Wet spots in your yard are typically shallow pool-like spots where water sits after a rainstorm, watering, or flooding occurs.

These spots can be a pain in the butt as they're hard to identify during the hot summer season, and wet spots are dangerous because they can serve as breeding places for mosquitoes.

They could be in your backyard, front yard (aesthetic ideas here) or anywhere else on your property. They can also be slippery and muddy, which makes it difficult for kids to have fun in your yard without getting hurt. Not good, huh?

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The wet spot in your yard is probably caused by drainage problems, improper grading or both, but there are simple ways to solve this problem.

Here's how to drain a wet spot in your yard:

Wet spots in your yard may be a result of excessive watering.

The soil in your yard has to suck up all the water before you water again, and excessive watering may just be the problem.

• Decrease the amount of time you spend watering.
• Adjust your watering schedule.

Re-grading your yard is the second step to draining those annoying wet spots in your yard.

You'll have to consider this if watering your lawn less didn't fix the problem. The slopes in your yard may be the primary cause of the wet spots, so it's time to flatten your lawn.

• Contact a professional.
• Conduct a lawn survey.
• Re-grade!

Compact materials and soil rich in heavy clay could be the problem as different soil types have different water-absorbing qualities.

• Conduct a few tests by comparing the soil in your yard to your friend's.
• Contact an expert.

Thatch is matter such as living organisms and nonliving things: dead vegetation, leaves, stems, and shoots that can clog the soil, thereby reducing the soil's ability to absorb water.

• Get a rake or dethatcher.
• Dethatch.
• Aerate by making small holes in the soil.
• Holes made should be 2 inches apart and four inches deep.

The subsoil is the soil beneath the topsoil. This can be made impervious and incredibly hard; the problem can be natural but it can also be caused by construction vehicles.

A hard subsoil doesn't absorb water, and this is why the water in your yard sits on the topsoil. The solution is to loosen this subsoil by drilling through it with the proper tools.

• Wait for the sunny months without rain.
• Dig a small hole and see if the subsoil is the problem.
• Contact a professional.
• Drill through and loosen the soil up.

A French drain is a solution most experts will tell you to try.

It's not as difficult as most people make it seem; here's the right way to drain a wet spot in your yard using a French drain:

1. Identify the wet spot/spots.
2. Dig a trench with a shovel (create a drainage channel).
3. Use pea gravel to line the trench.
4. Get a French drain pipe.
5. Put the pipe into the dug-out trench.
6. Cover the pipe with pea gravel.
7. You're done!

That was pretty easy, right? Well, you now know that it's not difficult, and you should definitely be able to drain the wet spot in your yard with these tips. Remember to contact an expert if you have water table problems.

So get out drain that wet spot now. Good luck!

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