One of the most important things that you can do for your lawn is to aerate it. This is a deep tissue massage that your lawn will receive. It breaks down the soil and creates more oxygen and water. Because lawns tend become more compacted with age, it is worth aerating as often as needed. Clay soil residents should aerate their lawn at minimum once per year.
There are many ways you can aerate. Here, I’m going to talk a bit about aerating your lawn with just a pair of special shoes on your feet. What are lawn aerator shoes? Let’s dig into it.
What are Lawn Aerator Shoes? How do they work?
The idea behind these shoes is that you can aerate your lawn without needing to buy a big piece of equipment that you won’t use all that often. Whether you make a DIY version or buy a pair of lawn aerator shoes, they’re meant to be simple to use and inexpensive. According to the theory, every tiny spike on the sandal should loosen soil and allow water and air to flow through the ground.
So…Do Aerator Shoes Really Work?
Well, I’ve tried using lawn aerator shoes once, and I can tell you that I would never use them again. After spending a ton of time walking around my yard I didn’t end up with any kind of noticeable result. I found that my soil was actually more difficult than before I used the lawn mower shoes. I never noticed any changes in the grass’ health over the course of the rest of the year. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m convinced that they won’t work for any lawn.
Is it possible for aerator footwear to be worn? My experience and what I’ve read have told me no. The reason I think aerator shoes don’t work is because they don’t make a big enough impact on the soil. Although you can make small holes in the ground with enough force, it doesn’t remove enough material and leaves no space. Because of this, as you poke a million little holes in your yard you’re really just worsening the issue that you were trying to solve. The topsoil and deeper soils will quickly return to their original condition.
Are there any advantages to wearing aerator footwear?
There are only a handful of benefits to wearing aerator footwear. One is that they’re cheap. Although you can make lawn mower shoes with materials from your yard, they are still quite affordable. In both cases, you get what you pay.
Aerator shoes are also very small and can be stored in your garage. If you’re hoping to save some money and some storage space (as I often am) these are some very alluring benefits. However, when it comes to the actual use of aerator shoes and the benefits they offer your lawn, I’m not a fan.
Here are some options I recommend
Are aerator sandals effective? No. Are there other options I could recommend? Yes. Although not all property owners recommend the same method, I will tell your lawn care professional that a tool that uses hollow tines to properly aerate your lawn. This is much easier than repeatedly stabbing the ground with spikes. These are my suggestions:
- Rent or buy a manual lawn-plug-aerator.
- Professional companies are the best.
- Buy an aerator attachment for your existing aerator.
- Do it by hand.
Renting is an option. However, investing in an aerator might be a better choice if you have enough space. Renting is generally cheaper than purchasing a high-quality lawnmower.
If you’d like to save a bit of time or can’t transport an aerator, using a professional company works really well. You’ll also have a great opportunity to spread extra seed when you aerate and the pros can be quite helpful with that.
For those with larger yards and riding mowers, there are many great aerator attachments. These are large and require lots of storage space, but they are very efficient.
When it comes down to handheld plug aerators, I’d only recommend coring your lawn this way if it’s tiny. It’s no easy task digging up hundreds of lawn cores and you’ll wish you spent a bit more on one of the other options if your yard has much size to it.
Summary
To be clear, I wouldn’t recommend anyone trying to use lawn mower shoes. Though you might not be wasting too much money on them, you’ll waste a ton of time and energy. Plus, walking around with big spikes under your feet isn’t exactly the easiest thing to get used to. I’d hate for an innocent garden hose to fall victim to a lawn care gimmick like aerator shoes. Tools that remove cores are the best way to aerate your lawn. This tool does a much better job of clearing out the thatch and improving your grass’ health.
