Pet-Friendly Backyard Maintenance: What You Should Know

As a proud homeowner, you always want to make sure that your yard and home are looking as nice and as well-maintained as possible. However, when it comes to maintaining your backyard, you also need to keep your dog or other pets in mind. Because your dog will likely spend more time in your backyard than you do, you want to be sure that nothing in or on your yard could be hazardous to their health or well-being. Get to know some of the ways that you can make sure your backyard maintenance is pet-friendly and get started making any adjustments you need to make as soon as possible.

Choose Your Weed Control Supplies Carefully

When it comes to having a nice-looking and well maintained yard, nothing can make you feel more frustrated than a crop of weeds popping up. While weeds can wreak havoc on your yard and derail all your hard work, you will need to be careful in selecting your weed control supplies if you have a dog or other pet who will be in the yard.

Many standard weed control supplies contain chemical herbicides. These herbicides can cause numerous health problems for your pet. They are a skin irritant which can lead your pet to bite and lick their paws which also means they will be ingesting those chemical poisons. This can cause digestive and neurological problems for your pet.

So, look for herbicide-free weed control supplies. There are pet-friendly weed control products available in stores. However, you can also make your own weed killers. Salt, vinegar, and cornmeal all work effectively to kill weeds when applied to them directly. Just be careful to only treat the weeds as these natural solutions will take out other plants they come into contact with as well.

Avoid Decorative Plants That Are Poisonous

Many people design their backyard landscaping with plants that they find beautiful and aesthetically appealing. However, they often do not consider whether or not those plants are also toxic or poisonous if consumed.

If you are a pet owner, you need to know the plants you choose for your backyard landscaping better than the average person does. Before you purchase any plants, be sure that they are not toxic to dogs. Lilies, for example, are beautiful and exotic flowers but many types of lilies are highly toxic to dogs and other animals.

Grapevines on your fence or archway are also interesting and pretty, but dogs can go into toxic shock from eating those grapes that look so lovely. Do your botanical research and be sure that your dog will not have the opportunity to get into anything poisonous or toxic. If you have poisonous plants in your landscaping, remove them or block them off so your dog cannot access them.

Now that you know a few of the ways that you can make your backyard maintenance more pet-friendly, you can be sure that you are doing all you can to have a fabulous looking backyard and a safe and healthy dog. For help choosing the right plants for your space, contact a business such as ASE Pest & Weed Supplies.  

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