I finally saw what happens when you stop picking up dog poop for 3 weeks in a small yard

I live in a row house in Baltimore with a tiny fenced patch of grass in back. My neighbor has a big golden retriever and she used to be super good about scooping every single day. Then she went on a work trip for 3 weeks and her husband just... didn't. By week two the grass started dying in patches where the poop sat. By week three there were actual flies and the smell was bad enough I couldn't sit on my back step. I always thought people were being dramatic about the damage it does but seeing it happen in real time changed my mind. She got back and had to reseed half the lawn. Has anyone else seen the actual difference between picking up daily versus letting it go even for a little while?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor7792d ago

Oh man, that sounds rough. I gotta say though, the grass dying is more likely from the nitrogen burn than the poop sitting there, not just the smell or flies. The high concentration of nitrogen in fresh dog waste can actually scorch the lawn pretty quick if it piles up.

tara6422d ago

Have you tried watering the spots immediately after they go? I found that if I flush the area with a hose right after my dog poops, it dilutes the nitrogen enough to stop the burn. Takes an extra minute but saves me from having dead patches everywhere.