You dream of relaxing days in the yard, enjoying time with friends, your kids and pets… This all sounds great until those dogs that we love so much contribute a bit too much “odor” to the ambiance.
On the other hand, maybe you just purchased a home that clearly had a lot of pets who left some signature scents behind.
Both scenarios lead to the question: What can you do about pet smells in the yard?
First, identify the source of the smell. Does your dog prefer to urinate and defecate in one particular area? Since many of us aren’t home during the day, this isn’t always an easy question to answer. Did you know that using a blacklight after dark can help illuminate the areas of concern? Since dogs tend to prefer one area in particular, you probably don’t need to clean the entire yard.
Now, identify the type of material you need to clean. Pick up solid waste and get to work on urine smells. For your lawn (natural grass), you can simply sprinkle the area with garden lime. Be generous with the application, because urine has probably soaked deep into the ground. Then saturate the area with water.
As a bonus, the garden lime will not only clear up urine smells but will also neutralize acidity in the soil. The result will be a lush, bright green lawn.
But for porous materials like concrete or cement, you will need to take a more aggressive approach. That’s because urine can soak into these materials and get trapped. Mix bleach with water and spread over the area of concern (try a test area in a small out of sight corner to ensure no discoloration occurs). Let the solution soak into your patio or other hardscape for at least ten minutes, and then rinse with water.
If that doesn’t do the trick, you might need to wash porous surfaces with agitation or a pressure washer.
Keep in mind that you might have to repeat the above processes for very strong and stubborn odors. Products such as enzymatic cleaners should also be considered, because they break down the bacteria that causes odor in the first place.
Finally, consider restricting your dog to one area of the yard so that this problem doesn’t happen again. Consider building a dog run to give your pet his own space. After training him to use that space for his bathroom, you can usually still enjoy plenty of time with him or her outside of the run, too.
For more information on building a dog run or caring for your lawn, give us a call. We can troubleshoot your situation and help you decide how to tackle a particularly stinky problem.
