Pet-friendly rental homes are a growing segment of the Homestead single-family rental home market. Pets are becoming very common nowadays, so property owners have come to allow them under certain conditions. Most pet-friendly rentals include a lawn that is designed with a pet’s safety in mind. With specific pets, however, the lawn can be a very tempting waste area, and this waste easily causes brown spots. To keep pet urine spots from ruining your rental home’s lawn, consider these strategies by lawn care experts.
Dog urine, filled with nitrogen, causes grass to turn brown. In small amounts, nitrogen is good for your lawn. Too much nitrogen concentrated in the same areas will lead to brown patches — evidence that nitrogen is killing the grass. So, if your dog has designated spots for urinating, avoid putting nitrogen-rich fertilizer in those spots. You might be damaging the lawn more with your fertilizer if it has nitrogen in it, so be careful to either choose a nitrogen-free fertilizer or don’t apply fertilizer to the pet urine spots.
Another simple strategy is to rinse the lawn after your dog urinates on it. If your dog constantly urinates in the same place, this will be much easier. Even so, spraying the lawn with water will help dilute the urine and prevent it from burning the grass.
Another tip dog owners have found useful is encouraging their pets to drink more water or giving them supplements designed to neutralize the nitrogen in their urine. By giving your dog more water, you’re diluting their urine. While this works with some dogs, be careful that you don’t make your dog sick by making them drink too much water. The alternative is to try pet-safe supplements designed to help minimize the damage to your lawn. Dietary supplements like these are said to bind with the nitrogen in your dog’s urine, making it less harmful to grass.
And last but not the least, multiple pet owners have protected their rental home’s lawn from pet urine spots by training their dog to urinate in other areas. Look for areas in the yard without grass, and train your dog to urinate there. This is a considerable option, especially if your dog is receptive to consistent training. Other options you could explore include fencing or a urine-resistant ground cover to create a dog-friendly place for them to pee. A small patch of clover, pea gravel, or even mulch could be all that separates a healthy, green lawn from one that’s been damaged by your dog.
Good lawn maintenance can encourage a healthy lawn resistant to brown spots. But sometimes even careful tending and daily watering aren’t enough to prevent them. By applying any of these simple strategies, you can keep your pet-friendly rental home and lawn healthy and well-maintained. If you need help managing your pet-friendly rental or finding tenants, contact us online or call us at 305-501-1511 for a consultation.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.