Dead lawn patches

Hi all, in need of some experienced advice....
We noticed some weeks ago now, that in several places, all quite near to each other, there appearred what look like, dead, or burnt patches on our lawn. I suspect it could be Cat`s, but I`m not sure, I`ve tried pouring on lots of water from our butt, and even broke the soil and applied some new seeds, but nothing is happening at all, the patches just seem dead. Any ideas as to how this might be put right, any advice appreciated, cheers, cresser.

 

High Power Ultra Sonic Animal Repeller Free Delivery : Animal Deterrents : Maplin

 

Good evening Cresser and welcome to the site. If you have a she dog or cat that could be the cause. If it is an animal problem thwn you need to train the pet not to do it. With a cat, you should train her to use a litter tray, with a bitch, fence off a little bit of garden that she can use as a toilet. Then repair the lawn by cutting out the damaged areas with a spade, replace with fresh soil and reseed.

 

scarify the lawn with a garden rake, then mow (but don't mow too short) ... then aerate (no need to hire expensive equipment ... use a good garden fork and try and go down at least 3 inches deep and space the rows at 6 inches apart)

then, add some autumn lawn granular fertilizer such as Scotts .... add a thin layer of topsoil and water well

wait till spring, then re-valuate the condition and take it from there

 

I would go along with young Dai, - do you have a (lady) dog or cat? - If you do thats almost certainly the cause. - *Dim*'s comment is worth noting - never cut the lawn too close, this is true for all grasses except bowling or putting greens.

a-a

 

if you opt for the 'train the cat to pee in a designated area' method, it may take a couple of years or several .... and may not work at all (from what I have read)

and then, just as you train the cat, a new neighbour moves into the area and his cat's find your garden attractive

 

You`ve obviously never had cats, it would take DAYS to train it.

 

you are correct Dai .... I favour dogs and have never owned a cat (and never will) ....

however ..... I speak from a gardeners perspective and my conclusions arise from threads similar to this, and from my own recent experiences in a garden that was 'harrased' by a neighbour's cats ....

and also what I have read on several other gardening forums when I researched in desperation for a solution to the cat problem

 

Just a minor heads up Dim but speaking from experience and the experience of others Sonic Repellers are about as useful as a an ashtray on a motorbike. A complete waste of money

 

The probable cause is as Dai's already pointed out but there's a slight possibility it's Leatherjackets although they're juvenile now and not normally that active and destructive until Spring. Have a little dig about just in one of the dead patches, if you don't find any dark grubs then do as Dai suggested.

 

Axl, I think you may have hit the problem on the head, it could very well be Leatherjackets.

 

from The Lawn Expert book:

if the patches have a ring of deep green grass around the brown patch, then it is bitch urine

patches caused by leatherjackets are normally only visible in spring or early summer

there is loads more info on the brown patches, but do us a favour, and try and stick a garden fork into one of the patches and tell us what happens ....

there may be builders rubble close to the surface, or the soil could be heavily compacted in that area (the book describes this as a cause of brown patches)

 

I'm gonna use that as my signature!