Your pets are like part of your family. You may even call your dog or cat your best friend.
Naturally, you want to take care of your pets because they are important to you. You give them exercise by playing fetch or taking walks. You give them love with cuddles and scratches behind the ears.
Naturally, you also want to give them a place to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Your dog might even love your grass more than you do. He sticks his nose in it, sniffing around, and rolls back and forth on it.
That might make you wonder what happens when your lawn care service professional shows up for your regular lawn fertilization treatment. Is lawn fertilizer safe for pets?
Let’s learn more about fertilizer safety precautions for pets, so you can rest easy that your furry friends are A-OK when they go outside.
5 Fertilizer Safety Precautions for Pets in Maryland
Today, most people have pets. They are a natural part of life.
But most people have lawns, too, and they want to do what’s best for their lawn and their pets.
Is lawn fertilizer safe for pets? Here, we’ll talk through the basics so you can have a better understanding of what you need to do after a treatment.
1. A Healthy Lawn is Important For You and Your Pets
Getting outside and enjoying the sun and your lawn is a perk for you and your pets to get some Vitamin D from the sun and enjoy some physical activity.
An unhealthy lawn can put a damper on that experience. If you don’t fertilize your lawn properly and consistently, its health could suffer. Without fertilizer, instead of an even, consistent green lawn, you might end up with one with random heights and textures that can have bare spots and even cause trips as you run across it.
Proper lawn care services in Maryland offer quite a few benefits for you and your pets. A well-maintained lawn can:
- Clean the air, provide oxygen, and trap carbon dioxide
- Trap excess dust in the air
- Reduce stormwater runoff so mulch and soil don’t wash away
- Improve soil structure
- Reduce noise pollution
- Cool down temperatures in your yard; which can help you save on air conditioning costs
2. How Safe Are Lawn Fertilizers?
Most of the ingredients in the professional fertilization products lawn care service companies use are also sold on Lowe’s, Home Depot, or other home department store shelves in weaker, do-it-yourself versions.
When used properly and according to label directions, as well as applied by a trained and experienced hand, these products are very safe. When a professional lawn care technician does a soil test prior to starting your lawn care program, he or she is also ensuring your lawn is getting only the nutrients it needs, enhancing fertilizer safety precautions for pets. Then, experienced technicians apply products in a highly targeted fashion, making them even safer for your pets.
3. How Long After Fertilizing Is It Safe For Pets?
There is a basic rule after lawn care services in Maryland: You want to wait for liquid fertilization applications to thoroughly dry before allowing pets back on the lawn.
Your lawn care service provider may tell you to wait a couple of hours to ensure the liquid fertilizer is thoroughly dry, but the product will usually dry in 30 minutes -- often times faster on a hot day.
4. Granular Fertilization and Your Pets
Lawn fertilizer comes in two forms: liquid fertilization which we just discussed, and granular fertilization.
After granular fertilizer, as well as pre-emergent herbicide applications that come in granular form, it’s usually best to wait until granular products have been completely absorbed before letting children and pets back on there. This usually takes about 24 hours. This ensures your lawn is watered well and has absorbed the nutrients.
5. Pet-Friendly Lawn Care Advice
When it comes to fertilizer safety precautions for pets, make sure to follow these additional tips to make your dog’s or cat’s outdoor environment as safe as you can when you’re expecting a lawn care service:
- Pick up dog toys that are outside before your treatment. Your lawn care service provider will also keep an eye out for any you missed.
- Keep pets inside during any lawn care treatments until the product is dry.
- Don’t leave bowls of dog or cat food outdoors before a lawn care treatment.
- You may also want to wipe your pet’s paws after they come in from outside; this is just a way to be extra careful while also keeping your home cleaner from their wet or muddy paws.
Create a Green Lawn For You and Your Best Furry Friend
You love your pets and your lawn, but you don’t love having nasty looking grass. It’s possible to have the two things you love simultaneously; we swear!
If you have questions about Natural Green’s pet-friendly approach to lawn care services in Central and Southern Maryland, just ask us. We always want the best for you, your lawn, and your pets. We can educate you on the process, the products, and the safety measures we take each and every day.
Looking to improve the look of your lawn in Central or Southern Maryland and make sure your pets are safe at the same time? We’d love to help. Get started today with a free quote. Together, we’ll prepare a customized plan so you can have the kind of lawn you love.
