If you have ever walked around your property after a heavy rain and found that soil had washed away or your lawn looked different afterward, it is possible that you have erosion issues in your yard, especially if you do not have trees or shrubs with strong root systems to hold dirt in place.

Fixing erosion may not be simple, but it can be adjusted with proper grading and retaining wall installations. If you own a home or business in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, or other central Iowa areas, learn how a retaining wall can help eliminate erosion in your yard.


Common signs of erosion include losing mulch, dirt, or grass from your yard.

Erosion destroying a lawn near Des Moines, IA.

If you are concerned about possible erosion on your property, check for some common signs of erosion, such as:

  • Losing mulch or rock ground cover: This is a tell-tale sign of an erosion issue in your landscape beds. If mulch and rock are washing away, then the landscape is not protected enough from rainwater.
  • Dirt washing away: If dirt is washing away from your yard, then you have erosion issues that need to be addressed.
  • Patches of bare soil or dead grass: If there is a part of the yard that will not support grass growth, then it is highly likely that the nutrients that were in the soil have been washed away.
  • Exposed tree or plant roots: Exposed roots mean that soil and dirt are eroding away from the property. This can end up causing the plants and trees to die off since they are not getting proper nutrients from the soil.
  • Cracks in the soil: This is one of the initial warning signs of erosion. Soil begins to crack when it starts to erode away.

You should also be on the lookout for any general changes to your landscape or any loss of soil around the foundation of your home or business.


How can retaining walls prevent erosion from happening?

Home yard with retaining wall construction near Ankeny, IA.

If you are experiencing erosion at your property and have noticed any or all of the above signs, then you need to call in professional retaining wall contractors to assess your situation. It could be that you just need a small retaining wall to protect the soil in your landscape beds, or a larger retaining wall that prevents soil from eroding out of your yard. Either way, a hardscape installer will be able to talk you through your options for retaining walls.

For larger projects, you may also need grading services to level out any hilly or sloped areas that could be causing an erosion problem. We can also use retaining walls and grading to help redirect water to a different area of the yard and avoid losing more soil to erosion.


Do you need to fix erosion problems on your central Iowa property? Call our experts today.

For more than 30 years, our hardscape experts at A+ Lawn & Landscape have installed retaining walls to help prevent erosion on properties in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, and surrounding areas of central Iowa. If you need to fix erosion at your home or business, call us today at (515) 289-2020 for a consultation.