# Is pea gravel a solution for dirt/mud? If not..



## Ucdcrush

Hi everyone! I've endured another year of lots of dirt and dust in my house, primarily from my dogs using their little side yard during the day which used to have some grass but for years has been just plain dirt.

Wanting to do something before the rain starts here, I have been looking at various solutions and right now I'm looking closely at pea gravel. At recommended 2 inches, I'd need 2 yards to do the 18x18 area.

But then I have read people saying that the gravel eventually mixes with the dirt/mud underneath and becomes a big mess. If that was the case, it would not serve my purpose at all.

So for people who have successfully covered dirt with a surface cover in order to decrease dirt on dogs... please, how have you done it? If you did it with pea gravel, did you do anything before putting the gravel down, and how many inches did you use?

Thanks!


----------



## huntergreen

i use a larger gravel. i keep mine between 4 and 6 inches deep and have to add a couple of yards every couple of years.


----------



## phgsd

I had pea gravel in our kennels. Over time the pea gravel mixed with the mud and got hard as a rock. And it smelled pretty bad.
Last year we put down concrete pavers. They are working out nicely. Cheaper than concrete and not as permanent. Waste can get in between the cracks so I don't like that, but for where we are now it's a decent solution.


----------



## hoplite6

We've used pea gravel for years to cover a large dog run which has been great to keep out mud/dirt when it's been raining and I want to close off our larger backyard. But now, our new puppy seems to think it's kibble when he sees pieces of it on our concrete patio...and hoovers it up like it was the only thing between him and starvation. It all seems to go through quite nicely, but just thought you should know.....


----------



## Zisso

I use pea gravel in the covered portion of my dog kennel. It is better than wood shavings that always tracked into the house on the coats. There is only a couple of inches in there now so it does mix in with the dirt when they scratch or dig so I will be adding a few more inches in the spring to cut down on the dust.


----------



## shepherdmom

This was surgically removed from Tasha's $1000. She got this before she came to live with us, but this is my objection to gravel or rocks. I'll deal with cleaning up the dirt and mud thanks!


----------



## Freestep

Pea gravel can be really good as long as the dog isn't a rock-eater. My suggestion would be to put down landscaping cloth first, that way the gravel doesn't mix with the dirt and grow weeds. I put down gravel without putting anything under it, and I regret not doing it--we now have a dirt-and-gravel yard with weeds growing up willy-nilly.


----------



## racer

I used decompossed granite put down 4inches down then comapct it dont put lanscape cloth under it the granite once compacted it's a hard surface and water soaks into iit unless it's a downpour then the water will pool for a while


----------



## Good_Karma

My dog will often bring in pea gravel in their paws. We have it under our porch, so it doesn't get rained on and it stays dry and doesn't mix with the ground under it. But if the dogs have wet feet, it will stick between their toes and gets deposited in my entryway (no big deal).

Unless you put down landscaping fabric or some kind of barrier, anything you put over a wet, low spot is going to eventually mix in with the substrate beneath it, particularly if you get lots of foot traffic in that area. We accept this as fact and we just keep re-adding material on a yearly basis to the play area for the dogs. We use wood chips. We have a wood chipper and lots of sticks and downed trees so it's a cheap and easy solution for us. You have to make sure your dogs won't eat the chips though.


----------



## shepherdmom

Freestep said:


> Pea gravel can be really good as long as the dog isn't a rock-eater. My suggestion would be to put down landscaping cloth first, that way the gravel doesn't mix with the dirt and grow weeds. I put down gravel without putting anything under it, and I regret not doing it--we now have a dirt-and-gravel yard with weeds growing up willy-nilly.


20+ Years ago my parents had a graveled yard in Arizona. They put down the landscaping cloth first but the wind just blew the dirt over the gravel and the weeds grew anyway. There is really no way to prevent the weeds.


----------



## Elaine

Depends on the area involved that you need to cover. I just use grass clippings and leaves to cover dirt areas. It doesn't wreck my lawn mower, my dogs won't get blockages from it, and I never have the hassle of having to get rid of it some day down the road.


----------



## Freestep

shepherdmom said:


> 20+ Years ago my parents had a graveled yard in Arizona. They put down the landscaping cloth first but the wind just blew the dirt over the gravel and the weeds grew anyway. There is really no way to prevent the weeds.


This is true! The landscaping cloth only keeps the weeds out for a few years; dust and dirt can get blown on top of the gravel, along with weed seeds, and after about 5 years you will start getting significant weed growth again. Fortunately, the weeds are easier to control when in pea gravel rather than dirt. They just pull right out. Or you can get a few goats to weed the yard every so often, and you're golden.


----------



## Ucdcrush

Thanks everyone. My dogs unfortunately "clean up after" themselves or one another from time to time, yech, and I didn't want them accidentally eating a piece of gravel.

I ended up going with cheap putting green type material from Home Depot, it was .52/sqft, sold in 12' long rolls. I ended up getting 16' of it, for around $100. I anchored it with 8" nails (spikes) that cost about .48 each.

I spoke with the person at HD who seemed pretty knowledgeable, especially about the backing material. This stuff has a black backing that looks like rubber. The stuff NOT to get is the kind with the regular carpet backing, which is like a hard plastic stuff. Apparently this stuff drains much better. And I've seen my dogs go right on it, it drains right through.

It's been a week and it's holding up OK except for some areas where they've pulled it up a bit.

So far I really like it as a cheap ground cover. It is very easy to put down and easy to cut. I think if I had to pay $100 once a year to get this stuff, if it only lasted that long, I'd be fine with the hour or so it takes to do it.


----------



## Jag

We put down a couple of those blue plastic like covers... then TONS of pea gravel. Ended up hating it. I'm really glad we're moving. Our back yard is lower than everyone else's, so when it rains we just have a mess.  I checked with a company and they wanted $5000 to fix it!! So we did our thing trying to do the drains with pea gravel plus a section of the yard and walk way with pea gravel. I am NOT a landscaper!! Best thing ever is picking a house that already has the landscaping done and doesn't sit lower than the neighbors' yards!


----------



## Midnight12

Ucdcrush said:


> Thanks everyone. My dogs unfortunately "clean up after" themselves or one another from time to time, yech, and I didn't want them accidentally eating a piece of gravel.
> 
> I ended up going with cheap putting green type material from Home Depot, it was .52/sqft, sold in 12' long rolls. I ended up getting 16' of it, for around $100. I anchored it with 8" nails (spikes) that cost about .48 each.
> 
> I spoke with the person at HD who seemed pretty knowledgeable, especially about the backing material. This stuff has a black backing that looks like rubber. The stuff NOT to get is the kind with the regular carpet backing, which is like a hard plastic stuff. Apparently this stuff drains much better. And I've seen my dogs go right on it, it drains right through.
> 
> It's been a week and it's holding up OK except for some areas where they've pulled it up a bit.
> 
> So far I really like it as a cheap ground cover. It is very easy to put down and easy to cut. I think if I had to pay $100 once a year to get this stuff, if it only lasted that long, I'd be fine with the hour or so it takes to do it.


J ust watch that the spikes don't come out and dogs step on them, had alot of mine come out,work was done before I lived here I am useing all my leaves now.


----------



## huntergreen

i like 2 inch gravel wash stone, no sharp edges. no fabric underneath. i only have this in a  20x20 area . gives a the dogs a place to pee and poop. large enough to let the dogs go out and sniff and smell, small enough to clean up.


----------



## Ucdcrush

I had a random thought yesterday to update this thread.

The cheap home depot fake grass (described better above) is holding up GREAT. I really wish I had known it was an option before, it is really keeping dirt down inside my garage and my house.

The dogs walk/run all over it, and there are no worn down areas yet. Maybe after a few more years I'll have to put more down, but at the price and how easy it is to do, it's not a big deal. Much much cheaper than doing pricier artificial grass.


----------



## Loneforce

Actually if done right, no weeds come through. I have had this for years. My only complaint is: it comes in the house with the dog's. If you don't mind sweeping some stones up when you vacuum, then you are good to go.


----------



## Wetdog

I see no one else has mentioned it, and it is a little late for you--------but I always had very good results using shredded bark/mulch.

It was almost always available from the city after winter or spring storms(or even high wind events in the summer). All the downed trees, limbs etc. were mulched and blown into a big pile. Anyone could go help themselves to as much as they wanted...........just haul it off.

I'd bring back a couple of truck loads and dump it on the bare spots.

It is light enough that most of it "floats"(stays pretty much on the surface).............and what does get ground into the mud simply decomposes into the soil. You can put down a plastic sheet before you put it down, but actually, I think it worked better without the ground cover........more solid, secure footing.

I had moveable pens that I would change around every so often and when I did, the mulch is easy to rake up and move to the new location with a wheelbarrow. What didn't get raked up and moved was never any problem.

If you compost the poop, mulch that happens to get mixed in is also no problem, it will compost as well. 

Very low cost and it worked well for me.


----------

