If your back yard smells like dog and you already keep it picked up, you are not imagining it and you are not doing anything wrong. Odor and waste are related problems with different fixes. Poo Squad Salina offers yard deodorizing as an add-on to dog poop removal, for lawns, patios, rock and turf across Salina. This page explains what causes the smell, how to work out which kind you have, and what treatment does about it.
Three smells, three causes
Fresh waste
This is the obvious one. It is strongest in heat, it draws flies, and it disappears when the waste does. If your yard only smells when it has not been cleaned lately, regular pickup is all you need. Save your money on deodorizing.
Residue
Even a careful scoop leaves a trace on the grass, and in soft or wet conditions it leaves more. Over months, in the areas a dog uses most, that trace becomes a layer in the thatch. It gives off a low, sour smell that is there even when the lawn looks spotless.
Urine
This is the real culprit in most yards. A dog urinates far more often than it does anything else, usually in the same handful of places, and none of it gets picked up. The liquid dries. What remains is concentrated, and it gives off a sharp ammonia smell each time it is warmed by sun or dampened by dew, sprinklers or rain.
How to tell which one you have
A few minutes of attention will tell you.
- It is worse in the evening than at midday. That points to urine. Afternoon wind disperses it, and when the air goes still at dusk the smell settles.
- It is worse after rain or watering. Urine again. Moisture reactivates what had dried.
- It is strongest in one area. Follow your nose to the fence line, the corner of the patio or the base of a tree, and you have found the dog's regular spot.
- It is everywhere, mildly, all the time. More likely residue across the lawn, often in a yard that went a long while before it was cleaned up.
- It is on a hard surface. Concrete, pavers, gravel and artificial turf all hold urine with nothing beneath to break it down. These smell stronger than grass does, and sooner.
Not sure? Tell us what you notice and when. We can usually pin it down on the first visit.
What the treatment does
We apply a pet safe deodorizer directly to the ground and work on the source. It is not a perfume. A fragrance sprayed over an ammonia smell gives you both smells for a day and then the original one back.
The areas that need it get the most product. A fence line that the dog patrols might be treated heavily while the middle of the lawn gets a light pass. Hard surfaces are covered completely, because urine spreads across them before it dries.
Treatment goes on after the waste has been cleared, during the same stop. That order matters. Product applied around piles misses the ground beneath them.
What you can do between treatments
A few habits make each treatment last longer.
Water the favorite spots. A quick soak with the hose soon after the dog goes dilutes urine before it can concentrate. It is the single most useful thing an owner can do, and it helps the grass as well.
Rinse hard surfaces in the morning. Do it while the concrete is cool, not in the heat of the afternoon, when the water flashes off and takes nothing with it.
Keep the yard picked up. Deodorizing on top of accumulating waste is a short lived fix. On a yard that is cleared every week, it holds.
Give the dog more than one option. If you can lead it to a different corner now and then, no single patch has to absorb everything.
A Salina year, by smell
March and April. The ground thaws and the first warm rains wake up everything that sat frozen since autumn. Yards that were quiet all winter can turn overnight. This is the best time for a first treatment.
May and June. Grass is growing hard and can outpace a mild problem. Hard surfaces start to get noticeable on warm evenings.
July and August. The peak. Long runs of days in the 90s and above bake the ground, and humid, windless evenings hold the smell at patio level. Yards with more than one dog, and any yard with rock or turf, need the most help now.
September and October. Cooler air brings relief, and people use their yards more. One more treatment before the cold sets the ground up well for winter.
November through February. Cold suppresses odor. Most lawns can skip these months. Enclosed runs and covered patios may still need attention.
Options and price
Deodorizing is added to a visit we are already making, which keeps the cost low. On regular service it starts at $8 a visit. There are three ways to have it:
- Every visit. Best for hard surfaces, artificial turf, small yards and homes with several dogs.
- Once a month. Enough for most single dog lawns through the warm season.
- One time. Paired with a one time cleanup, to reset a yard that has gone a while.
The sign-up form lists each choice with its current price, so you can see the total before you agree to anything. You can add deodorizing in spring and take it off in fall.
Is it safe?
The product is safe for pets, and we use it only where it is needed. Keep dogs and children off the treated areas until they are dry. We will tell you when that is. Let us know ahead of time about anything delicate in the yard: vegetable gardens, a koi pond, a chicken coop, or a pet with allergies or sensitive skin.
A word on brown spots
Deodorizing addresses smell. The dead patches on a lawn come from the same urine, but they are burns, and burnt grass does not respond to a deodorizer. Watering the spot soon after the dog uses it is the best prevention. Recovery takes time and sometimes a handful of seed.
Start
Add deodorizing when you sign up online, or call or text (785) 829-4441, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. For pet odor removal in Salina KS, tell us what the surface is, how many dogs use it, and when the smell is at its worst. That is usually enough for us to know what will fix it.
