How To Soak Up Water Your Backyard in a Few Easy Steps

A waterlogged backyard is always a downer. If you have water pools when it rains you may be asking how to soak up water in your backyard. From mating mosquitoes to other unwanted pests you never know what might call a waterlogged backyard home.

From greenery to landscaping there are dozens of ways to get rid of the water in your backyard. If you know what you’re doing.

You may have to pull up your sleeves to get the water out of your yard, but at least you won’t be living next to a pond. If you’re ready to tackle this project, the first thing you need to know is what’s actually going wrong.

What’s Going Wrong?

First, you need to figure out why your backyard retains water. You could have soil that’s incredibly compacted, you may live on a slope, or maybe the groundwater level is high.

You could also accidentally funnel quite a bit of rainwater into your backyard without even knowing it from your gutter system. This could easily lead to you attracting pests like mosquitoes, frogs, and snakes.

Regardless of the issue, you can still tackle the water problem with a variety of potential solutions. Once you know what is causing it though, you’ll have a much easier time.

Check These First

Sometimes you can accidentally cause your own problem, which doesn’t make for an easy solution. You should check these two very basic potential causes before you start making any serious changes.

Who knows, maybe your problem isn’t as serious as you thought. If either of these issues is the cause, you’ll likely be able to handle your water pooling issue on your own.

Water Less

There’s always the chance that the water in your yard was put there by your watering system. If you water your yard often try to cut back a bit. Plants who have had their fill of nutrients will avoid sucking up more to the best of their ability.

Over-watering can be an issue that leads to a wet backyard.

Separate Beds

If water is pooling around the plants you have in a bed or other sectioned off area, this could be another problem. The water can’t get out because of the barrier you put up. Even putting a small path for the water to move into the lawn could solve this issue.

It could be a small groove in the dirt or a tunnel under the stones. It doesn’t have to be visible, but it does have to let water drain into the yard.

If this doesn’t work and these issues don’t relate, take a look at some of the potential solutions for some of the other problems we listed below. One of them is sure to fit your situation.

Plants Can Get Very Thirsty

The first thing you could do is plant more greenery in your yard. Willow trees require a lot of water, so if the groundwater is high or you have an overflowing body of water they may help significantly.

Other plants, such as shrubs and other trees, are incredibly thirsty, they will happily suck up an abundance of water. They’ll also make your yard look great which is a plus.

Landscaping Issues Can Result in Flooding or Pooling

If your yard doesn’t gradually slope toward the street that may be where your problem lies. Called “grading”, this is essential to ensure you have proper drainage.

If you don’t have proper drainage you get massive puddles in your yard. To fix this you’ll need to do some landscaping, or you can hire a landscaper.

We suggest hiring a landscaper if you have a grading issue, it can be a difficult and expensive issue to tackle on your own. Landscapers have professional knowledge that will get the job done right the first time with minimal issues – if any.

If you do hire someone they’ll regrade your yard, making it easier for water to flow elsewhere. Your yard will change a little, but that’s a small price to pay for getting rid of your drainage problem.

Break Out a Shovel

Whether you’re dealing with a hardpan issue, or if you want to work some organic matter into your yard digging may be a great answer. If your problem is hardpan soil you can break that hard barrier, letting water drain away.

If your issue isn’t from a hardpan layer of dirt then working things like leaves, and other compostable material into your yard can help the water drain.

Installing a Drain

If nothing above helps you with your water problem and you’re still asking how to soak up water in your backyard, then you may want to consider installing a drain.

There are a variety of drains that can be helpful when they’re installed underneath your topsoil. This helps the water run away from your yard and out to the street, where it can easily be disposed of.

The French Drain is a favorite for landscapers for one reason; it’s really appealing to look at. This drain looks like a small gravel path and is designed to shunt water away from your yard.

Dry Creeks

If you don’t want to install a bunch of plumbing you can install a dry creek instead. Made to look like a dried-up creek, it helps pull the water to a storm drain just like a drain under the topsoil does.

These dry creeks look stunning and work incredibly well with a wide variety of backyard layouts. Just so long as you work with a small one, and don’t turn your whole backyard into a creek bed.

We would suggest using a landscaper if this is the route you want to take, mostly because the installation process can be complex.

Thatching

Thatching is another thing you can do to handle a draining problem if you’re wondering how to soak up water in backyard. This is the process of driving small deep holes in your yard.

The theory is that you’re giving water a way down through the harder soil into the softer soil so it can escape. Getting the water out of your yard for good.

This process takes time and someone with a strong back. It can get tedious, but it’s worth it to try this before you break out a shovel.

What to Look Out for

When you’re trying to solve a draining issue you can get so caught up in the problem that you aren’t as cautious as you may usually be. One thing you need to be sure of is that your solution includes is courtesy for your neighbors.

If you aren’t careful to factor in their yards, as well, when you clear yours you may be putting your unwanted water onto them. This will lead to at least resentment and frustration, and at most they could sue you.

If you don’t want angry, frustrated neighbors who might entangle you in lawsuits, you may want to ensure the water doesn’t become their problem.

Final Thoughts

When your backyard floods, it’s easy to ask yourself how to soak up water in your backyard. What isn’t always easy is knowing what the right solution is for you.

You could have a hard plate, a groundwater issue, or just not enough foliage.

Thankfully there are many different potential solutions, for many different drainage problems. All you need to do is find out why that water won’t leave your yard.