Urine Spots on Lawn

[kiphorn]

I have two large dogs. There are several spots around the yard were the dogs have urinated often enough to kill the grass. I want to fix up the yard so we can sell the house (we broke ground on a new house in the country last week).

What can I do to neutralize the soil so that I can get new grass to grow?

Thanks,

Kip

 

[Hillbilly]

A little buckshot on the dogs might help.

 

[Old_Wanker]

Take a soil sample from the yellow spots and get it analyzed. Youll soon find out what needs doing!

 

[Turfman]

Washing out the salts from the urine is the best solution. Run water on it for a period of time to push the salts out of the root-zone. Cut out the spot with a square nose shovel (like a garden spade) and re-sod. For sod I generally use trimmings I've cut when hand cutting the edge of the beds.

Turfman

 

[RoyJackson]

What can I do to neutralize the soil so that I can get new grass to grow?

There are products available to reduce the urine burn on your grass. The previous owners of the house we're in left some here when we moved in. We haven't used it, and I cannot recall the name of the specific product. Therefore, no specific reccomendations, I'm afraid.

So, you'll want to take a trip to a lawn and garden supply store or a pet shop to see what's available.
Urine is acidic, by the way...

 

[s1120]

I have heard that the problem is that the urine is a real strong nitrogen source. It is too much for the microorganisms to digest. They say if you put a little sugar on the spots, the colony of microorganisms will increase, and the grass will grow. I have not tried it, but it’s worth a try.

 

[hess]

You're exactly right about the nitrogen being extremely high.

Urine is made up of urea (similar to ammonia), which is a collection of the nitrogenous wastes our body must get rid of. Plants need this kind of nitrogen, in fact urea is one of the primary chemicals in plant fertilizers. However too much nitrogen can "burn" the plants.

The pH of urine is only about 6.3 - 6.6, which is not all that low. So neutralizing the pH would not help matters. Instead, try to rinse the areas of the grass where your dog urinates frequently with water. This will dilute the chemicals.

If the grass is yellow, then it is dead and must be replaced with new grass before fungi take over the dead area.

Mark