How do you Protect Bermuda Grass from Dog Urine? : 8 Best Tips

A beautiful lawn is a dream of many homeowners, and well-grown Bermuda turf can help you achieve it. This extension of your home can be a great place to spend time with family, laze around in summers, and even play around with your pets. However, if you have a dog, there is something that may worry you constantly – the effects of dog urine on Bermuda grass. In this article, we will explore tips and suggestions on how to protect Bermuda Grass from Dog Urine and how to fix them.

When talking about the effects of dog urine on your Bermuda grass, it is the same as any nitrogen-rich liquid fertilizer. If you use this fertilizer in a small amount, it is sure to make your lawn healthy and thick. However, excess of it can burn out your Bermuda grass and kill it. The same is the case with dog urine. 

In order to prevent these burns, you need to know the answer for – “How do you protect Bermuda grass from dog urine?” Today, we will be providing you with an answer for the same. Let us find out how dog-owning lawn enthusiasts can prevent dog urine spots in their lawn. Keep reading!

What Are the Effects of Dog Urine on Bermuda Grass?

Typically, dog urine can cause spots on your Bermuda lawn. Let us tell you why it causes these spots in the first place. Numerous people assume that since dog urine can burn the grass, it has a higher pH like that of acids. However, the concept behind it is much simpler than that. Dog urine is rich in something that is actually good for your lawn – nitrogen.

You may know that it is the main ingredient in most of the fertilizers you use to ensure your Bermuda grows well. While some quantity of this is good for the grass and gives the results you expect, too much of it can be bad for the Bermuda grass. The same is the case with dog urine. While you have already given nitrogen to your lawn, dog urine increases the amount.

It results in concentrated nitrogen that burns and kills the Bermuda grass. It is due to this nitrogen overload you can see dog urine burn spots on your lawn. Typically, these brown spots start as dark green patches. If you notice these, it means that the grass is heavily fertilized. Then, as your dog continues to pee in the same spot, the area becomes dead and is surrounded by a dark green ring.

The area in the middle is the grass that is dead now. Whereas, the surrounding dark green ring now represents the earlier brown area. Here, the urine is less concentrated. Apart from the nitrogen, there is another thing in the dog urine that harms the Bermuda grass. It is the high level of salts in it.

When these come in contact with the soil, they dry it out. Due to this, the grass becomes desiccated and eventually dies out. In this case, the spots that you will notice are not dark green in color. They appear as yellow or brown patches of dead grass. Here, too, you may notice a green ring that indicates the concentration of salts in that area is low.

Tips to Protect Bermuda Grass from Dog Urine

Now that you know about the effect of dog urine on Bermuda grass, let us move on to answering the most important question – “How do you protect Bermuda grass from dog urine?” Here are the tips you can use for it. Have a look:

Balance The Fertilizer Content in Areas Where Your Dog Urinates

While Bermuda grass is sensitive to dog pee and is, thus, not dog-proof grass, there are measures you can take to protect it from dog urine. The first thing you can do is balance the fertilizer content of your law. Your lawn may already have as much nitrogen as it needs. Therefore, fertilize it less or not at all accordingly. 

Further, if the Bermuda grass has enough fertilizer, even a small amount of dog urine that is rich in nitrogen can burn it out. In such a case, take adequate care of the grass. You can skip fertilizer in the areas your dog urinates.

Spray The Dog Urine Areas with Water

If there is nothing you can do about your dog urinating in your Bermuda lawn, at least water the areas. When you pour water on the urinated spots, it will dilute the urine. This in turn dilutes the concentration of nitrogen and salts in the area, thereby, lessening the ill-effects of dog pee on the lawn.

Ensure Your Dog Stays Hydrated All the Time

The next thing you can do to save your Bermuda lawn from dog urine is to keep your furry-friend hydrated all the time. Make sure to encourage your dog to drink lots of water. This again works like watering the urinated areas.

If your dog consumes more water, its urine will have a less concentrated amount of nitrogen and other salts. Due to this, it will damage the turfgrass less. Also, doing so will keep your dog healthy.

Replant Affected Areas with Bermuda Grass

Another thing you can do is take care of the already-dead spots by planting Bermuda or making sure the already-present grass spreads to those areas. For this, you would have to take care of things that enhance Bermuda growth like regular mowing, watering, etc. Alongside this, balance the fertilizer content, as mentioned earlier.

Use A Lawn Repair Treatment

Another thing you can do is try out lawn repair treatments. Some of these available in the market are rich in some organic enzymes. These enzymes act as soil cleansers and can flush out the excess salt content from the root zone of the Bermuda grass.

Try More Urine-Resistant Grass Varieties

In case, the above tips do not work, you can replace your lawn grass with any urine-resistant grass variety. Some of these include Ryegrass and Fescue. However, before you do so, you can also try training your dog to avoid urine spots. Alternatively, you can try out different dietary fibers to make your dog’s urine less harmful to Bermuda.

Train Your Dog to Avoid Urine Spots

As stated in the above point, you can train your dog to ensure it does not eliminate in only one area. Alternatively, you can designate pet zones and teach your dog to only use them for peeing. You can also use certain pheromone products. These encourage dogs to either pee near them or on them. While this step may take some time and effort, it can save your lawn in the long run.

Feed Your Dog Dietary Supplements

Apart from the training, you can also feed your dog with certain dietary supplements that can make dog urine less harmful for the lawn. These dietary supplements are easily available in the market and work by binding with the nitrogen in the urine. It makes the concentration of nitrogen in it less, and when the dog urinates on grass, it is not affected much.

Conclusion: How to Fix Dog Urine Spots on Lawns?

Now, what if there are already urine spots on your lawn? Will grass grow back after dog urine? If you are wondering the same, you should be happy to know that repair of such grass is not that complicated. With the right knowledge and products, you can easily fix Bermuda grass. Let us tell you how you can fix both kinds of urine spots – green and yellow/brown. Have a look:

• Fixing Green Lawn Spots: These spots are due to improper quantities of nitrogen. In order to fix these spots, you need to determine the fertilizer content of your lawn. For it, collect a soil sample from your lawn and get it tested. Then, according to the reports, correct low/high nitrogen concentration in the soil. Low concentration can be easily fixed by adding fertilizer. In case it is high, avoid further fertilization.
• Fixing Brown Lawn Spots: To fix yellow/brown grass from dog urine, always make sure to flush the urine salts out of the surrounding soil. You can use water to do so. Also, in this case, you can only repair the spots by removing the dead grass and then fixing it with a new one.

So, this is your answer for – “How do you protect Bermuda grass from dog urine?” We hope all the tips mentioned in the post help you out. Good luck!