Although this is not necessarily a pleasant topic to discuss with someone, the accumulation of dog feces on your lawn is a topic that should be discussed with any dog owner, or property owner who has a lot of dogs that “visit” their yard on a regular basis. One may assume that dog droppings act as a natural fertilizer for their thriving grassy areas, but in reality, dog waste can not only be harmful for your lawn, but it can also be harmful to you, your family, or anyone else that visits your place. Scooping the dog waste off of your lawn is one of those necessary chores that dog, or property, owners must do routinely, along with feeding your furry friend, ensuring they have regular access to drinking water, playing with them, and providing shelter for them.
Dog feces in your lawn can cause the grass blades to burn from the toxic composition within the waste, and this causes unsightly brown patches along the surface. Unattended dog feces can also become a big problem for your local water table, because it can eventually dilute and spread apart before running into a drain pipe, a lake, river, or pond. Dog feces is one of the major contributors for contaminating local water sources. Furthermore, consider the fact that in 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) labeled dog feces in a specific category of pollutants, along with other substances such as oil, grease, toxic chemicals, herbicides, and insecticides.
Another reason why dog waste that is left to rot within your lawn is dangerous is because the dog waste is filled with bacteria that can be very harmful to people and to animals. Did you know that it is estimated that per one gram of dog feces, there are approximately 23 million forms of fecal bacteria? These bacteria can cause illnesses in people and animals, such as diarrhea, intestinal problems, stomach cramps, and kidney disorders. Some of the diseases that can be found in dog feces include roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, parvo, giardiasis, and salmonellosis. People who are very young, pregnant, or nursing mothers are at a higher risk of dealing with some of these diseases than other people are if they acquire the illness from the dog feces.
If you are a dog owner, you should scoop the waste in your lawn on a regular basis, about every week at least. The feces should be picked up with a plastic scooper, plastic bags, or while you are using gloves, in order to protect your body. There are also professional dog scooping businesses that will perform these duties for you, for a nominal fee, of course. If you are the owner of multiple dogs, then you may wish to clean up your lawn more frequently. One thing for sure, though, is that ridding your property of dog droppings is a necessity that should be performed regularly.
Contact the team at Mighty Green Lawn Care if you are concerned about damaged grass caused by dog waste.