Whether by accident or deliberately, someone driving on your lawn is bound to drive anyone nuts. Driving on your lawn can result in various consequences such as physical damage, compromised soil health, and plant damage.
Someone drove on my lawn a few years ago, and the first thing I did was keep my cool and evaluate the extent of the damage. If there’s damage to the grass, it can probably be fixed by overseeding but repairs to physical objects can be costly.
The tire marks here are not very deep but the mud/dirt is showing. This should grow back in a few weeks in the spring or summertime.
You can help the area by leveling it out as much as you can by stepping on the sides of the ruts to push the mud/dirt back into place. You can even use a steel tamper like this if you don’t want to get your feet dirty. 🙂
- Steel 8-Inch x 8-Inch head
- 9-Pound steel head
- Hardwood handle with thicker lower section for additional strength
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How To Repair Deep Tire Ruts In Mud
In this next example, you can see that either a light truck or a mid-sized car went off the curb and found a soft area in the dirt.
This is going to take a bit more muscle to get back to level. You will still want to use a tamper but you will also most likely need to put down a bag or two of sand or dig up another area of your lawn that is hidden or has excess dirt and use that to fill in the void.
Once you have it level, you can either seed the area or put down a square or two of the sod of your choice. Here are some tips on establishing a lawn from sod.
What Are Typically The Costs To Fix Ruts In Your Yard?
If the damage is really bad, then you can expect the costs to be high as well, compared to doing it yourself and letting the grass grow back. Look at this example…
Just imagine that this is your front lawn or swale area. I’ve seen this a few times in sub-divisions and more times in rural areas. This is major tire rut damage and if you don’t have a commercial-grade roller, then you’ll probably be calling a contractor to come out and do the leveling and repair.
Depending on the size, this could range from a few hundred to a few thousand.
My neighbor damaged my lawn, what are my options?
I would think most neighbors would own up to the mess and pay for it but in the rare occasion where you have someone refusing to fix it, then there may not be much you can do legally. Unless you have them on video showing them doing the damage, then you can file a police report.
How To Keep Cars From Parking On My Lawn?
There are many deterrents you can install to prevent cars from parking on your lawn. I did a more complete post on different barriers you can put on your lawn to prevent cars from parking in your yard. Be sure to check it out for all of the different options.
Hi, Alex Kuritz here. Growing up I remember that my family had one of the best lawns in the neighborhood. Richly green and lush. I did a lot as I grew up in terms of caring and tending for not only my family’s lawn but also my neighbors. I can say I have years of experience, and I am here to share it with you.
