Poop management

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
That's a crock.

A lot of guides tell you no because they say there is a risk of disease. Hot composting will take care of any pathogens.

These same guides also tell you not to compost meat or dairy. I compost dead hens, cracked eggs, piles of chicken manure, dog poo, road kill, what have you...

If it concerns you use the compost on your flower gardens vs the vegetable gardens.

Personally, I don't have a problem with putting finished compost in the vegetable garden, regardless of the ingredients.

 

[Xtina]

Quote:
That's a crock.

A lot of guides tell you no because they say there is a risk of disease. Hot composting will take care of any pathogens.

These same guides also tell you not to compost meat or dairy. I compost dead hens, cracked eggs, piles of chicken manure, dog poo, road kill, what have you...

If it concerns you use the compost on your flower gardens vs the vegetable gardens.

Personally, I don't have a problem with putting finished compost in the vegetable garden, regardless of the ingredients.

I know about this, and agree that it's possible, but I just said that because I didn't want to get into that whole can of worms. I know a lot of people disagree about it and people can get passionate about compost. The fact is that while some people can safely compost dog poo (and other things), and while I know my dogs are free of disease, I know that I'm not the type of person who can diligently and safely manage a fairly risky compost situation. Reference the aforementioned laziness and general dirtiness!

 

[romadfox]

ShanCarl1971 said to checkout the "Doggie Dooley," a septic style system for your yard that you bury in the ground and add enzymes to it to get rid of the dog poo. You can also make your own system. I have a cool bokk called "The City Homesteader" by Scott Meyer and it has a how to on making your own Pet Poo Composter. Same principle as the Doggie Dooley I'm sure but you could make it yourself.

 

[Keltara]

Ughhh! I can't imagine letting it get that out of hand. The files and maggots and smell...I could not tolerate it. You just need to get out there and get rid of it all for the health of the animals and humans. I know it took a lot for you to come on here and post about this but your ONLY option is to get out there ASAP and make it healthy. Don't put it off. Just get a shovel and bucket and start disposing of it all. I'd also get a mask and rub some vix vapor rub on the inside to make the smell tolerable while attacking this problem. From the sound of it, it may take more than one day. Don't worry about special tools or composting. Just clean and pitch it all. After you've cleaned it all up, I'd get a liquid fertilizer sprayer, fill it with ammonia, screw it to the end of the hose and spray the ground. It will help to disinfect the mess, kill the maggots and won't harm the plant life. It will give your plants and grass a shot of nitrogen. Once you get everything cleaned up, then spend 10 min. each day looking for and cleaning poop. Ten minutes is all it will take and that is not a big deal for anyone to commit to. If you are unable to manage this, then possibly consider finding new homes for your pets. I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but this is extremely serious and all animals deserve to live in sanitary conditions.

 

[Xtina]

Whoa, I probably overstated the problem. There aren't maggots. The yard is obviously gross, like I said, but it's not ambiohazard situation. It's uninviting and ugly back there. And I do need practical solutions so I'm glad I posted. I just need to get more diligent about it. During the winter, I let the rain handle the poop, but in the summer, I need to get more involved.

 

[Squishypuff]

Sounds pretty nasty. I'd get out there to clean at least once a week, we've had neighbors who don't pick up poop and the flies were unbearable. I have 2 large dogs to clean up after, along with a pony and a gazillion chickens, and I can handle it fairly easily. I have to scoop about 2 wheelbarrow loads of pony poop every day (I do it in the evening when it's cooler), that obly takes about 10 minutes. For the dogs, I use my manure pitchfork (plastic end kind) and scoop and dump into a garbage bag. It might be out of hand right now, but if you get it all cleaned up, it'll be easy to maintain- especially if you do a once a day round of the yard. Takes 5 minutes. Do it for your critters.

 

[Keltara]

Quote:
I have to inform you that dog poop left uncleaned is exactly where files lay their eggs along with other parasites. If you have unattended poop in your yard, then you have both maggots and parasites.

 

[Xtina]

I've never seen a maggot in my whole life and don't even know what one looks like. But I'll take your word for it. I think the ammonia suggestion is great and will try it after poop scooping this weekend. The smell isn't bad enough to require any kind of medicated mask.

 

[LilliansMamaw]

I use one of those child size rakes that you can get at Home Depot or probably any home improvement store and a dust pan that is on a stick to clean up after my dogs. Just rake it into the dust pan and throw it into the garbage bag. And the handles keep me a safe distance from the poops

 

[Squishypuff]

Any poop laying around will harbor parasites. This is why we clean horse pastures and such- because our own animals can and do pick up worms and creepy crawlies from an environment full of poop. I have my pony in a smaller dry lot, about 1/2 acre- which is why I have to clean it out daily. You don't want poop lying around, it can give you, your animals, and kids (or visitors) the parasites living in it.