly as it should be and usually is not getting the regular maintenance it requires. Rental aerators will not run as smoothly as those being regularly operated and cared for by professionals. This leaves your lawn with a less-than-optimal aeration process.

Considering the conditions of your grass, many times overseeding is performed at the same time as aeration. This allows for the seed to get directly where it needs to go. Unfortunately, this requires additional equipment, supplies, and time for you to complete.

Finally, safety is a big concern when renting and operating an aerator yourself. Professionals receive special training on how to operate these powerful machines, so if you decide to try it on your own, be sure to wear the proper personal protection equipment and ask specifics about how to operate your aerator when you pick it up.

Considering Professional Lawn Aeration

Most homeowners consider DIY lawn aeration to save money. When you figure in the time, supplies, and equipment it takes to do it yourself, there really is very little cost difference. So, if it costs about the same, what really are the other benefits to hiring a professional?

A professional lawn care company utilizes high-end commercial-grade equipment that is regularly and carefully maintained. With trained professionals operating the aerator, this equipment is going to give you better results. Soil plugs will be removed fully and at the proper depth with professional equipment as well, allowing for the aeration process to be more effective.

Hiring professionals allows you to save a whole lot of time and stress as well. You don’t have to call your brother to borrow his truck and trailer, you don’t have to spend hours researching how to operate your machine, and you don’t have to rush through the process to get the machine back on time so you aren’t charged extra.

Finally, at Green Team, we offer packages for overseeding to go along with aeration. This helps to thicken your turf. With professional-grade seed that matches your current grass type, this addition helps to save more money and time.

Ready to call in the Green Team for aeration services? Contact us today for a quote!