Yard Butler ID-6C Heavy Duty Steel Outdoor Gardening Lawn Care Core Aerator Tool

No need for a lot of words. If you follow the directions, it works very easily and effectively. I have different types of soil on my property, ranging from clay to sandy, but all of it compacted. I treated the aerator with cooking spray before use, and it cleans up easily.

After using this thing, the difference in my 500 square foot lawn is miraculous. Core or "plug" aeration is way better than using a "standard" aerator, which just pokes holes in the ground and can actually compact the soil further since nothing comes out of the ground. The Yard Butler coring aerator extracts uniform 3" x 1/2" plugs from the ground and deposits them on the lawn (where they should stay, according to the manufacturer's instructions, so they can release micronutrients back into the soil). It took me around 2 hours to thoroughly aerate, and was a bit of a workout, though nothing anyone under 80 with 2 decent legs couldn't handle. When finished, the lawn looked as if 1000 miniature Schnauzers had simultaneously taken a dump on it, but results were apparent almost instantly. The lawn is now uniformly green, water no longer puddles, and the texture of the grass is vastly improved. Moreover, the heavy-gauge steel construction and strong welds on the tines make this thing virtually indestructable. The cost was less than renting a traditional aerator and the results were visibly superior. This thing will be used every 6 months or so for years to come. Highly recommended.