# Lawn Aerator Types
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Spike Aerators
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A pitchfork or spading fork doubles as an improptu spike aerator for small lawns. A spike aerator is just what its name implies -- a solid spike drives into the lawn, leaving a hole in the same way a picture-hanging nail leaves a hole in your drywall. Spike aerators may be four to six spikes on a long handle, ideal for small areas, or large, spike-covered cylinders on a self-propelled motor. The largest spike aerators hitch behind a tractor. While such aeration may work well on heavily-trafficked lawns with loamy subsoil, this method further compacts the soil surrounding each hole.
Core Aerators
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With a core aerator, a series of hollow metal tubes cuts into the lawn. As the tube withdraws, it removes a core of grass, thatch and soil and deposits it on the turf, covering the lawn with small, 2- to 3-inch long cores. Core aeration requires 15 to 20 cores per square foot, which leaves your lawn looking like a war zone. This unsightly but effective treatment greatly reduces soil compaction and dramatically improves heavily-thatched lawns. The cores break down within two to four weeks, further regenerating the soil.
Liquid Aerators
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Liquid aerators usually incorporate sodium lauryl sulfate, a common shampoo ingredient. Don't confuse liquid, spray-on lawn aerators with the costly water-based core aeration favored by some golf courses. The spray-on lawn aerators may claim to reduce compaction and thatch buildup, but their ingredient list reveals that these sprays are simply liquid fertilizers combined with a wetting agent. Wetting agents increase the soil's water permeability and are similar to ingredients found in shampoo or liquid hand soap. While these sprays give your lawn a temporary boost in water absorption, they do not reduce compaction.
Other Aerators
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Handheld core aerators, usually T-shaped, have a hollow pipe at the base and crossbars at both the top and the bottom. Stepping on the bottom crossbar pushes the tip into the soil and removes a single core. Other models remove two cores. While not built for speed, well-constructed all-metal hand aerators suit small lawns or areas a motorized aerator can't fit. Avoid the gimmicky spike aerators designed to strap onto a shoe. These plastic aerators don't dig deeply enough to improve the lawn.
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