Yard Butler Spike Grass Aerator, IM-7C - Lawn Care Tool for Aerating - Long-Handled - Power-Coated Steel Construction - Comfortable Cushioned Handles Garden Tool - Easy to Use

I purchased the Butler Manual Lawn Coring Aerator to help improve my lawn's health, and I’ve been very impressed with how well it works. The tool is sturdy, well-built, and surprisingly easy to use for a manual aerator. It pulls nice, clean plugs from the soil, which has helped loosen up compacted areas in my yard. After using it, I noticed better water absorption and healthier grass growth in just a few weeks. It’s also a great alternative to renting a powered aerator if you have a smaller yard or prefer a more hands-on approach. The dethatching effect is an added bonus too—makes it a great 2-in-1 tool. Definitely a worthwhile investment for any DIY lawn care enthusiast. Highly recommended if you’re looking to give your grass a boost without breaking the bank.

I've used it several times in the past 6 weeks. I get my entire lawn core aerated annually by a gas powered machine, but I bought this for the following uses: * The soil gets compacted at the gate from the front yard to the back yard. It's a funnel so all of the traffic goes in a narrow area, and it especially gets compacted when I have a big garden project that requires wheel barrows. I used it here when it first arrived and it did great, and then used it again after a big gardening project. * I have St Augustine grass so in the fall there are a few areas that get brown patch. This year, on those 3 spots I used the aerator and then top dressed with leaf mold compost prior to brown patch season. Should prevent the brown patch and help get some organic matter into the soil. * The darn cinch bugs killed a couple spots in lawn along the sidewalk. After killing off the cinch bugs, I used the aerator in the dead grass and top dressed with leaf mold compost. The core aeration will help get some organic matter into the soil while the St. Augustine grass fills in the compost. Positives: * It produces nice sized cores both in terms of depth and diameter. * It's very simple to use. It's mindless work and one of the few times being overweight pays off. * It's very sturdy and well constructed. Feels like something that will last many, many years. Negatives: * It's a lot of work so best for small areas. Rent a gas powered core aerator to do entire lawn or hire a contractor. * The last core stays in the tool so you need to push it out with a screwdriver at the end of the project.

Bought one a few years ago at a Lowe's or Osh that I thought was the Hound Dog branded "Turf Hound" but it looked almost identical to the "Yard Butler" instead, so I don't know if the companies are related or maybe I just had a brain fart and filed the memory incorrectly. It worked well enough that I wore that down to nubs (see photo comparing the old one to new) thanks to hard clay soil that had to be pretty moist to penetrate making the tips rust, chip,or bend into the tube, and then having to file or grind the ends back to a functional point. When this seasons plugs were all coming out stumpy, I figured I could use a replacement and wondered if there might be a tool that didn't clog as much as that had. I think that in certain clays, it's inevitable, though you can minimize it by working it only after it's been watered and oiling the tines before and after using the tool. I have tried ones with more tines, and they are much harder to push into the ground since I am only 5'2 and 130lbs, so the two tines works better for me. I also find the height of the handle appropriate on this one, and the T design is comfortable because I can switch feet easily, without knocking a knee into the sides of the handle. I'm not sure how this compares with using the Hound Dog model, except that the center handle might help with pivoting the thing from side to side more easily when necessary, or perhaps the stepping space might be easier to access on the Dog version because it's more open. But then again, I also find it helpful that the shape above the step on the Butler helps ensure I don't just step THROUGH it and miss planting it down firmly. I did try the red one with thicker tines and the step "lifting bar" (see pics for side by sides) in hopes that it would be less clog prone, but found that the shape made it noteably more difficult to push into the ground than the slightly thinner and longer tines of the Butler. It may be because they are thicker, even though they are tapered, or maybe because they are cut square instead of at an angle like the Butler, which slid much more deeply and smoothly into the ground. Though the other one DID seem to be less likely to pack up with soil IN the tines, it also was much more problematic in dirt clogging AROUND the them instead (see pics). Go figure... The step bar on the red one didn't really add anything useful to the process for me, as it wasn't really helpful to try and use my foot to pick up the tool. It actually seemed a bit more in the way when switching feet, which I did much more frequently than trying to lift it with the foot. Some may prefer the thicker grips on the red one, but my hands are pretty large and I had no issues with the thinner ones. The one clear advantage of the red one is really probably the color itself, as I did have trouble locating the green Yard Butler on the lawn if I stepped away from it. The red is totally obvious to spot immediately. Lastly, I also preferred the resulting plug length of the Butler. The thickness of the other was beaten by the depth of extracted material with Yard Butler. (Last picture shows all 3 YB cores on the left vs 3 shorter of the other tool on the right). Definitely get an extra inch or more with the YB tool. YB beats the spike sort and more complicated coring setups on manual tools. There might be some real advantage to a rolling disc type on ebay, but it costs much more. If you have a large enough yard, though, it might be worth the cost over renting something powered, especially if you don't have something that needs a riding mower in size. My mom's lawn is probably 2000 sq ft, and it can be a workout and a long day to step core the whole thing alone, but I do it a little at a time whenever I visit and it's fine because the tool is always available and quiet enough to use in the middle of the night so the summer heat isn't overwhelming. I dig it. And it really does improve the lawn significantly. If I see it's getting a bit tired looking, I know it's time to step some air into thr soil and it thickens up nicely. For the money, it's a win in my book. Id like to try the other design I saw on Amazon too, which ejects the cores on the SIDE of the tine instead of through the top, as that might be less likely to pack into a clog, but I would want to know it was really better before spending twice as much money on it. For now I am doing fine with this and maybe will try the other if it wears down so far in a few years as the last one did. ..

I purchased this manual lawn aerator a couple of weeks ago after deciding (based on Amazon customer reviews) it would probably be the best choice for use in the clay soil my lawn grows in. When my soil is dry it is like concrete and when it's wet it is gooey and sticky. I waited for some rain to thoroughly moisten the soil into the root zone; knowing that there was no way I could effectively use the aerator when the soil was dry and hard. It is key to have the soil moist through the lawn's root zone, especially in clay soil. So far I have completed aerating the backyard portion of my lawn. Being a "dot-the-eyes-and-cross-the-tees" kind of guy, I tracked how much time it took me to do the backyard lawn, which was a total of 4 hours 25 minutes. Based on the square footage of my backyard, my production rate with the aerator was an average of approximately 325 square feet per hour (slower in the compacted areas, faster in the not-compacted areas). Even though I have clay soil, this tool worked very well to punch holes in the soil profile of my lawn. In those areas where the soil was most compacted it did require more serious downward pressure and effort with my foot (and some side-to-side wiggling) to get the 3-inch spikes all the way down into the soil. In the less compacted (or not compacted at all) areas the spikes went in to their full length with a minimum of downward foot pressure. I worked the entire backyard in parallel straight rows/columns, punching the row of 4 spikes at the recommended 6" to 8" apart (locating my parallel rows/columns about 3" to 4" apart). I found that is was easier to see where you'd punched your holes if the lawn was recently mowed. So far I have had no problems at all with this aerator after 4 hours 25 minutes of use. It is strongly constructed of steel with very sturdy, stout welds. The only thing I would change is to have it built maybe 3 or 4 inches longer (the total length of the tool is 36 inches). I am 6 feet tall and have to bend over a bit when using it, which causes me some back soreness after prolonged use (I'm 66 years old and my back isn't in tip-top shape any more). Using the aerator is a bit of a workout and can cause you to break into a sweat if it's warm outside. I'm very happy with this tool and will use it on my entire lawn, after which I will fertilize. Will its use improve the condition of my lawn? I think it will, but time will tell.

In good loose and/or light soil, it works well. Each press of the twin tubes of the tool into the ground forces the last "slug" of soil out the top of the tubes, cutting a tubular hole in the ground as desired - in loose, light soil, that is. However, in heavy clay or densely compacted soil, the "slugs" stick in the tubes of the tool when pressed into the ground and do not come out readily. While this does still make the tubular holes in the ground, rather than removing soil to make the aeration holes, the soil is just then compacted all the more. Not the desired result. Bottom line, it may or may not work well - depending on your particular soil.

Works great! I hadn’t paid to have my lawn aerated in years as I have backyard chickens, trees and other plants that I didn’t want damaged. So with this hand aerator, I was able to control where I aerated (avoiding tree roots, etc) and how much I wanted. It is not hard to do but it does take time and can be a little bit of a work out. I am only 5’1” and had no problems with it other than getting a blister so wear gloves! I aerated heavily and my yard is looking good so it needed it. This is well worth the $, is built well and not heavy to work with. I did have some soil stick to it a couple of times because it’s clay and it was just a little too wet (end of February and a few days after a snow fall) so I poked the soil out and cleaned with with a long cylindrical brush. So make sure that the soil is NOT too wet not too dry when doing this. I only wish I had bought this earlier.

After stressing for longer than id like to admit and spending way more time than id like to admit looking for the "perfect" manual aerator i ended up going with this one and i am extremely glad i did. While every yard is different, Mine absolutely has clay in it. Im not smart enough to say its a lot of clay or a little bit of clay but it definitely is a mix of clay and this worked perfectly. I used it after it had rained some so the ground was wet but it worked better than expected. It absolutely pulled cores out of the ground. Also it was very easy to use, i went with 2 tines because i was worried about it being difficult to press into the ground but it was very easy. I am 5'11 roughly 175lbs. I would recommended people buy this for sure.

If you've got the right kind of soil (and the moisture content is just right), it works like a charm. But my soil contains a lot of clay. And despite my attempts to adjust the moisture level of the soil, it clogs immediately and only pokes holes in the ground without ejecting any dirt. Once the metal tubes become clogged with dirt, it's a pain to try and clear them out. I bought a piece of 1/2" diameter steel rod. The rod (in conjunction with a hammer), clears the dirt out. But again, what a pain. I finally gave up trying to get it work the way it's supposed to. I use it now as a "hole poker". However it's not a total loss. After poking a lot of holes in the ground, I fill the holes with good quality top soil. I may not be ejecting any dirt. But at least I'm introducing some good quality soil into the ground. The device is sturdy and well made (made in Mexico by the way). If I keep it clean (and lightly oiled with some WD-40), I suspect it'll last a long time.