dog pee killing my zoysia

true.shine – posted 21 September 2003 08:13

I laid myers zoysia in my front yard about 6 weeks ago. It has done wonderfully except that my dog and the neighbors dogs use it as a bathroom. It seems that their urine is killing the grass or at least browning it for a week or so. So I have all these brown circles speckled about my beautiful green lawn. What can I do to remedy this? Is my only option to keep the dogs off my lawn? Thanks for your help

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 21 September 2003 21:21

Sod is notorious for carrying so much fertilizer that it is susceptable to fungal disease right away after being laid. Dog spots are typically yellow, not brown.

Just in case I’m wrong, I’m going to suggest solutions for both which can be used together with no problem.

If it is fungus, try ordinary corn meal at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get 50 pounds of corn meal at a feed store for about $6.50.

If it is truly dog pee, the problem is the urine has so much nitrogen in it it turns the balance of soil chemistry such that there is too much nitrogen and not enough carbon. You can add carbon to the soil by adding either molasses or table sugar. I use a heaping handful on each spot for my dog’s pee spots.

I’d do both. You cannot overdo the corn meal but you can overdo the sugar. Stick to a handful of the table sugar for the easiest way to apply.