It slices, it dices, it loosens soil, but one feeds your lawn and the other damages it
Spike aerators are an inexpensive option best for small lawns.
Spike aeration worsens soil compaction in the long run.
Plug aeration is adaptable to all lawn sizes and soil types.
Plugs may look hideous, but their long game is creating beautiful and healthy lawns.
Lawn aeration, as the name implies, pokes holes in your lawn to help it breathe. One of the chief goals of lawn aeration is to loosen up compacted soil. There are two primary aeration methods: spikes and plugs. In general, spikes are best for small lawns or mild compaction while plugs are ideal for large lawns or heavy compaction. When considering spike vs. lawn aerators, use this guide to better understand how they're different and which one is right for your lawn.
Spike aerators are designed to break up hard soil. The spikes puncture the soil so it loosens up, a lot like using a fork to break up a lump of hardened brown sugar in your morning oatmeal.
In contrast, plugs are meant to penetrate the soil, so plug aeration is also sometimes called core aeration. The plugs have hollow tines, which yank out pieces of the soil and grass to loosen up the soil.
Spike aerators break up the soil by puncturing the surface. They come in all forms: aeration shoes that look like extreme soccer cleats, pitchforks, rolling push aerators, and tow-behind spike aerators suitable for larger lawns. The main difference between spike vs. plug aeration is that spikes don't remove any soil, and don't go that deep as a result.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Inexpensive options | Compacts soil |
| Doesn't disrupt soil | Not as effective |
| Less messy | Labor-intensive |
Best for:
Lawns with mild compaction
Small lawns
Soil with little or no clay content
Lawns with thin thatch layers
Lawns in flat, non-rocky areas
Spike aeration pokes through the surface of your lawn but doesn't penetrate deeply into the soil. Subsequently, it doesn't result in the unsightly maze of dug-up soil that plug aeration temporarily creates.
Fancy, expensive equipment and tools aren't required for spike aeration, either. You can attach spiked lawn aeration shoes to your own feet, though this isn't as effective as using a pitchfork or push aerator.
Spiked push aerators require a lot of elbow grease, but they can be a decent option for small lawns that aren't heavily compacted. You'll need to go over your lawn at least twice with it to thoroughly spike the lawn. Tow-behind spike aerators can also save a lot of time and labor, and are the only tenable option for larger and more compacted lawns.
Overall, spike aeration is significantly cheaper than plug aeration because it isn't as disruptive to the lawn and doesn't penetrate the soil as deeply.
The biggest con of spike aeration is that it increases compaction in the long term. It almost defeats the purpose of aerating your lawn in the first place because compacted soil causes a host of problems. You not only won't have that desirable emerald carpet look, but the grass will grow back more sickly and prone to dehydration and die-off if its soil is continually compacted.
Spike aeration is also extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming, which is why spike it’s only viable for very small lawns, like your typical urban saltbox home or patch of grass outside an apartment building. Poking the average suburban lawn manually with a pitchfork takes a frustratingly long time and doesn't effectively aerate the lawn.
Manual tools like rolling push aerators and spike cleats are inexpensive but can't cover ground the way that a tow-behind aerator can. But for the cost of buying or renting a tow-behind aerator, you’re better off with plug aeration or calling a local lawn aeration service to get your weekend back.
Plug aerators, also called core aerators, go deeply into your lawn's soil. Plug aerators have tines that latch into the underpinnings of the soil and throw plugs of soil onto the lawn.
While plug aerators don't pull up any buried treasure, they give you a fantastic one: a healthy, verdant lawn with loose soil and well-nourished root systems.
You can install inexpensive manual plug aerators into your lawn if you have a small lawn or one that isn't heavily compacted. If you have a large lawn or severely compacted soil, renting a tow-behind or gas-powered push-behind core aerator is an option.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Long-term efficacy | Lawn looks messy |
| Healthier grass | Weeds can sprout |
| Can dethatch less | Can stress your lawn |
Best for:
Medium and large lawns
Severely compacted soil
Lawns with heavy foot traffic
Soil with high clay content
New construction or recent renovations
Lawns with thatch problems
Plug aerators are incredibly effective and promote lawn health. Because they penetrate deeply into the soil, they create long-lasting, nutrient-rich soil that ensures healthy grass growth. They also combat soil compaction in the long run so that stronger root systems develop, grass grows more densely, and you don't need as much water and fertilizer to maintain your lawn.
Because the plugs go in deeply and change the soil composition from the ground up (literally), you don't need to dethatch the lawn often. Plug aerators can help with thatch layers that get so thick, you need a forklift to get them out.
The main downside of plug aeration is that you definitely need to schedule those Pinterest-worthy home shoots for another time. They can make your lawn look like every dog in the neighborhood tried to dig up their favorite bones all at once. However, this cosmetic disturbance is temporary until the holes fill in and the plugs themselves decompose.
The less-discussed con of plug aeration is that weeds can sprout in the plug's holes if proper precautions aren't taken. Herbicides can prevent this, but it's easy to get too zealous with it and accidentally ruin your grass growth.
Plug aeration can also stress out your lawn if you aerate it too much or don't pick the right time of year. Most homeowners need to aerate once a year. Smaller lawns that don't see much activity can go up to two or even three years without aeration. Inversely, if your lawn has lots of human and furry guests or high clay content in the soil, you'll need to aerate more often. The right time of year depends on whether you have warm-season grasses, cold-season grasses, or a mix of the two.
Because plug aeration is so intense, it needs a sweet spot as far as frequency is concerned.
Lawn aeration costs about $139 for the typical 10,000-square-foot suburban yard. Spike aeration costs $40 to $250 and plug aeration costs $75 to $250.
Spiky aerator cleats cost as little as $10, with a pitchfork costing $30, although they aren't very effective in the long run. Renting a gas-powered plug aerator can cost about $100 per day plus a $150 deposit, which you'll have to forfeit if you damage it. Renting a rolling push aerator runs the same risks but for about $25 per day.
Overall, plugs win on effectiveness in spike vs. plug aeration.
Spike aeration actually worsens your lawn's health over time while plug aeration improves it. Because spikes only poke the surface, they don't deliver air and nutrients directly into the soil the way that plug aeration does.
Plugs reduce runoff, cut down on thatch overgrowth, and nourish soil so that your grass always grows green and healthy. Because spike aeration only temporarily loosens the soil, the overly compacted soil it creates over time only yields sickly grass prone to disease.
DIYing spike aeration only makes sense if you have a very small lawn. For the average-sized lawn, and lawns exceeding 10,000 square feet, the DIY route for spike aeration just doesn't make sense. It's extremely labor-intensive for no reward but long-term lawn and soil damage.
It's still labor-intensive to use a manual core aerator to install plugs by yourself, but it's not nearly as much work as spike aeration. It takes less time than stomping around in cleats with a pitchfork, but you'll still have to cancel your weekend plans after ramming the aerator into the ground repeatedly and using your body weight to push the plugs in.
Spike aerators only work on soil with little compaction, like sandy soil that’s already loose. It’s also only doable on small lawns.
Plug aerators can be used on virtually any kind of lawn. They’re the go-to method for medium and large lawns, and severely compacted lawns. Gas-powered push-behind core aerators can handle rocky and clay-rich soils, and clear out debris to make room for plugs.
Plug aeration is more effective than spike aeration, although it mars the appearance of your lawn until the plugs decompose. This can take a few weeks and some homeowners find it distressing, especially if they are planning an event and can't have guests stepping on the soil cores. Liquid aeration is just as effective without having to bore holes.
If your lawn hasn't been aerated in over a year, or the soil is incredibly compacted, do two passes with the aerator. The first pass should follow your mowing pattern and the second one should form a perpendicular angle relative to the first. Stick to 20 to 40 holes per square foot as a rule of thumb.
Don’t pick up dirt after aerating. Even though it's tempting because soil cores are incredibly unsightly, these cores and the dirt they leave behind are ecologically important. This is what keeps your grass looking beautiful and growing healthily. The soil cores need two to three weeks to decompose, but you can swat them with a rake if their natural shape bothers you.
