Like you, we have pets that are part of our family. The health and safety of these furry, four-legged companions is important to us. That’s why we understand the dilemma that pet owners with lawns often face. You want to have a beautiful lawn, but it’s not worth any risk to your pet.
As a responsible pet owner, you want to make the best possible decisions.
For that reason, you might be looking for pet safe lawn care. You don’t want to feel as though you must choose one or the other. You want the best of both worlds.
By asking the right questions about safe lawn treatments for pets, you can ensure that your pet’s safety is not compromised.
The good news is that professional lawn care and pet safety can go hand in hand. The key is choosing a responsible lawn care company that uses appropriate products, applies them properly, and gives you clear instructions about when your pets can safely return to the lawn.
Here are 5 questions that we recommend asking.
- Are Lawn Care Products Safe for Dogs and Other Pets?
- How Long After a Lawn Treatment Is It Safe for Pets to Go Outside?
- How Should I Prepare for Your Visit to Ensure Pet Safe Lawn Care?
- Isn’t it Safer for My Pet if I Handle Lawn Care Myself?
- What Other Steps Can I Take to Protect my Pet?
By choosing a responsible pet-friendly lawn care service in your area, you can enjoy a beautiful lawn while also protecting your pet.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into each of these questions and why they matter.
1. Are Lawn Care Products Safe for Dogs and Other Pets?
When it comes to pet-friendly lawn care, you want to make sure that any products being applied to the lawn are used responsibly. After all, your dog has its face close to the ground, sniffs around the yard, and walks through the grass with bare paws. You do not want to worry about what might be left behind.
At Seacoast Turf Care, we use EPA-registered lawn care products and apply them according to the directions on the label. These directions explain how a product should be applied, what precautions should be taken, and when people and pets can return to the treated area.
The products themselves are only one part of pet-safe lawn care. Proper application and clear communication are also incredibly important. A responsible lawn care company should be able to tell you what was applied, how long your pets should stay off the lawn, and whether there are any other instructions you need to follow.
2. How Long After a Lawn Treatment Is It Safe for Pets to Go Outside?
In order to keep your pets safe during the application process, we recommend keeping them inside while the treatment is being applied and for approximately two hours afterward. This typically gives our liquid applications enough time to dry completely. The same recommendation applies to kids and adults.
Waiting for the lawn to dry also helps prevent anyone from tracking the product into the house on shoes or paws. Once the liquid application has dried on the plant material, it is much less likely to be picked up as your pet walks through the grass.
We also use granular products, which work their way down into the soil. The instructions for liquid and granular treatments can vary, so be sure to follow any specific directions your lawn care technician provides after an application.
3. How Should I Prepare for Your Visit to Ensure Pet Safe Lawn Care?
If you have pets that spend a lot of time in your yard, it can be helpful to communicate this to your lawn care provider. While you should definitely be keeping pets inside during the application process (so they don’t track products inside…and so they don’t escape), you still should communicate about how to handle gates.
Do you want your lawn care technician to close and latch the gate even if it was open upon their arrival? Communicating ahead of time is important to ensure your pet’s safety.
In addition, if your pets have toys or food bowls in the yard, it’s a good idea to move them prior to an application.
4. Isn’t it Safer for My Pet if I Handle Lawn Care Myself?
Some people ask about turning to DIY lawn care for safety reasons. But the truth is, this might actually be more risky. That’s because you’re now the one handling and storing lawn care products.
As we’ve mentioned, even safe products can become unsafe if applied improperly.
In addition, storing lawn care products can pose a huge risk to pets. If you have chemicals or bags of granular products stored in a shed or garage, your dog could easily get into that. Even accidentally leaving a bag in the yard or having your dog outside while you’re working can create a risky situation. Ingesting chemicals is always a potential danger.
Instead, when you invest in a professional lawn care program, you can feel confident these risks are being managed by trained technicians. Whether your lawn needs fertilization, crabgrass and weed control, or insect and grub control, a professional will make sure the products are applied properly. You also won’t be responsible for storing lawn care products in your shed or garage.
5. What Other Steps Can I Take to Protect My Pet?
If your dog spends a lot of time in your yard, another huge component of safe lawn care for pets is investing in tick control. Here in New England, ticks are a major concern.
A tick bite can actually be life-threatening in some cases. Ticks can carry and transmit deadly diseases like Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Ticks are not just a risk to your pets but to your entire family. Pets just happen to spend a lot of time in the grass and have fur, so ticks can sometimes be hard to spot.
Be sure to ask your lawn care provider about whether they offer professional tick control to help keep your pets safe. At Seacoast Turf Care, we also tell people that they should still follow their vet’s recommendations for tick control for their pet (even if we are treating their yard).
Choosing Pet Friendly Lawn Care
At the end of the day, you deserve to be able to have the best of both worlds—the best-looking lawn that is still safe for your pets to play in, too.
Having a great lawn should never have to come in the way of your pets’ safety.
When you make a wise choice in your lawn care services in Southern New Hampshire, Maine, & Northeastern Massachusetts, you can have it all: A beautiful lawn that is also safe for your pet to spend time in. It boils down to choosing a conscientious and responsible lawn care professional.
In general, lawn care can feel like a lot of work and when you add in your worries about your pets, it can feel like too much. But when you choose to partner with a lawn care professional, you can let go of the burdens and simply get back to enjoying your lawn.
Want to learn more about what makes us a great choice for your lawn care needs? At Seacoast Turf Care, we service towns such as Stratham and Exeter, NH, Amesbury and Newburyport, MA, and Kittery Point and York, ME, as well as the surrounding areas. Get lawn care pricing for your Southern NH, Southern Maine, or Northeastern Massachusetts property.
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