Please someone save me! I put some new rolls of sod down and watered it in. After a few days we noticed a strong manure smell and flies all over it. We removed the sod. The stench is still there as are the flies. We have sprayed with various things, no luck. I am afraid to soak the lawn and flush it out incase that makes it worse. I was hoping that when it dried it would go away, but it is so humid here too. I don't know what to do and the heat and the smell are unbearable.

Some sod companies will use a manure based liquid fertilizer on their product. The nitrates break down & the nitrogen keeps the sod a deep green color. They must feed it alot, because it is usually stored on top of tarps for easy/fast pick-up. It is soaked into the soil, which they keep wet. Put the sod down & keep watering. The smell will go away as the manure content is washed into the soil & diluted.

Also, if they have used "bloodmeal", that can smell really bad. Even worse if mixed with "fish emulsion".

I one time laid some sod that I was sure they must have removed from a ruptured septic tank.

In the future, inquire as to how they treat their sod, before you buy.

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I love the sweet scents wafting in the breeze. I stop to admire the vibrant colors of all living things. And people think me odd. Then ODD I am!!!

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