Fertilizer treatment of the lawn is part of the lawn care process to keep it healthy and vibrant throughout the year. If you are a dog owner and have kids too at home and are planning to fertilize your lawn, you must know how to work on the lawn while keeping the pet safe and secure because dogs and kids love to run in the garden and backyard.
All you need to know is which fertilizer to use, what could be the possible harmful effect and how long to keep the dog off grass after fertilizing. Various factors affect the drying process, such as the weather conditions and the type of fertilizer used. Some fertilizers, like liquid fertilizers, let you use the land sooner, whereas granular take more time to assimilate in the soil and get soaked in the roots. Let’s gather more information regarding how long to keep dogs off grass after fertilizing.
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Know About Fertilizers and Their Applications
Fertilizers are available either in dry or liquid form, but it’s difficult to say anything about their safety because both are unsafe and need proper handling. The only difference they have is the time taken to sit on the lawn.
Liquid Fertilizer
In liquid fertilizers, you should wait for a minimum of 2 hours and check the lawn thoroughly before letting your pet out. If the lawn is still wet, wait for more time, and if it's completely dry, let the pet enjoy the outdoors.
Dry/Granular Fertilizer
These are used primarily for residential homes by spreading granules manually or with a spreader on the lawn. Unlike liquid fertilizer, this needs to be watered into the lawn to be activated after 24 hours of fertilization.
Precautions to Be Taken
The effect of fertilization is more on the dogs because they are lower to the ground and have a habit of digging in the soil, which exposes them. Fertilizers have different ingredients, such as herbicides, bone meal, and pesticides, which are harmful to dogs. Herbicides and bone meal cause dizziness and vomiting, and pesticides can lead to chemical burns or affect the central nervous system.
- It’s important to know exactly where you place fertilizer to fix the boundary.
- Lock the unused bags in a safe place to ensure it’s out of reach of dogs.
- Use organic fertilizer.
- Be cautious while using herbicides.
- Consult a lawn care provider to let you know more about the waiting period post-fertilization and save your pets from risk.
How Long to Keep the Dog Off Grass After Fertilizing?
The safety of pets and kids is always on top priority, so keep them away during the fertilization process. With pets and kids at home, it’s always safe to use liquid fertilizer because it dries fast and gets absorbed by the surface with no risk of anything picked up on the pet’s skin or paws. You can leave pets in the backyard confidently so that there’s no safety issue.
The main concern is how long you can keep them inside. Drying liquid fertilizer takes between an hour to two hours, so let pets run in the yard freely after that. When using granular fertilizers, you will have to water them after 24 hours of fertilization to activate the and break the product to let nutrients reach the roots of the soil, which may take longer. A fertilizer has all the essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium required for the robust growth of grass.
Take care of the lawn after fertilization; water the lawn to give hydration to the grass to let chemicals present in the fertilizers soak into the soil and help fertilizer get absorbed by the grass.
Conclusion
Pets are part of the family, and caring for them comes naturally to everyone. However, caring for lawns is also important for healthy grass growth, and a lush green lawn for which fertilization is vital to provide essential nutrients to the soil. The main concern lies in how long you should keep your pet away from the lawn. In the case of liquid fertilizer, wait up to 2 hrs, and for granular, wait for 24 hrs.
