1.  Plan to rent or borrow a power rake. Ask a friend to help you get the machine back to your lawn since they are heavy and usually cannot be transported easily by one person.

2.  Make sure your lawn is ready before you head to the rental center. You do not want to waste the hours you are paying for the machine doing things you could have done early. Make sure the lawn is free of anything that will get in the way. The grass should be mowed shorter than normal, about half what you typically do, to improve thatch removal. If the ground is a bit dry, water well, but do not over-water. Dirt that is too wet and soft can also be a problem.

3.  When you go to pick up the lawn power rake, look the machine over to make sure that everything looks like it is in good condition. Ask any questions you have about how to operate it safely and correcting. Have them show you how to position the blades at the right height and spacing. For cool weather grasses, ½” is usually a good height with 1-2” between tines. Warm weather grasses may need less depth with the blades around 3” apart.

4.  Once you have transported the power rake dethatcher to the work site, check the oil and fuel levels and fill if needed. Make sure you have the machine at the first area to dethatch, then set the choke on the engine, pull the starter and let the engine warm up a few minutes.

5.  Start raking over the lawn, checking that the height and spacing seem correct. Make any adjustments needed. You may need to change the settings for different areas of the lawn as height and conditions are variable.

6.  Rake the entire lawn first, going in one direction such as long rows or diagonals. Then do the lawn again perpendicular to the first rows, making short rows or along the other diagonal. Using the different directions gives better coverage and better results.

7.  Next rake up the thatch left on the lawn. You can compost it or just get rid of it.

8.  Since the roots are exposed, this is a good time to overseed and/or fertilize. Be sure to water well and do not mow for 2-3 weeks. The lawn may look bad right after because power lawn rakes create a lot of stress to the grass, but should look better than before in a month or so.

How does aerating benefit my lawn?

Using a tow behind aerators to aerate you lawn, helps your lawn look greener and reduces the cost of watering by:

1) Reducing soil and root compaction

2) Reducing water run off and improving drainage.

3) Reducing drought stress and the probability of drought damage.

4) Helps to break up and decompose thatch.

5) Aerating allows water, air, nutrients and fertilizers direct access to the root system.

6) Helps lawns get established and helps with reseeding.

How do pull aerators work?

Pull aerators attach to a tractor or a riding lawn mower. If soil is dry or compacted you will need to add weight to the aerator to get it to work properly. For best use, tow the aerator either in straight lines back and forth or in a circular pattern. Some lawns will get the best results by making two passes over the lawn with a tow behind aerator.

How do I use a Pull aerator?

5 steps to using a Tow Behind Aerator:

1) First, attach the tow behind aerator to your riding lawnmower or tractor.

2) Fill aerator with weight, either by adding lead, water, or sand.  The amount of weight needed depends on how dry or compacted the soil is.

3) The next step is to test the pull aerator to make sure it is going to desired depth.

4) Aerate lawn as mentioned above. Make two passes if necessary.

5) Clean out tines using water,  a rag and if needed a small flat screwdriver to dislodge dirt and small rocks.

The major advantage of a pull aerator is that they are typically wider than most other kinds of aerators so they save you a lot of time when you aerate.  Because they are wider they are a little harder to maneuver. Another advantage is that they are relatively cheap because you don’t have to buy the mower.  Lastly they can often do two things at once, such as aerating and over seeding or aerating and fertilizing.

In the long run, buying a pull behind aerator is a lot less expensive than renting.  Pull behinds range in price from $100 to $700 versus $70 to $110 dollars to rent a tow behind aerator for a single day.  It doesn’t take very many aerations to pay for your tow behind attachment. Plus having an attachment can also save you a lot of time.  If you already have a riding lawn mower or a tractor, a towable aeration attachment will upgrade the capabilities of your rig.