We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that when you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

So far I have repaired the area by washing the area off with lots of water
and removing some of the soil and then placing a cut pieces of turf in the
area and its recovered very well.

We have a Bitch, but she has been well trained and does not used the grass
she has her own area. She was ill a few weeks back and for some reason she
chose to wee on two areas of grass, I washed off then off very well but the
grass still went brown so it was replaced, no problem. She has no access to
the grass if we are not in the garden area so she cant be doing it while we
are not looking.

Today I have found another area on its way out so I have replaced that the
same way. Now I am very sure she did not use this area so I am looking for
other answers.

Does anyone know how long before a bitch that has weed on grass causes it to
go brown and does it smell as bad as we seem to getting of ammonia.

Could the dreaded cats in the area be a problem, ever since we put one side
of the garden to a wildlife area we seem to get more cats, no surprise I
guess. (horrible things, but that's a hot topic as we know), can they cause
such a smell.
We don't get foxes or other large mammals.

Any suggestions?

Many thanks
Steve
--
The UK SpeedTrap Guide" @ www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk
The UK Weather Guide" @ www.ukstorms.com

"Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote in message
...
We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that when
you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..
We have a Bitch, but she has been well trained and does not used the grass
she has her own area. She was ill a few weeks back and for some reason she
chose to wee on two areas of grass, I washed off then off very well but
the
grass still went brown so it was replaced, no problem. She has no access
to
the grass if we are not in the garden area so she cant be doing it while
we
are not looking.

Now I am very sure she did not use this area so I am looking for
other answers.
Could the dreaded cats in the area be a problem, ever since we put one
side
of the garden to a wildlife area we seem to get more cats, no surprise I
guess. (horrible things, but that's a hot topic as we know), can they
cause
such a smell.
We don't get foxes or other large mammals.

Any suggestions?

Many thanks
Steve

We have three cats- plus assorted free-loaders, coming in for food through
the cat flap- and I've never noticed an ammonia smell. We do notice the
'tom-cat' smell from other cats.

On 26/6/05 15:55, in article
, "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that when you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

snip

Turf or seed? If the former, talk to the people you got it from; if the
latter, either it's an animal or an unpleasant neighbour with a water
pistol!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 26/6/05 15:55, in article
, "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that when
you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

snip

Turf or seed? If the former, talk to the people you got it from; if the
latter, either it's an animal or an unpleasant neighbour with a water
pistol!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)


I checked with the turf guys, no problem there. So time to put a camera out
the back I think and see if an anamal is responsable. I can't see it being a
neighbour as we all get on very well.

I did chat with one neighbour today and he said he has been getting a fox in
his front garden but we cant see it climbing 6ft walls and there are no gaps
to get through.

Thanks for the help so far.
Steve

On 26/6/05 17:39, in article
, "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 26/6/05 15:55, in article
, "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that when
you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

snip

Turf or seed? If the former, talk to the people you got it from; if the
latter, either it's an animal or an unpleasant neighbour with a water
pistol!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)


I checked with the turf guys, no problem there. So time to put a camera out
the back I think and see if an anamal is responsable. I can't see it being a
neighbour as we all get on very well.

I did chat with one neighbour today and he said he has been getting a fox in
his front garden but we cant see it climbing 6ft walls and there are no gaps
to get through.

Not intending any rudeness to the turf suppliers but are you - can you be -
100% sure that the turf was not contaminated in some way before it came to
you? They may not even have known about it themselves but I do think
that's a line worth checking further. Do you know anyone else they supplied
recently? Of course, the only thing about that is that I would imagine
(really don't know) that ammonia 'treated' turf would have caused trouble
very quickly and that the smell would have been noticeable as it was laid.
Some kind of night camera is a good idea. But surely an animal with pee that
strong must be in terrible trouble, health wise?
Would tom cats spraying do that kind of damage?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

"Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote in message
...
"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 26/6/05 15:55, in article
, "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few
patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong
that when
you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

snip

Turf or seed? If the former, talk to the people you got it from;
if the
latter, either it's an animal or an unpleasant neighbour with a
water
pistol!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)


I checked with the turf guys, no problem there. So time to put a
camera out
the back I think and see if an anamal is responsable. I can't see it
being a
neighbour as we all get on very well.

I did chat with one neighbour today and he said he has been getting
a fox in
his front garden but we cant see it climbing 6ft walls and there are
no gaps
to get through.

Thanks for the help so far.

Foxes do leave a very pungent 'marking scent'.
Once smelt, never forgotten.

--
ned

http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk
last update 24.06.2005

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 26/6/05 17:39, in article
, "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 26/6/05 15:55, in article
, "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that
when
you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

snip

Turf or seed? If the former, talk to the people you got it from; if the
latter, either it's an animal or an unpleasant neighbour with a water
pistol!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)


I checked with the turf guys, no problem there. So time to put a camera
out
the back I think and see if an anamal is responsable. I can't see it
being a
neighbour as we all get on very well.

I did chat with one neighbour today and he said he has been getting a fox
in
his front garden but we cant see it climbing 6ft walls and there are no
gaps
to get through.

Not intending any rudeness to the turf suppliers but are you - can you
be -
100% sure that the turf was not contaminated in some way before it came to
you? They may not even have known about it themselves but I do think
that's a line worth checking further. Do you know anyone else they
supplied
recently? Of course, the only thing about that is that I would imagine
(really don't know) that ammonia 'treated' turf would have caused trouble
very quickly and that the smell would have been noticeable as it was laid.
Some kind of night camera is a good idea. But surely an animal with pee
that
strong must be in terrible trouble, health wise?
Would tom cats spraying do that kind of damage?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)


I know the turf is not a problem as the soil for a good few inches has the
strong smell as well so its not come off the turf and contaminated the soil.
The smell is far to powerfull even 6" down

I would suspect that I would have smelt the ammonia on the turf when it
arrived, the smell is that bad.

I have two low light cameras on the front of the house I will move one and
watch out for the critter responsible.

Thanks
Steve

The message
from "Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" contains these words:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that
when you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

Today I have found another area on its way out so I have replaced that the
same way. Now I am very sure she did not use this area so I am looking for
other answers.

Dog and human pee smells of ammonia. Possibly a dog attracted to your
bitch but in that situation most dogs only mark the spot briefly so it
would be unlikely to cause such a strong smell.. More likely a person,
especially if you live on a tourist route, or near a pub or sports
stadium.

Foxes can climb or jump anything a cat could, so could easily jump a
6ft fence, but their smell is very different from ammonia:, it's a
pungent musky pong nothing like urine.

Janet.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" contains these
words:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that
when you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

Today I have found another area on its way out so I have replaced that
the
same way. Now I am very sure she did not use this area so I am looking
for
other answers.

Dog and human pee smells of ammonia. Possibly a dog attracted to your
bitch but in that situation most dogs only mark the spot briefly so it
would be unlikely to cause such a strong smell.. More likely a person,
especially if you live on a tourist route, or near a pub or sports
stadium.

Foxes can climb or jump anything a cat could, so could easily jump a
6ft fence, but their smell is very different from ammonia:, it's a
pungent musky pong nothing like urine.

Janet.

The lawn is in an enclosed area and its not posiable for any access from a
human so its cant be that.

I am wondering if its our dog, she has been very ill and lost the plot a
little because of the drugs she is on. We dont let her in the main garden
unless we are in it but at the same time we can't keep our eyes on her all
the time. She is very well trained and would never normaly do anything
unless its in her yard area but the drugs she is one make he very woosie and
unsteady and she will often totaly ignore me, much like the wife, so I
wondering if she is just being very lasy because of teh ilness.

Oh well thanks for all the great advice, I run the cam on motion detection
and see what monster is killing my lawn.

Thanks all
Steve

"Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote in message I did
chat with one neighbour today and he said he has been getting a fox in
his front garden but we cant see it climbing 6ft walls

You are right. It won't climb a 6 foot wall. It may jump it though or find a
spot lower somewhere and jump up there to walk along the raised pathway.

Would tom cats spraying do that kind of damage?
--

I have 3 cats of my own, two of them neutered males, one female. They have
left bare patches on the lawn where they've peed and dug but there is no
smell. On top of that, there are a few other cats that come roaming in, two
are definitely male and spray. I don't know if they are neutered or not.
However, cats always spray to leave their scent against something upright,
not the lawn - that's just used for toileting purposes! The visitors here
spray against the herbaceous plants, the tips of the leaves are slightly
brown where they've sprayed but no strong smell.

"Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote in message
...
snip
I did chat with one neighbour today and he said he has been getting a fox
in his front garden but we cant see it climbing 6ft walls and there are no
gaps to get through.

Thanks for the help so far.
Steve

a fox could easily jump onto a 6ft wall. I've seen cats do it to mine, and
foxes are bigger.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:04:07 +0000 (UTC), "Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" contains these
words:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that
when you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

Today I have found another area on its way out so I have replaced that
the
same way. Now I am very sure she did not use this area so I am looking
for
other answers.

Dog and human pee smells of ammonia. Possibly a dog attracted to your
bitch but in that situation most dogs only mark the spot briefly so it
would be unlikely to cause such a strong smell.. More likely a person,
especially if you live on a tourist route, or near a pub or sports
stadium.

Foxes can climb or jump anything a cat could, so could easily jump a
6ft fence, but their smell is very different from ammonia:, it's a
pungent musky pong nothing like urine.

Janet.

The lawn is in an enclosed area and its not posiable for any access from a
human so its cant be that.

I am wondering if its our dog, she has been very ill and lost the plot a
little because of the drugs she is on. We dont let her in the main garden
unless we are in it but at the same time we can't keep our eyes on her all
the time. She is very well trained and would never normaly do anything
unless its in her yard area but the drugs she is one make he very woosie and
unsteady and she will often totaly ignore me, much like the wife, so I
wondering if she is just being very lasy because of teh ilness.

Oh well thanks for all the great advice, I run the cam on motion detection
and see what monster is killing my lawn.

Thanks all
Steve

Try this. Add a little tomato juice to your bitch's food. On GQT Bunny
Guinness said that doing that will stop the bitch's urine damaging the
grass. I've never tried it, just filed it away in memory! Don't know
how much. Don't know what you do if she doesn't llike it.
You can but try!


Pam in Bristol

"Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that when
you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

snip





I have two Dalmatian bitches but generally don't find one wee would kill
the grass at all. It seems to be on areas where dogs consistently widdle
which has the dead patches.
Good job as I would hate to have to ban the dogs from the garden and
keep them off the grass!
Never smelled a strong ammonia smell so perhaps it might be the fox.

Generally once an animal marks / widdles on its territory as puppies do
then the smell makes them go on the same spots as if it's a sort of
mental trigger.

Washing with something that smells equally as strong might help. Jeyes
fluid? After all if the grass is dead a wash with that won't harm the
area!

Does your dog try and go on top of it? Many dogs try and overmark other
animal's smells, especially if they see the area as their own.

janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
"Steve -
www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote:

We laid a new law about 2 months ago and we have had a few patches of
dead
grass. The patches have a very strong ammonia smell, so strong that
when
you
put your nose near the grass it almost blows your head off..

snip





I have two Dalmatian bitches but generally don't find one wee would kill
the grass at all. It seems to be on areas where dogs consistently widdle
which has the dead patches.
Good job as I would hate to have to ban the dogs from the garden and keep
them off the grass!
Never smelled a strong ammonia smell so perhaps it might be the fox.

Generally once an animal marks / widdles on its territory as puppies do
then the smell makes them go on the same spots as if it's a sort of
mental trigger.

Washing with something that smells equally as strong might help. Jeyes
fluid? After all if the grass is dead a wash with that won't harm the
area!

Does your dog try and go on top of it? Many dogs try and overmark other
animal's smells, especially if they see the area as their own.

janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Looks like the problem has gone. Our dog was very ill and placed on a drip.
I spoke to the vet and she informed us that the medication she was on would
make her wee very strong. It looks like she was just not with it and using
an area she would not normally use. Since she is getting back on form the
problem has gone away.

The tomato one is a good one, she gets enough of them when she raids the
green house during watering.
Once again thanks for all the advice and help
Steve


The UK SpeedTrap Guide" @ www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk
The UK Weather Guide" @ www.ukstorms.com