Having a dog is all fun and games, until your yard starts to look terrible from all of the urine spots Fido leaves behind. Fortunately, there is hope for your dog and your lawn to coexist. Read on to learn how to fix dog urine spots on your lawn.
Why does dog urine leave spots in the lawn?
Dog urine lawn spots happen because of the high amount of nitrogen and related salts naturally contained in dog urine. Lawn damage happens when concentrated urine collects in the same area repeatedly, like fertilizer burn.
Some areas of your lawn may recover on their own, however, areas that your dog frequents for urination will typically need dog urine repair.
How to Fix Dog Urine Spots On Your Lawn
With the right products, and a little patience, dog urine grass repair can be a pretty easy fix. The remedy for brown spots is different than the remedy for green spots, so knowing which ones you are dealing with is important.
Fixing Green Lawn Spots:
Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient, so some of your dogs favorite spots to relieve himself can become greener from the urine’s nitrogen. This tends to happen more with grass hasn’t been fertilized with enough nitrogen. If this is the case, your lawn could have low nitrogen. You can find out the exact levels by taking a sample of your soil to be tested. To correct this, apply Pennington UltraGreen Lawn Fertilizer 34-0-4 every 60 to 90 days through the growing season, or as needed according to your soil lab results. This particular fertilizer helps to increase drought tolerance, which is much like tolerance to urine salts. It will also help boost nutrients for a nice green lawn.
Fixing Brown Lawn Spots:
Brown spots are more severe because they are dead or dying grass. A lawn that is weak or overly dry is more prone to this type of dog urine damage. If you start to see spots like this, water the areas repeatedly to flush out the urine salts. Saturating the areas will help clean the surrounding soil.
You cannot bring dead grass back to life, but you can repair the areas affected by the dog urine spots. Start by removing the dead grass and then treating the area with Pennington One Step Complete. This product is easy-to-use and premixed, for quick and simple lawn repair. You get premium grass seed, professional-grade fertilizer and natural mulch in one product. Be sure to choose the best variation for your grass type and growing climate.
Be sure to keep your pet away from any areas that are being treated. Your dog should be safe around these treatments, but you don’t want to waste all of your hard work. Generally it is best to let grass grow and mow it at least three to four times before you allow dog or people traffic.
Now that you’ve fixed all those spots in the lawn, maybe you want to let someone else take care of your regular lawn maintenance. Friske Lawn Care would be happy to tackle this for you. Reach out today for a free quote!