Thanks for all the replies. Our lawn is not decimated or anything, just
some areas are better than others and I read one should aerate lawns.
Our situation doesn't allow us to forbid kids and people from the lawn.

At Home Depot I saw a gadget that had 2 hollow spikes, presumably to
remove some dirt each time? Another had 4 solid spikes, so it will just
make holes, which I suppose aerates enough.

But my reaction was, how inefficient? Shouldn't there be a tool which
has a square with 16 spikes instead of a line with 4?

That's what I meant, something that would make efficient use of time
and labor.

Thanks for your thoughts.

AKT wrote:
: What's the best way to aerate a small 30'x40' lawn without damaging
: grass?