Why dog waste is more than an eyesore: health risks for Gresham, OR yards
Dog waste left in the yard carries parasites and bacteria that can affect your family, your pets and the creeks and rivers in East County. Here's what's in it and why picking it up quickly matters.
What's in dog waste
A single gram of dog waste can contain millions of bacteria, plus the eggs of several intestinal parasites. The most common include:
- Roundworms and hookworms: very common, and their eggs can survive in soil for months or even years.
- Whipworms and tapeworms: parasites that reinfect dogs who share a contaminated yard.
- Giardia and coccidia: single-celled parasites that cause ongoing digestive illness.
- Bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter: germs that can make both pets and people sick.
Several of these are zoonotic, meaning they can pass from animals to people. Children who play in the yard and gardeners who handle soil are the most exposed.
It is not a fertilizer
Many people think dog waste breaks down into fertilizer the way cow manure does. It doesn't. Cows eat plants, and their manure is composted before use. Dogs eat a high-protein diet, which makes their waste acidic and high in nitrogen, enough to burn and yellow your grass. Left in place, it kills the lawn under it and leaves bare patches.
The waterway problem
When it rains, waste left on lawns and sidewalks washes into storm drains, and much of that water reaches local creeks like Johnson Creek, the Columbia Slough and the Sandy River untreated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency treats pet waste as a pollutant for this reason: it adds bacteria and extra nutrients that harm water quality downstream. On the east side of the metro, that path is short. Dog waste removal in Troutdale covers yards a few minutes from where the Sandy River meets the Columbia, and dog poop pickup in Fairview covers the Salish Ponds and Blue Lake side. See the full service area.
The point: waste left in the yard doesn't disappear. Parasite eggs build up in the soil, and every rain carries bacteria toward the creek. The longer it sits, the bigger the problem.
How quickly it becomes a problem
Parasite eggs aren't infectious right away, but many become infectious within days to a few weeks. A yard cleaned weekly rarely gives those eggs time to mature in the soil. A yard cleaned a few times a year slowly builds up contamination that's very hard to reverse.
The simple fix
None of this takes drastic measures, only a regular schedule. Removing waste at least once a week keeps parasite levels low, protects your lawn and keeps bacteria out of the storm drains. Most people know that. The hard part is doing it every week.
That's why Scoops Co. exists: scheduled removal, so the job gets done. If you're not sure how often your yard needs it, our guide on how often to scoop your yard goes through it.