Push mower roller attachment. How to Stripe a Lawn

How to Stripe a Lawn

Don’t let the beauty of lawn striping keep you from trying it yourself. Learning how to stripe a lawn is easier than you think.

In this blog post, you’ll learn the following:

• How to stripe your lawn
• Lawn striping patterns
• How to make a DIY lawn striping kit
• Lawn care maintenance tips.

How to Stripe Your Lawn

Whether you own a ZTR, a garden tractor, or a push mower, you can still create baseball diamond striping. You just need to add a wide roller behind your mower’s tires.

You can buy a lawn striping kit or design a DIY lawn striping kit by using PVC piping or rubber floor mats.

After you’ve attached the striping roller behind the wheels of your mower, here are the basics of lawn striping:

• You want to mow the perimeter of your lawn first before you start creating stripes.

• For classic lawn striping, you want to go perpendicular to your driveway or the walkway in front of your home. Think about generally going in a north/south or east/west direction.

• When you make turns at the end of each row, either make a three-point turn (a Y shaped turn) or you can make a tight turn. Make sure you don’t tip your mower over while making the turns.

If you’re using a push mower, you can lift the front to avoid cutting the grass and make a tight turn.

• When you’re finished making the lines, you want to mow around the perimeter of your lawn to cover any marks you made while turning at the end of each row.

• What do you do when it’s time to mow around trees or other obstacles on the lawn? Simply go around the tree. If you want unbroken lawn striping, scroll down to see how to stripe a lawn with obstacles.

• When you’re done striping your lawn, mow the perimeter of your yard once again.

Getting Fancy with Lawn Striping Patterns

If you want to get creative, you can expand into lawn striping patterns, such as the checkerboard look or zigzags. You’ll be the talk of the town when you create attractive designs in your yard.

Here’s how to stripe a lawn using different lawn striping patterns:

• The checkerboard pattern: Again, you start by mowing the perimeter of your lawn. Then, you choose your first direction (north/south or east/west). Finish your first pattern.

Next, you go in the opposite direction. For example, if you started with a north/south direction, you now want to go east/west. Finish the design by mowing around the perimeter to “erase” any Y turns.

• The diagonal or crisscross design: Go with the perpendicular lines first. Then, use the same directions as the checkerboard pattern, but go in a diagonal direction instead of going side to side.

• Continue with your lawn striping pattern even with trees and other obstacles in the yard: If you want continuity with your DIY lawn striping, you first start the line striping at the bottom of the row. When you get to the tree, go around it and finish that row’s lawn stripe.

When you’re on your second pass, you’ll stripe over the curve you created when you first mowed around the tree. You’ll have an unbroken striping pattern with the tree as part of the design.

Make a DIY Lawn Striping Kit

If you enjoy making DIY products to use around your property, you can make your own lawn striping kit. Here are some ideas for designing your DIY lawn striping kit.

• Employ PVC piping. You’ll need a 3” diameter piece of PVC piping. Measure the width of your mower and then cut the PVC pipe to the width that you need. Next, you fill the PVC pipe with wet sand and put the end caps on. Attach your roller to your mower using a 2’ length of lightweight chain. Then, you want to attach the chain to each end of the PVC pipe that will serve as your lawn roller.

• Use boat trailer rollers that you can find at a marine trailer supply store. Since boat trailer rollers have dense rubber on them, you don’t need to worry about weighing the rollers down.Connect the rollers to the back of your mower, using rigid metal brackets and chains.

• Buy rubber mats at your favorite auto supply store. Since they’re half an inch thick, you can cut the rubber mats into strips. Next, attach the rubber mats with medium-duty angle iron and bolts.

• Groundskeepers have used the following substitutes for creating lawn striping patterns: Sandbags and rubber mats similar to a truck’s mud flaps are two more DIY lawn striping ideas for creating a beautiful, manicured yard.

• Save yourself some time and buy aBrinly lawn roller to create stripes and other patterns on your property. Brinly’s lawn roller should be as wide as or slightly wider than the wheelbase of your mower.

Lawn Care Maintenance Tips

Lawn striping is good for turfgrass because you’re switching sides each time you mow.

Plus, you won’t create ruts, grooves, or longer grass blades shading shorter blades that come from cutting the grass in the same direction with each mow. Finally, all grass blades will get enough sunlight for health and growth.

Cool season grasses, such as tall fescue, ryegrass, and Kentucky blue, do best because they’re more flexible. Most warm season grasses have stiff blades that don’t conform to lawn striping.

Also, don’t overdo lawn striping. If you love your lawn striped, you should go in different directions every time you mow. For example, if you went east/west and then north/south, the following week, cut your grass from south/north and west/east, so you don’t stress your lawn.

One final benefit of lawn striping: you’ll notice that you can cut back on mowing to every two weeks.

Don’t forget to use sharp mower blades to give your lawn grass a clean cut. Continue to water your lawn infrequently and apply fertilizer based on your soil’s needs.

Keep Your Lawn Looking Its Best with Brinly Lawn Care and Garden Attachments

It’s National Lawn Care Month, and you should treat your turfgrass to Brinly lawn care attachments. At Brinly, we create lawn care attachments that make your property look like a pro did it.

Here are some lawn care products to consider for your spring yard care:

Lastly, you can find your favorite Brinly lawn care attachments at these online retail stores, or you can call our customer service at 877-728-8224 or fill out our contact form if you can’t find Brinly lawn care attachments near you.

Lawn Striper

This will show you how to stripe your yard like the professionals, and you’ll save 100!

Step 1: Gather

pvc pipe 3 thick and the width of the back wheels or slightly smaller.(see picture)

2 eye hooks big enough for 2 plastic ties to go through.

Several long plastic ties

Step 2: Cut the Pipe to Length

After cutting the pipe to length, cut the 2 end caps out of 3/4 plywood with a hole saw,jigsaw or Band saw, unless you want to buy 2 pvc endcaps.

Step 3: Mount the Hooks

measure the distance between the 2 places you will be tying the striper to on the mower and drill 2 holes that distance apart on the pipe. Make sure the holes are slightly thinner than the screw part on the hooks.

Step 4: Fill It

screw one plywood cap or pvc cap to the one end of the pipe and fill it with gravel, sand, or anything that will give the pipe plenty of weight. Next, screw on the other plywood or pvc cap.

Step 5: Tie It On

Now you should be ready to tie it on. You will need 2 very long plastic ties or some wire. Keep it about 1 or 2 inches above the ground, and be careful not to tie it to close to the wheels so that you run over it when you back up. You may need to tie it back with something to prevent this (see picture).

Step 6: Mow!

Now you are ready to begin. If you start from the road and drive toward the house it will make a light stripe and when you come back you will make a dark stripe. Be Creative. If you go over your yard going front to back and then go over it again going left and right, it will make squares, or diamonds. (see faintly in the picture).

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Комментарии и мнения владельцев

thx for the inst. does anyone know how to make a zero turn cut better? engine runs fine, blades are sharp. just not getting a good cut. if so, could u plz make an inst on that? Thx

thanks for your inst. i was at a farm supply getting a piece of belting (available in widths starting at 4, i was getting 6 X 3′) and the guy asked if I was making a stripper. seems here they just add that behind the deck to stripe. This belting is bullet proof.

Thanks for that tip to both of you!

Very cool! I’ve always wondered how they did that! Thanks

And what is the point of striping a lawn again??

Can this be adapted for a walk behind mower

only if you mow tall and use a heavy stick/pipe/whatever with it.

Yeah but the effect isn’t as dramatic because a push mower is much closer to the ground. You will have to hike it up a wee bit and do everything the same for your push mower. You could also always mount this on a broom stick and do it by hand.

If you would own a simplicity mower instead of a deere, you wouldnt have to make this. simplicity’s have full width deck rollers built right on them.

Yeah buy a Simplicity instead of a real mower.

Go Green. Get rid of all that grass. (grin) We here in Florida are trying to use less water and go green and natural. Plant only local plants, tolerant of your growing conditions. You don’t need all that grass to mow.

I always wondered how they did that. Thanks for the great tip.

I’ve done this in the past, with good results. Someone else mentioned it, but I’ll hit it again, make sure to alternate the cut for each mowing, Mow front to back one session, then the next side to side, the next sideways, the next front to back, and so on and so forth. Heck, get creative, I’ve done spiral cuts before, and those look pretty sweet from time to time, keeps the neighbors guessing, thats for sure. but I always just used a push mower, and the effect was visible. Not sure you really need the bar. I also agree that incorporating a mechanism for the weighted bar to raise and lower it is a good idea as well. Perhaps and old throttle cable would work well? I guess it really depends on the weight of your bar, and the way it would be adjusted. Thoughts anyone?

The Best Self-Propelled Lawn Mowers in 2023 for Making Your Yard Work Easier

These lawn mowers drive themselves, taking the load off you in the process.

By Roy Berendsohn Published: Mar 21, 2023

One of the perks of the warm-weather season is getting to spend time outside. If you own your own home and have a yard, it’s very likely that in order to enjoy your outdoor space, you need to mow the lawn. The larger the yard, the more work it will be to maintain. If you have a lot of grass to cut, you’d be wise to consider a self-propelled lawn mower especially now that there are a ton of sales just in time for Memorial Day.

The primary difference between a standard push mower and a self-propelled mower is that the former moves when you push it, and the latter essentially moves itself with only your guidance. Once the engine is running, all you have to do is squeeze a handle or push a lever and the mower will start moving forward with you as you walk.

Turning the mower around is your job, but once you have your heading, just keep the drive handle squeezed and escort the mower down the path, no pushing necessary.

Self-propelled law mowers take power off the engine and route it via a belt to a pulley on the transmission and axle. When you move the drive control lever on the mower handle, you tension the belt, causing the pulley to turn, and this drives the transmission, moving the mower forward.

Move the drive control lever back and the tension is released, the pulley stops turning, and the mower stops moving forward. The belt-driven transmission is a time-tested design to power the mower and take the load off you in the process.

What to Consider

A mower is like many consumer products in that the more features a manufacturer adds, the more expensive it becomes. But a longer or more eye-catching list of features isn’t necessarily better. Sometimes less is more. Here are the most important to keep in mind.

Front-wheel drive mowers tend to be less expensive than rear-wheel drive units. They can be easier to turn because you don’t have to disengage the drive wheels to do so. Simply push down on the handlebar to raise the front wheels off the ground. However, their traction isn’t as strong on hills or when the bag is full, as there isn’t as much weight over the drive wheels.

Rear-wheel drive mowers do cost more and aren’t as easy to turn, as you do need to disengage the drive—but this isn’t too much of a hassle. Rear-wheel drive mowers shine on hills and inclines, and when the grass bag is full. In either scenario, weight is shifted rearward and over the drive wheels, which enables superior traction, thus making the self-propel more effective.

An engine as small as 125 cc can power a mower, but most are somewhere in the 140 cc to 190 cc range. A large engine helps when powering through tall, lush grass or in extreme conditions, such as with a side discharge chute in place and mowing tall weeds in a border area. Also, the extra torque provided by a larger engine can improve bagging when the going gets tough (tall, leaf-covered grass in the fall). But if you mow sensibly and pay attention to deck height—and especially if you don’t let your lawn get out of control—an engine between 140 and 160 cc has more than enough power to get the job done.

A mower can have all four wheels the same diameter (7 to 8 inches), or it may have rear wheels that range from 9.5 inches to 12 inches in diameter. Larger rear wheels help the mower roll more easily over bumpy ground.

With some mowers you can start the engine with the twist of a key or the press of a button. It’s a great option, but a luxury. Keep the mower engine tuned and use fresh fuel with stabilizer added to it, and you’ll never have trouble starting.

Any number of mechanisms can control a mower’s ground speed—a squeeze handle, a drive bar that you press forward, even a dial. There’s no single right answer here. Look at the design and think about how you like to work. For example, if more than one person will be using the mower (and not all of them are right-handed), a drive control like that on a Toro Personal Pace mower might be the answer. Just push down on the bar to make it go faster. Let up on the bar to slow down.

A mower that can bag, mulch, and side discharge is known as a three-function mower, the most versatile kind. Two-function mowers bag and mulch or mulch and side discharge.

Mowers will typically have one, two, or four levers to control the deck height. Single-lever adjustment is the easiest to use, but it requires more linkage, which adds weight and complexity. If, for some reason, you find yourself varying deck height frequently, it’s a good option. Otherwise, two or four levers work just fine.

Only Honda makes a gas-engine mower with a high-impact plastic deck (there are battery mowers that have plastic decks). Otherwise, mowers generally have a steel deck, and a few manufacturers—Toro, for one—offer a corrosion-resistant aluminum deck. An aluminum deck won’t rot the way a steel deck will, but you still need to keep it clean.

This is a hose fitting mounted on top of the mower’s deck. When you’re done mowing, hook up a hose and run the mower to power wash the underside of the deck. We’ve had mixed results with these, but they’re better than just letting a mass of dried grass clippings accumulate.

expensive mowers come with a more durable bag with more dust-blocking capability. If you bag a lot, especially leaves or other lawn debris in the fall, then you need a mower with a higher quality dust-blocking bag. Having said that, if you rarely bag, the standard one that comes with a mower will last you the life of the mower.

Also called wide-area mowers, machines in this subgroup help homeowners better reconcile their need for more power and speed with the fact that they may not have enough storage for a tractor or zero-turn mower. A typical residential walk mower has a single-blade deck that cuts a swath from 20 to 22 inches wide. Wide-cut mowers (built for homeowner use) have either a single blade or, more typically, a pair of blades, cutting from 26 to 30 inches with each pass. Some of these are rated for light commercial use and have larger decks, in the 32-inch range, and engines that start at 223 cc and go up to about 337 cc.

Wide-cut mowers typically employ gear or hydrostatic drive transmissions, and they have top speeds of about 4 to 6 miles per hour. At their fastest, they move so quickly you have to trot to keep up with them. Needless to say, they’re overkill for small yards; only opt for one of these if you’ve got a significant plot of land that you need to keep tidy, but not one so large that you’d be better off going with a full-on riding mower.

How We Tested and Selected

We compiled this list based on Popular Mechanics mower testing and our knowledge of the lawn mower market at large. For our testing, we put mowers through the paces using our standard Popular Mechanics methodology: We cut turf grasses such as fescues and blue grass and rougher non-turf grasses like Timothy, clover, orchard grass, and wild oats, all in both normal and shin-deep heights. We mow uphill, downhill, and across the faces of hills. The maximum slope we cut is about 30 degrees.

That may not sound like much, but it’s about all you can do to stand on it, let alone push a mower up it or across it. We mow damp and wet grass to test general cutting performance and whether clippings accumulate on the tires. And we cut dry and dusty surfaces to see how well the bag filters under less-than-optimal conditions.

Honda HRN 216VKA

Key Specs

Honda mowers enjoy a sterling reputation. Having tested their walk and self-propelled mowers for the last 30 years, we feel confident that Honda’s entry level mower is a great choice for homeowners looking for power and durability. The HRN features a GCV 170 gas engine that’s built to withstand long hours of operation.

If you do your own maintenance (and most owners who buy this class of product do), you’ll appreciate the easily accessible spark plug and the fuel shutoff valve that enables better winter storage. Close the fuel shutoff and run the mower until it sputters to a halt. This will clear the carburetor of any gasoline, which will prevent the ethanol in it from disintegrating and causing running issues later on. Open the shutoff valve in the spring, add some fresh gasoline, and the mower should start easily.

All this maintenance stuff is great, but we can also tell you that our past test findings on other Hondas prove that their cut quality is outstanding for cleanliness. Sharp blades deliver a velvet-like finish. And their bagging ability is also quite good, in the same league with other well-bagging mowers from Toro.

In all, if you take mowing seriously, you should enjoy this Honda. If you have a little wiggle room in your budget, consider the Honda HRX, which features a mower powerful engine and a composite deck that won’t rust and is renowned for its durability.

One note is that Honda has announced that it will cease selling lawn mowers in the United States after this year—so if you’re considering buying one, best do it sooner rather than later.

Toro Recycler 60-Volt Max Lithium-Ion

Key Specs

Toro mowers have garnered more recommendations from us than any other brand for two reasons: build quality and cut quality. These were amply demonstrated in our testing as the Recycler turned in the best ratio of cut area per amp-hour of battery in the self-propelled category, while at the same time not skimping on cutting, mulching, or bagging quality.

We attribute this outstanding mower performance to three features, all upgrades to the previous version of this machine. First, the air vent at the front of the mower deck seems to improve mulching and bagging performance. Toro calls it Vortex technology, a design that increases air flow under the deck. This helps to stand the grass for a cleaner cut, which improves mulching performance, and also allows better airflow into the bag when collecting the clippings.

Next, the company’s redesigned “Atomic” blade configuration appears to assist the air flow and clipping movement. Finally, the three-phase, 60-volt motor is exceptionally efficient, resulting in a large cut area for a single battery.

Toro has maintained features that make this mower work: rear wheel drive, a one-piece deck that’s all steel (no plastic nose), 11-inch wheels to help it roll over roots and crevices, and the same fold-forward handle that was an industry breakthrough when it was introduced some years ago.

Ryobi 40-Volt Brushless Self-Propelled Mower

Key Specs

This is one of Ryobi’s top-of-the-line mowers, and it’s American-made construction is something we wish we saw more of. It delivers a tremendous cut area with its two 6-Ah batteries providing a total of 12-Ah of capacity, and its X-shaped blade leaves a pristine surface in its wake.

Ryobi estimates the design should provide 70 minutes of run time; we didn’t time our cut, but it strikes as plausible. Its rear-wheel drive and reasonably aggressive tire tread pattern provide good hill climbing and sidehill cutting performance, and its bagging on all surfaces (level, sidehill, and uphill) is also commendable.

Other ease-of-use features include an easily installed or removed bag that mounts and dismounts straight up and down through the handle; deck adjustment is quick and easy thanks to a single-level deck height adjustment. The straight edge deck is polypropylene; it will never rust and needs very little care other than basic cleaning.

Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs Stratton Personal Pace

The Toro Timemaster 30-in. mower has been around for several years and has earned a reputation as a sturdy workhorse for homeowners who want to cut down on their mowing time. It’s also used by some professionals as well. A few years ago the Timemaster got a slightly more powerful Briggs and Stratton gas engine, so it should have no issues powering through most demanding mowing jobs.

The Timemaster is rear-wheel drive and features Toro’s Personal Pace drive system that’s used on many of its self-propelled mowers. This allows the mower to move at your speed by simply pushing down or releasing the handle, which is spring-tensioned.

With a 30-in. deck, Toro claims the Timemaster will help you reduce your mowing time by about 40% compared to using a standard-sized mower. You can mulch, back, or side discharge with the Timemaster, and the handlebar can be locked in a fully vertical position to reduce space consumption in storage.

If you have half an acre to a full acre of lawn to mow and prefer the experience of a walk-behind mower versus a tractor or zero-turn, the Timemaster is worth a look.

Craftsman M220

Key Specs

Craftsman mowers have been doing very well in our tests, so we can recommend this one because it’s so much like the many other of the brand’s models that we’ve tested. If you’re looking for a good blend of maneuverability and power, you’ll get it with this mower. Its front drive helps move it along and makes it easy to turn.

It’s important to note that front-drive mowers do lose some traction when running uphill, particularly with a full grass bag. But if your slope is less than 20 degrees, and you’re not bagging uphill, you’ll be fine. The side discharge will also help you handle tall grass. Adjust the two deck levers to bring the mower up to full height and have at the rough stuff.

The fact that this mower bags, mulches, and side discharges is a plus, enabling you to handle a wide range of mowing conditions, from early spring and late into the fall. Three-function mowers like this are our preference for that versatility.

Toro Super Recycler Self-Propelled Lawn Mower

Key Specs

This is a beauty of a mower, with a cast-aluminum deck and a smooth-running Briggs Stratton 163-cc engine. We tested the Honda engine-equipped version, and it was effective at both bagging and mulching, even in moist grass.

Equipped with rear-wheel drive and the Personal Pace system (the farther you push the drive bar, the faster the mower goes), it’s an effective hill climber and moderately effective on sidehill cutting. It has relatively small 7.5-inch tires on all four corners, which causes this Toro to bump up and down a bit on washboard surfaces. But the good news is that it’s equipped with a far higher quality tire than we’re used to seeing these days. We didn’t notice them pick up any grass on moist surfaces.

Other features we like include its forward-fold handle that has a built-in shock absorber that Toro calls a Flex Handle Suspension, and a high-quality grass bag that loads through the handle, from the top.

QA

Are there special maintenance considerations with self-propelled mowers?

Yes. Both front- and rear-wheel drive mowers typically feature a drive belt, which can crack or wear out over time. Fortunately these belts are not difficult or particularly expensive to replace.

Secondly, you may have to replace the drive wheels occasionally. These wheels are driven with gears. there are typically teeth on the inside diameter of the drive wheel that line up with a gear on the axle. These teeth can wear out, especially if they are made of plastic. Higher-end mowers may feature drive wheels with a metal gear that meets the metal axle gear, which improves longevity of these components.

My lawnmower says I don’t ever have to change the oil, but just add oil when needed. Is this OK?

It’s not a good idea to never change the oil in your lawn mower. In a lawn mower, same as a car, oil degrades over time and is less effective at reducing heat and friction in metal components. Changing the oil in your lawn mower is easy to do and will significantly increase its service life. For most homeowners, changing the oil at the beginning or end of each mowing season should be sufficient, though there is certainly no harm in doing it more often.

Roy Berendsohn has worked for more than 25 years at Popular Mechanics, where he has written on carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, blacksmithing, welding, lawn care, chainsaw use, and outdoor power equipment. When he’s not working on his own house, he volunteers with Sovereign Grace Church doing home repair for families in rural, suburban and urban locations throughout central and southern New Jersey.

What is a Striping Kit for a Lawn Mower?

I used to always see the gridlines on golf courses and sports fields and wonder how they got those sharp stripes and checkerboards so precise. I had witnessed both push mowers and riding mowers create these lines, and I was still no closer to understanding how it was done. My initial thought was that lawnmowers must alternate the blade height each time and what I was seeing was clearly alternating tall and short grass.

Obviously, once you get nearer, you can see that the grass is in fact the same length and that cutting height isn’t the only way to make streaks in the grass. I learned that a lawn mower could be equipt with a lawn striper that bends those beautiful blades of grass into the stripped pattern we know and love. Here is how it is done.

What is a Lawn Striping Kit?

In its simplest form, a lawn striping kit is anything pulled behind a riding or walk-behind mower that creates lawn stripes. Actual lawn striping requires using the natural lay of the land and notable yard features to mow epic lawn patterns. Advanced lawn striping patterns rely on the right types of grass, taller blades of grass, and the right striping kit for your mower.

A good lawn striping kit can bend a tall blade of grass in a single direction without damaging the lawn or adding unnecessary stress to lawn mower equipment. After your first strip, switch your mowing direction and knock down the taller grass blades in the opposite direction. For a grid pattern, mow in a perpendicular direction to the first stripes and repeat the alternating pattern.

Types of Striping Kits

The most important thing to remember about a lawn roller or heavy-duty rubber mat for a well-striped lawn is to keep it 2 to 4 inches shorter than your mower deck. If the roller is longer than the mowing deck, you will blur the edges of your strips and not have a pronounced lawn striping effect to show for all your labor.

Kits come in varying shapes and sizes as well as cost and material components. Choosing the right lawn striping kit might be as simple as checking what’s in your garage and shed and attaching it to your mower or as complex as buying a professional kit for lawn mowers from your mower supply company. For stunning lawn stripes, you will want to get the best kit for your mower or practice lawn striping techniques.

Heavy Rubber Mats

Heavy mats used for commercial activities and rubber flaps from trucks and warehouses can be attached to the back of a mower. As you pull the flaps, they bend the grass right after it’s cut and lie it in a single direction. Mats can be found for low cost or free if you already have some laying around.

Heavy rubber mats can become damaged and dislodged during mowing. Lawn striping already takes a fair amount of time and labor, especially with a push mower, so constantly reattaching mats can be a headache. Mats can also cause strain on your mower and lead to other mechanical issues.

Professional Stripe Roller

The most expensive option but also the most professional, these kits can attach to your mower and create lawn stripes with the least amount of effort. Most mower brands have their own rollers or striping kits, so it is best to find the ones designed to fit your model. There are also generic options that are cheaper and attach to many different makes and models. Make sure to measure your mower deck before purchasing one to double-check the size and fit and save yourself the time and hassle of a return.

There are lawn rollers designed to level out the uneven ground and help push grass seed deep into the soil. These are not the same rollers as lawn striping rollers. Make sure that you are buying an attachment for the right job or you may end up doing damage to your turf instead of achieving a beautifully-striped lawn.

Safety Strip with Lawn Striping Kit

Often walk-behind and push mowers will come with a rubber flap in the back. This safety strip helps keep your feet safe from the blades and debris as you struggle up banks and berms. If the blade height and wheel height is set correctly, you can use your safety strip to put lines in your entire lawn.

These lines will not be as pronounced as with other methods, but it’s available to practice and can help you practice. Once you are comfortable with the right lawn mowing pattern, you can look into buying or making a more effective mower striping kit.

PVC Pipe

This is a cheap and flexible option that can pay off in improved lawn health and professional lawn striping. If you drag a PVC pipe behind your mower, it will bend the grass and give you strips. You can cut the PVC to the correct length for your mower and easily replace it when it gets worn out.

For less pliable grass, you can increase the effectiveness of your PVC pipe striper. If you fill the pipe with sand or water before capping it and attaching it to the back of your mower, you can make it heavier and more effective. Make sure to seal the pipe tightly, or you may lose your filler all over your yard.

Sand Bags

Running sandbags behind your mower or tractor is probably the cheapest way to lawn strip, but it comes with many issues and is not very effective. Sandbags can be a little tricky to attach to a mower and tend to make the whole mowing experience a bit harder. Once sandbags are attached, you will want to monitor them to make sure they don’t get punctured.

If a sandbag is punctured, it will drop all its sand throughout your lawn and lead to more work and lawn issues. Sandbags may snag and lead to soil disruption, especially where the ground is a little uneven. In most cases, using sandbags for lawn striping should be a last resort measure if considered at all.