How To Pick Up & Clean Up Dog Poop Outside: In The Yard, From The Grass, On Rocks, & More

How To Pick Up & Clean Up Dog Poop Outside: In The Yard, From The Grass, On Rocks, & More

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There’s a number of ways to pick up and dispose of dog poop, and you’ll want to pick up and clean up dog poop outside in your yard semi regularly if you want to keep it clean and looking/smelling nice (and, so you don’t step in it and bring it in the house).

Dogs poop on grass, in garden beds and soil, on rocks, on pavers/cement surfaces, and really anywhere they feel comfortable that they have access to.

Below we’ve listed a number of ways we think are the best ways to clean up dog poop in the yard, and especially the grass.

Let’s take a look!

 

(NOTE: this is a general information guide only, and is not professional advice, or a substitute for professional advice. A qualified vet or animal expert is the only person qualified to give you expert advice in regards to your pet/s)

(*Friendly Disclosure – links to retailers or brands on this page may include affiliate links, and we may receive a commission when you purchase through these links)

 

How To Pick Up, Clean Up & Get Rid Of Dog Poop In The Yard, & From Grass

The poop clean up items mentioned in this guide are:

 

Additionally, some people choose to mask (but not permanently remove) the smell of poop outside with temporary pet odor eliminators such as:

 

What To Do With, & How To Get Rid Of Dog Poop In The Backyard or Front Yard

First thing’s first – what can you do with, and what are your options to get rid of dog poop in the back yard or front yard?

Well, your two main options when it comes to what to do with the poop are:

1. Clean it up daily, or

2. Wait for it to dry out and pick up the dog poop in both the front and backyard weekly.

Waiting for the poop to dry out means pick up is generally less messy and less smelly – which is good if the sight and smell of fresh poop makes you feel like gagging

 

Personally, we prefer the second approach unless it’s on a main/feature area like a walkway into or out of the house.

What are your options when it comes to picking up the poop?

Well you can:

Pick up the poop with a long handle or short handle pooper scooper or shovel

Pick up the poop with a dog poop/waste bag – read about the different poop bags here

 

And lastly, what are your options when getting rid of and disposing of the poop?

You can:

Put it in your trash where it will get sent to landfill. You can also put it in a dog waste trash can if you don’t want to put it in your main bin with general waste. Something like the Behrens Locking Lid Pet Waste Can (on Amazon) would be a good option

If you have a safe and effective compost bin or compost area for dog poop, you can compost it

Flush it down the toilet or dispose via a pet waste sewer attachment if you have an approved flushable dog poop bag

If your council has a pet waste disposal service you can use that

 

How To Clean Dog Poop From Grass

The best and easiest way we’ve found to deal with dog poop on the grass in the front or backyard is to let it dry out, and do a weekly pick up.

You can then mow the grass every few weeks to keep it looking fresh and clean, and to remove any patches which have been discoloured by the poop.

You have a few options with diarrhea or wet/runny dog poop on the grass:

Wait until the diarrhea dries and pick it up with a scoop or shovel

Coagulate/thicken the diarrhea by sprinkling it with dirt, sand or kitty litter – the diarrhea should become more clumpy and should be easier to pick up

Spray the diarrhea with freeze spray and pick it up (although this has inconsistent and varied results)

Spray the diarrhea with a hose to separate and move it – spray it off into your nearby garden bed. Wait for the remaining diarrhea to dry and scoop it with a scooper or shovel

 

Mowing or cutting the grass every 1 to 2 weeks once you’ve attempted to clean up the diarrhea with any of the above methods should leave the grass looking fresh and clean.

 

How To Clean Up Dog Poop From Artificial Grass

We discus cleaning artificial grass of dog poop or pet stains in this guide as well.

But, another summary …

 

What Is Artificial Grass?

The type of artificial grass we are talking about is the artificial grass rolls with a backing.

Apart from the artificial grass rolls, there are artificial grass mats without backing, artificial grass tiles and artificial grass portable dog potties usually with a tray catchment system below.

 

Artificial Grasses That Might Be Better For Cleaning

Something important to point out is that within the artificial grass with backing range, there are varying qualities of products.

Good quality and well designed artificial grass for dealing with and cleaning dog poop has three important traits:

Some type of treated or specially designed anti microbial surface to prevent the spread of bacteria from dog poop

A highly porous backing to the grass that doesn’t let liquids or solids get trapped in between the grass, but let’s it flow through it 

A filter system such as crushed rock/aggregate below the grass to filter liquids and smaller solids through to the soil (although not as important as an anti microbial surface and a free flowing backing)

 

How To Clean Artificial Grass

Every good artificial grass product manufacturer is going to have two important sets of guidelines and conditions you should follow first and foremost for cleaning (especially if you are applying cleaning products or techniques to the grass):

A set of cleaning and maintenance instructions for their product

A set of conditions for any guarantee or warranty they offer for the wear/tear/fade etc. of their product of how ever many years the warranty is for

 

General Cleaning Tips

The thing with dog poop is that it is either going to be solid, and in rarer cases diarrhea (diarrhea can be a sign something more serious is going on, even as a puppy – so see a vet if diarrhea persists).

For runnier diarrhea, with a good artificial grass is going to allow anything that isn’t solid to flow through the grass backing into the aggregate or soil below to naturally decompose.

For dog poop solids on good artificial grass, it will simply stay on the surface of the grass. A good anti microbial surface will prevent the spread of bacteria from the poop to other parts of the grass surface.

Assuming it suits your situation, you can simply do a dog poop pick up once a week with a pooper scooper, and pick up all the dry dog poop.

 

In addition to this, you’ll want to remove any stains (which shouldn’t appear on good artificial grass products), disinfect the grass and deodorise it every few weeks or how ever often you decide by:

Vacuuming or air blowing the surface to remove dirt, dog hairs and other easily blown away materials

Spraying the surface with pure water from a hose to rinse solids away and other water soluble materials

Spray over, mop over or wipe over the surface with either or all three of a stain remover, stain disinfectant and odor remover/deodoriser.

Some people might just use a bacterial enzyme spray or solution formulated to remove and deodorise pet waste and odors

 

Making sure that the cleaning product is natural, non-toxic and won’t damage the grass surface is important.

 

Products That Might Be Suitable For Artificial Grass

You might try a pet stain remover, disinfectant and cleaner like:

 

You may also try one of the odor eliminators/deodorisers listed at the top of this guide.

Cleaning product formulas are usually either sprayed directly from their bottle, or diluted with water into a formula and applied via a garden hose with an applicator, a garden and lawn sprayer or you can even put some solution into a bucket and manually wipe a surface.

Make sure to pay attention to cleaning product warnings and instructions for use carefully.

Follow instructions for use, and look at what surfaces they can be used on before using them.

 

How To Clean Up Dog Poop In Rocks

If the dog poop is solid, wait a day or two for it to dry out, and pick it up with a bag or scoop.

Diarrhea on rocks can be all sorts of tricky to clean up – especially when it’s tiny pebble rocks.

If there is dirt underneath the rocks, the best and easiest approach is simply to spray down the rocks with your hose on high pressure, and let the diarrhea sink into the dirt.

If your rocks are sitting on a layer of plastic, remove the unclean rocks, and hose them off on the grass or in the garden until clean.

 

How To Clean Up Dog Poop In The Garden

Dog poop in the garden you might choose to leave there to decompose naturally as long as it’s not visible and your dogs or kids aren’t going in there playing.

Otherwise, let it dry and pick it up in your weekly pick up.

 

How To Clean Up Dog Poop On Pavers, Stone Or Cement Walkways

Depending on how urgent it is to pick it up, you might choose to wait a day or two to let it dry, pick it up with a scoop, and scrape off any leftover poop.

If it’s diarrhea or runny poop, put gloves on, clean up as much of the diarrhea as you can with paper towels, and remove any solids.

Dispose of immediately.

Wash over the area where the diarrhea was with water and some type of safe/non-toxic disinfectant, or diluted bleach, and then with pure water again. 

 

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The information is based on either our own thorough research, and/or own experiences, as a means of free speech.

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You should always consult your own veterinarian, animal expert, or health care professional and follow their advice before making decisions on all matters.

 

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