How to Find a Pet Friendly Lawn Care Service

Are you a pet parent? Our furry friends are beloved members of our families; there is something special about creating a lifelong bond with a canine or feline. Therefore, it is our responsibility as pet owners and homeowners to ensure they are kept safe, healthy, and loved throughout their entire lives. Unfortunately, many lawn care products can be detrimental to the health of your fur babies, so finding a pet friendly lawn care service should be at the top of everyone's to-do list.

How Proper Lawn Care Protects Our Pets

It comes as no surprise that the lawn care products we spray on our property could affect our pets. How many times have you seen your dog, cat, or other pet head out into the grass just to roll around in it or even take a nibble or two?

Sadly, many lawn chemicals and care products have been shown to cause long-lasting, often silent, medical issues for our pets that we don't discover until it is far too late to fix things. Let's take a look at three quick examples.

First, a study published in the National Library of Medicine in 2012 found that specific lawn care products can increase the risk of canine malignant lymphoma (cancer).

Second, another study from 2013 on the detection of herbicides in pet dog urine found certain lawn care products within the dog's system after lawn treatment. Other studies suggest this could be associated with a higher bladder cancer risk in dogs.

Lastly, an older study from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found similar results as the 2012 study, which showed that pets exposed to certain lawn care chemicals could develop a higher risk for cancer.

In total, it comes as no surprise that harsh chemicals can affect the long-term health of the pets that come into contact with it. Fortunately, extensive product testing has devised pet friendly lawn care products that can be used as a healthier, safer alternative to those outdated, traditional chemicals.

Lawn Care is More Than Our Pets

While we are primarily talking about our furry friends in this article, we want to take a moment to note that these health concerns go beyond our pets. The products we put onto our properties can potentially affect everything that comes into contact with them. This could include your local wildlife and water table. Additionally, it could likely affect the other members of your home beyond those with fur, such as your children. While it may be unpleasant to think about, children are notorious for rolling around the ground or eating dropped food off the grass. No matter who comes into contact with your property, it is your responsibility to keep them safe and healthy.

The key to finding a pet friendly lawn care service is asking many questions. Suppose you are in the market for hiring a new company. In that case, we suggest asking them in-depth questions about their fertilization and other spray or spread-style lawn care products in addition to the standard list of questions when hiring anyone new.

One of the easiest ways to recognize that a lawn care product is not pet friendly is if there is a time delay from when the product is applied to when pets can be allowed to go back outside. If you have to wait more than a couple of hours, it is likely not a pet friendly lawn care product. Once a product dries, it should be good to be played in, even if it rains soon after!

We suggest requesting the name of the product and the average dose that is applied to a lawn. You can then cross-reference that information with independent research to verify their claims to be accurate.

It is important to remember that some less reputable companies will tell you what you want to hear rather than the truth. It is up to you to verify their claims, just like you would with any other product that could affect the health and safety of your home.

For help with your own yard, call the Yakima office at (509) 966-1655 or the Tri-Cities office at (509) 371-1655.