The aerator has several inventive steps, which are improvements over existing art, for providing cylindrical holes in lawns or similar type surfaces so as to both loosen earth compaction and collect the earth particles via a 'scooping' method in the form of a double claw at the tip of each drill. The aerator is a pedestrian machine which is powered by an electrical motor or petrol engine with a series of these special drill bits each encased within a hollow tine tube. Each drill is made from a thin metal plate of helical design to achieve the greatest space to convey the earth upwards through the tine tubes, which give the rotational force, and up into the soil box. The drills are driven by a series of pulleys, the whole being pushed in two stages down into the earth, and retrieved, by extended handles.