Garden

[Mom2Dogs]

I am thinking of replacing a small section of my landscaped yard with rubber mulch instead of the 'traditional' mulch.

There is a section in the back corner of the yard, our dog likes to lay on the ground,  in the mulch and look out under the fence at the neighbors cat....it is very wet back there and a lot of the time I have to give her a quick bath when she comes in because her belly is filthy...as well as her paws.  There is mulch stuck to her skin on the underside as well.

I know it is more expensive but the area is small, any one have experience with rubber mulch?   thanks.

Edited to Add...there is no plant material in this area...just a bird bath, a garden chair and there is a pot of flowers, but not in the ground.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Yes. In my experience, it smells, and if it's black it can get very hot in the sun.  It's likely shredded up tires.  I lived in a community that had it put down in a playground and it had steel belts in it.  It had to be removed and replaced, so just look at it before you buy if you decide to use it.

It also relocates easily - windblown, water driven, dog tracks it around, so you might have to fish it out of other garden/mulch areas.  It doesn't biodegrade, that's for sure, which is precisely why it has some appeal.

Added:  it will also sink into the ground eventually, and need to be replenished, so if you go with it consider a weed block fabric underneath.  That'll help.

[Mindy D]

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

I am thinking of replacing a small section of my landscaped yard with rubber mulch instead of the 'traditional' mulch.

There is a section in the back corner of the yard, our dog likes to lay on the ground,  in the mulch and look out under the fence at the neighbors cat....it is very wet back there and a lot of the time I have to give her a quick bath when she comes in because her belly is filthy...as well as her paws.  There is mulch stuck to her skin on the underside as well.

I know it is more expensive but the area is small, any one have experience with rubber mulch?   thanks.

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There are different levels of quality for this mulch. My very well off neighbors bought the best quality and they loved it. Lasted for years, no odor, looked great. You definitely need to read up on this before making a purchase. I checked into this some years ago and the high quality stuff was expensive. 

[fthunt]

@Sweetbay magnolia That's the best review I've seen in a long time.  Clear and factual.  I've never experienced rubber mulch but wouldn't touch it based on your input.

[AnnieBelle]

We've been using rubber mulch in our beds for the past 5-6 years.  It doesn't have an odor, comes in various colors (we are using brown, but I've seen a reddish-brown color as well).  My husband put down a weed barrier first, then laid the rubber much on top.  That is to discourage the weeds from popping up between the mulch.  It hasn't sunk, nor blown away yet!  We buy it by the bag at Sam's Club - very reasonable.  Color has not faded.  We're very happy with it.

[Mom2Dogs]

@AnnieBelle ....we have a trip planned to Sam's next week, I will take a look at it.  I did not know there were different grades of the rubber mulch.  Do you know if you purchased a specific grade or did Sam's not have more than 1 choice?   I was concerned about odor...guess you did not have that issue!!

Thanks

[Mom2Dogs]

@AnnieBelle  I just took a look at Sam's website...yikes!  (78 cu ft.  $750.00) and only sold online...can I assume you did not purchase that quantity.

 I would have to do some math to figure out how many cu ft we would need.  I hope they have BAGS in the store!

[K9buddy]

Check out Home Depot.  They have brown mulch at .8 cu ft bags for under $7.  My daughter has it in her flower beds and it’s been fine.

[NickNack]

I put rubber mulch around a bird house one time.  My dog kept trying to eat it, so I had to pull it up.  I think he did eat some of it, and it scared me.  I thought I'd share my experience since you have dogs, too.

[BirkiLady]

@Mom2Dogs  Please be aware rubber deteriorates. If your dog likes to sleep on the mulch, it will become very hot (possibly melt). It will certainly be tracked into your home.

We had it in the playground of our commons area many years ago. It was a mess! The groundskeeper had it removed after one year. Too many homeowners complained of the rubber marks being tracked into their homes by their small children.

My own dislike of it is that all rubber and plastic materials are not biodegradeable. That mulch will remain in the soil forever.

Weren't we taught as children to leave this earth a better place than we found it? I use natural Cedar mulch from Ace Hardware. It is not dyed. It resists bugs, keeps the weeds (and airplanes from Maple trees) gone, saves my water bills, and returns to the earth in time which is great for the soil. I do replenish it yearly with a light top-dressing (just for appearance).