Yellow Spots Already? The effects of Urine (Dog) on your landscape.

Our landscaper must have messed up. Look at those yellow patches of grass every two or three feet that run along the sidewalks.

Every year around this time, as the grass begins to green up, calls flood into every property manager and landscape office, asking. "what are all these yellow spots in my grass? What's killed the grass in those spots?" If you are holding a phone about to make this call, stop, wait, and watch. I bet your neighbor, or maybe even someone in your home is walking on the sidewalk, texting, or watching Youtube while fido dribbles a near-fuel-level grass killer, dog pee.

• Let's look at why this fluid is so deadly to your grass and landscape. Once we understand why dog pee kills grass, we can figure out ways to prevent damage or repair what's already been done.

Man's best friend is not nessecerally a landscaper's best friend. A dog's urine can wreak havoc on a lawn and landscape. Like people, dogs eat food and sometimes take supplements and other medicines. Most of those nutrients get absorbed into your dog's bloodstream, powering them to play fetch and frisbee, while the kidneys filter out others. These unabsorbed nutrients and metabolic bi-products get expelled from the body through urination. These excess nutrients, which often contain a highly concentrated form of Nitrogen, exit the dog's body and fall directly on your lawn. Male dogs usually mark one spot, and their urine is less likely to damage the landscapes because of their lower levels of bodily PH. On the other hand, female dogs, who generally have higher levels of Nitrogen in their system, urinate in several spots per potty break. More pee, more Nitrogen, and more locations equal more yellow spots.

The excess Nitrogen in the urine caused the grass to start giving water back to the soil, causing it to dry out. This resulted in a burned look on the lawn. I know, and yes, the first number on a bag of fertilizer is Nitrogen, which has beneficial properties for the lawn but only at appropriate concentration levels. Nitrogen at a very high level will burn (yellow/brown) grass very rapidly. Once this process has begun, there is little to no way to stop it. Yellow grass from dog pee burn rarely comes back as the root systems die in the process. New seed is needed after the soil's PH levels return to normal.

Ways to help limit dog spots:

1. Keep dogs on leash and bring them to a less noticeable space.
2. Train dogs to pee in "designated areas" of the community.
3. Keep your dogs well hydrated to dilute the fluids in their bladder.
4. Dietary supplants. (I personally do not endorse this, but they are available).

Could you make a plan for your community and get the word out? Nothing destroys the esthetic of a community more than turf filled with yellow or brown spots. Call the experts at SBC Landscaping with questions on this or any other landscape issues you may have. We are here to help.

Art Ditzel - [email protected] or 484-587-6417