If you’ve got a furry four-legged friend as part of your household, you know that when nature calls, dogs answer (after all, a smooth, green lawn is our goal, not theirs). The spots that occur are simply the result of too much of a good thing—namely, nitrogen and salts. The same brown, burned-looking patches would occur if you spilled fertilizer on the grass.
If the deed has just been done, it’s a snap to head off damage: Just turn on the hose, and flush the site thoroughly. After more than a day or so, though, follow this routine from my Supermarket Super Gardens book:
- Lightly sprinkle gypsum over and around each spot to dissolve the accumulated salts.
- Pour 1 cup of baby shampoo into a 20 Gallon Hose-End Sprayer, and overspray the lawn to the point of runoff.
- One week later, overspray the turf with my Lawn Stress-Reliever Tonic:
Mix 1 cup of antiseptic mouthwash, 1 cup of baby shampoo, 1 cup of tobacco tea*, ¾ cup of weak tea water**, and ¼ cup of ammonia in a 20 Gallon Hose-End Sprayer, and apply the solution to your lawn to the point of runoff.
*To make tobacco tea, put half a handful of chewing tobacco in an old nylon stocking and soak it in a gallon of hot water until the mixture is dark brown.
**To make weak tea water, soak a used tea bag and 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid in a gallon of water until the mix is light brown.
And if you’ve got areas in your yard where you don’t want Rover to roam, try one of these non-toxic dog deterrents:
- Scatter rotten potatoes around new planting beds or garbage cans.
- Sprinkle slivers of orange, lemon, lime, or grapefruits peel among your plants.
- Shove a cinnamon stick into the soil of a potted plant.
- Rub chili oil onto leaves of plants that Fido’s been sniffing around or munching on.
- Lay aluminum foil on outdoor cushions. The crackly sound and strange feel will send pups scurrying elsewhere in search of comfort.
You’ll learn even more critter controls, weed whackers, and good old garden-growin’ magic when you check out my Supermarket Super Gardens book—FREE for 21 days! It’s filled with terrific tips that’ll help you whip even the saddest yard into tip-top shape.