I was talking to a customer the other day that doesn’t own a pet, they pay a lot of money to upkeep their yard and nourish it, however, most of her neighbors have pets and sometimes those pets will wander into her yard to use the bathroom.
Putting it nicely this does not make her happy at all, she looked at all the stuff online and while I was out there the other day she asked if there was anything that I could do.
Since a pest is described as something that is unwanted I gave her this tidbit and pointed her in the right direction.
So, how do I keep dogs out of my yard? You could put up a fence and that would stop them, however, I have had the best luck using a granular repellant or a spray. The spray will last for about a week weather permitting and the granules will last 2 weeks to a month as long as you have the right brand.
Read On To Learn More About Keeping Dogs Out Of Your Yard.
Some other methods out there are:
- Motion Activated Sprinklers
- Ultrasonic Sound Barrier
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Garlic
- Mothballs
Read below as I go into more detail on this list, some of these items are just household stuff that can be tried and others are items you would need to purchase.
I have not personally tried these other methods but I have used granules and they work great. I heard from a buddy that the automatic sprinkler works pretty good, and the nice thing is since it has motion activation anyone or thing that crosses its path gets taught a valuable lesson about being in the right place.
Keep in mind that there are some dogs that love water and may stick around to play in the sprinkler for a bit.
Ultra Sonic Sound Barriers are not a proven method when it comes to repelling pests, rodents, or animals.
For the Vinegar, you will want to dilute it at 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water in a spray bottle. Don’t spray plants with it as that may cause them to wither. It is recommended that you use the vinegar at the edge of your lawn or along the bark of your natural area, and in places that the pet has used the bathroom. Vinegar has a very pungent smell and can damage foliage and grass if over-applied. This treatment may wear off if you get some rain or snow, and
We would all like to think that our neighbors will clean up after their dog but, sometimes the owner may forget or has run out of bags when their dog decided to go multiple times and we are the ones left pooped on.
I have neighbors that will go to the empty lot in the neighborhood or bring their dog near the road just to avoid picking up after it so, unfortunately, we need to take care of the dog poop ourselves.
Not to mention that when you get a large accumulation of poop you can get flies really bad.
Trying to talk to your neighbor is the most upfront approach you can use. If you don’t like to have awkward face to face conversations you can always leave a note.
Give your neighbor a chance to do the right thing and take care of their dog and their neighbors.
If your neighbor didn’t know that they were causing issues they may just walk the other way and hopefully be a bit more respectful moving forward now that you have brought it to their attention. You could avoid spending money by having a quick conversation.
How far do you need to go to protect your yard and start thinking about the financial aspect of keeping your property private from animals, pests and also to keep your kids safe.
You could do a small boundary fence, it doesn’t have to be a 5ft fence it could be the small wired lawn push in, this will be a cheaper option opposed to a larger privacy fence.
Rock walls can be used not only for great curb appeal but for a nice separator from the sidewalk to your yard.
Wooden logs can be another boundary line to keep dogs on a leash on the sidewalk.
Dog repellants are used to spray, sprinkle or plant your way to puppy poo freedom. You can use smells in all sorts of forms to keep a dog using their strongest asset to forage to keep them off of your lawn.
These repellants shouldn’t hurt the animal just prevent them from going further onto the property to sniff around.
Flowers can be pretty and stinky, the stinkier the better. If they smell bad animals are not likely to stay near the scent and they will walk away.
Commercial Animal Repellants
- Granule Repellant – The dog repellant I recommend is called Dog & Cat B Gon by Ortho (click here to see the current price on domyown.com)
- Spray Repellant – The spray repellant I recommend is called Repels All (see the current price on domyown.com)
Or I recommend these biodegradable stakes, they last from 6-8 months and it comes in a 12 pack.
The repellants I listed above will give you a more immediate outcome than the rest of the things I mentioned in this article. They are safe for animals and pets, but they do keep them away because they don’t like the smell.
Straight forward approach
- Talk to your neighbor
- Use sound to deter the animal
- Boundary
- Install a fence
- Alarm
Dog Repellant
- Powder
- Granules
- Spray
Flowers
- Pungeant Flowers
- Mulches
If all this fails you can grow a line of rose bushes around the perimeter. Desperate times!
Summary
Whether you choose to talk to your neighbor, do a DIY approach, build a fence, or use commercial chemicals there is a way for you to keep your yard free of pet waste. I hope that this was able to help you and good luck in your endeavors.
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