How to Aerate a Lawn With Solid Probes

Purchase or rent a solid probe aerator from a hardware or home improvement outlet. You can choose among powered aerators or those that attach to your lawn mower or other lawn maintenance equipment.

Water the lawn two days before you plan to aerate. The lawn should be moist enough to allow the spikes of the aerator to dig into the soil easily.

Rake the lawn with a garden rake on the day you choose to aerate. Remove stones and other hard debris from the lawn so as to not damage the aerator or impede your progress during aeration.

Place lawn flags or other signifiers at the location of sprinkler heads or large collections of tree roots. The signs will show you the areas you should avoid while you run the aerator.

Attach the aerator to the lawn equipment (if necessary) and start at one corner of the lawn. Push the aerator along a straight line to the end of the lawn. Make a turn at the edge of the lawn without going over the hard ground beyond the lawn's edge. Repeat the path in the opposite direction, slightly overlapping your first pass to ensure all lawn areas are covered.

Repeat the passes over the lawn in the opposite direction. If you first aerated from east to west, go over the lawn again in paths going north to south.

Water the lawn lightly immediately following the aeration.