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| i recently moved to a new house and the back yard has a lot of dog poo, as there have been dogs living on the property for many years. i would really like to have a vegetable garden at this house, and i've read how animal feces can be dangerous.
would a raised bed be sufficient? and is there any possibility that i can have a ground level garden? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Personally, I wouldn't have a problem either way. I'd just clean up the poo as best as I could, till up the area to garden, put down compost and fire away. Some people compost their pet poo. I don't think I'd go that far since these weren't your pets and you don't know their health but I don't see a problem starting a garden. Val |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Thu, Sep 8, 11 at 10:36
| If you clean up what you can, you'll be fine. Harmful bacteria will not survive indefinitely outside the body, and the soil (with some added compost) will make short work of it. I assume you're not actually planting till next spring anyway, so there is plenty of time for rain and air and soil to do its work of cleaning things up. |
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- Posted by belgianpup Wa/Zone 7b (My Page) on Thu, Sep 8, 11 at 15:21
| It's not the bacteria in animal poop that is the danger, it's the parasites. While many parasites (worms) are specific to certain types of animals, some can infect humans. The most common offenders in the U.S. are Ascarids (aka roundworms). Roundworms shed their eggs in the dog's poop. When the poop is relatively fresh, the poop can be composted and the eggs will be killed under composting temps (over 100F, I think). But somewhere within 15 to 30 days after being deposited, the outer casing of the egg hardens and becomes practically impervious to extremes of heat or cold. It can remain in the soil for years. The most likely reason a person would ingest the eggs (and become infected) is usually by eating the eggs, either by eating food with dirty hands, or kids who crawl around the dirt and then stick their fingers or other objects into their mouths. Generally speaking, if you wash all your fruits and vegetables that touch the ground, and you don't have kids, you should be okay to plant directly into the ground. The eggs are NOT absorbed into the fruits and vegetables, they merely sit on the outside with the dirt, and can be washed off. Below is a good link from the University of Minnesota on the subject. For local information, speak to your local veterinarian. You might also call around to all the local vets and ask if they could check your new address to see if the previous owner was their client, and if their dogs were ever treated for worms. Tell them why you want to know. Sue |
Here is a link that might be useful: Pet parasites and humans
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Thu, Sep 8, 11 at 17:34
| I was thinking parasites, but I glossed right over that. Thanks for the definitive info. I did not know they could persist that long. Is there anything that can kill them in soil, short of nuking the soil to the point where it's not fertile anymore? |
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- Posted by joepyeweed 5b IL (My Page) on Thu, Sep 8, 11 at 17:35
| I wouldn't worry about it, unless you don't wash your food or your hands. |
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| If you're doing raised beds, the bottom soil is covered by new soil, unless you double dig frequently. I can't imagine you'd have any problems at all. Ascarids in humans from pets are pretty rare,especially now that most pet owners use heart worm medications, which kill ascarids. I wouldn't be concerned. |
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- Posted by belgianpup Wa/Zone 7b (My Page) on Sat, Sep 10, 11 at 23:07
| "Is there anything that can kill them in soil, short of nuking the soil to the point where it's not fertile anymore?" Not really, from what I understand. The vet I worked for said that anything strong enough to kill them would probably contaminate the soil. Sue |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Mon, Sep 12, 11 at 11:19
| So, prudent handwashing is in order. |
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- Posted by thecompostnerd (My Page) on Mon, Sep 12, 11 at 23:10
| I would round up all the dog poo and isolate it in its own compost pile as well... red wigglers gobble it up in an outdoor system, too. |
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