Yard & Lawn Disinfecting

Here in Florida the summer rains do a good job of cleaning bacteria and fecal residue from lawns most of the time. But when there are bacteria from Canine Parvovirus that can kill a dog or round worm which can cause kidney failure and blindness in humans or excessive ecoli bacteria lawns may need something stronger than rain water.

When do you need your yard disinfected?

If your dogs spend a lot of time in the yard it is a good practice to disinfect the yard every 6 months. Because even with a pooper scooper removing the waste, some poop still remains and as it ages it becomes more dangerous to your pet and humans. Using disinfectants to kill the bacteria will ensure aging dog waste does not become a serious health issue.

It is also a good practice to have the yard disinfected if you plan on having heavy human traffic in the yard. As a precaution to prevent any sickness or disease and to just make it a more pleasant experience for everyone.

HOW IT WORKS

The Anti Virus & Bacterial Wash

During the yard disinfecting you should treat grass, gravel and plant areas with Consan Triple Action 20 or other environmentally friendly and plant safe fungi, bacterial and virus killer.

Kennels, dog houses, porches and other surfaces that will not impact plants or grass will be treated or pressure washed with Top Performance 256 which is a commercial disinfectant used by kennels, hospitals and commercial institutions to provide area control of staph, salmonella, E. coli, bordetella bronchiseptica, adenovirus, canine distemper, feline picornavirus, HIV-1, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, rabies, herpes, pseudorabies, respiratory syncytia, streptococcus and even canine parvovirus.

Pressure wash kennels, fences and porches with disinfectant insuring no solids are left behind whic could harbor viruses and bacteria.

The disinfectant and anti bacterial treatment can take about 3-4 days to fully kill all the harmful bacteria in your lawn, so it is not always an instant fix but it will clear most of the bacteria and viruses in your lawn without harming plants or posing a danger to you or your pets.

A chlorine wash which is about 4-6oz of chlorine per gallon of water will kill bacteria in just 20 minutes and is a faster safer solution for full lawn disinfecting.

If using the Consan Triple Action 20 or Top Performance 256, an additional rinse may be desired. After 4 days, wash down the yard with the chlorine wash that will not damage the lawn but will kill any remaining viruses or bacteria that the chemical wash might have left behind.

The Chlorine Wash

A simple chlorine wash consisting of 4-6oz of chlorine per gallon of water which will not damage the lawn, but will kill most viruses or bacteria. Essentially using the same chemical balance as an over chlorinated public swimming pool. Not enough to harm humans or plants but just enough to kill all bacteria and viruses.

The chlorine wash can be done instead of the Consan Triple Action 20 in cases where the yard is needed immediately. However, the chlorine wash is not suitable for flower gardens, shrubs or small trees and should be limited to lawn or grass surfaces. It is not recommended for structures, fencing, kennels that have nails, fasteners or any metal surfaces or parts.

If you are having a family picnic, the chlorine wash is a safe way to get the yard cleaned up and relatively safe for children to play in immediately.

Of course, each treatment should start with a full dog poop clean up and washing down any visible dog poop areas, flooding the areas with water and neutralizing any odors.

Yards should be free of any debris, leaves or objects that cover the ground and would prevent access to the entire lawn surface.

Both the chlorine wash and bacterial wash will need 4-6 hours before lawn watering or exposure to severe weather. Try to plan the disinfectant treatments on sunny days trying to allow at least 4 hours after completion and possible rainfall.

Lawn Foam Wash

For lawns that are very deep with grass and need a little extra help or for hedge rows that have heavy vegetation use a foam wash.

The foam can be delivered with a pressure washer using a biodegradable antibacterial foaming soap as well as strong antibacterial solution. Most pressure washers come with a foaming tip.

Cover effected areas in the antibacterial foam wash to help break down any deposits of dog poop and kill the bacteria it is hosting.

The foam wash will not break down large deposits of fecal matter, but it does work well on dried residue on vegetation and deep lawn cover.

The foam wash must be followed by either a full water rinse or chlorine wash or the soap residue will remain on grass, plants and other surfaces.

This is a very effective treatment for bacterial and germs on lawn surfaces when combined with the chlorine wash. However it is not effective against parasites or parvovirus which can be killed with the chlorine wash or the Consan Triple Action 20.

Organic Wash BioWish Enzymes

The organic wash will break down any solids naturally using natural enzymes that feed on the dog poop, urine and contaminants in the lawn. This method is used on large farms with hundreds or thousands of animals to clean waste run off naturally. It is also used widely in sewage treatment plants to speed up and control the natural digestion of solid waste.

Biowish possesses powerful anti-bacterial properties which remove many harmful pathogens such as E-coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Lysteria and Cholera.

It is the organic approach and may not be as effective against parvo virus and common parasites as the chlorine wash but it is very environmentally friendly if that is a bigger concern.

Like most organic solutions it is a few dollars more than the chemical cleaners but it applied the same way. The enzyme is activated by water instantly and can be applied to the lawn surface immediately.