Photo: Tretyakov Viktor (Shutterstock)
Although we’re not the biggest fans of traditional green grass lawns, we know that such a longstanding norm of American homeownership won’t go away overnight. But regardless of you feel about lawns, if you’re stuck maintaining one, you’re probably open to any strategies for reducing the amount of work it takes to keep it in tip-top (or even mediocre) shape.
In your quest to cut down on the time you spend on lawn care, you may have come across a viral TikTok video demonstrating a technique for filling in gaps in a patchy lawn—and one that experts have warned can be dangerous. Here’s what to know about the TikTok lawn hack and why you should skip it.
What does the lawn hack involve?
On June 21, Oliver Joseph (aka @roamwildwitholiver)—who, according to his profile, is on a “home and gardening journey”—posted a video on TikTok titled “#1 Gardening Hack I Learnt From Dad,” that has since racked up more than 2.2 million views. The aim of the strategy is to cover up bald patches in a lawn resulting from higher-than-normal temperatures.
As it turns out, Joseph’s dad’s hack (which he calls “the hair transplant”) is removing the grass catcher from a lawnmower and propping open the rear cover so that the cuttings are redistributed across the lawn. According to Joseph, the clippings also enhance growth in the bald patches.
Why is the hack potentially dangerous?
As several lawn experts and TikTok users have pointed out in the comments on the video, while the hack does accomplish what it sets out to do, it also leaves the person mowing the lawn open to injury.
That’s because when you leave the back of a lawnmower open, in addition to the cut grass, other objects in your path—rocks, in particular—could make their way through the mower and out the back, flying towards you at top speed. These projectiles could injure you, or any other humans or animals in their path—especially if you’re hit in the face or eyes. In other words, this hack isn’t worth the risk.
