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Vermicomposting

composting dog waste

7 years ago

So i understand that dog waste is bad for editable gardens due to the samanala & worms they carry, An interesting article says how to start a doggy doo com-poster by burying a 6ft bucket 3ft deep,
I wonder 2 things:
How well do these things travel, ie how far does doggy bin need to be from my garden>?
Also could the compost tea carry these things? Should I boil?

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Comments (5)

dchall_san_antonio
7 years ago
I composted my entire dog. I don't see how the doggy dung would be a problem in a hot compost pile. The beauty of composting is you're using Nature's methods to restore normalcy to a smelly or otherwise dangerous circumstance. Microbes which are pathogens to us are not pathogens to other animal, plant, and microbe forms of life. When those other forms of life decompose the pathogens, they convert them into a safe form - compost. For example "bat guano" is a well recognized form of fertilizer. Bats carry rabies and other diseases, but nobody seems to be afraid of the bat guano fertilizer. As it turns out, the "guano" collected off the floor of the bat caves has already been cold composted by a specific set of bat dung decomposers which live in the caves. The bat guano is actually beetle guano further decomposed by microbes and is considered to be safe.
doggy__
Original Author
7 years ago
HI, ty, and im sorry about your pet, its interesting about guano, but everything i read so far says not to put dog dung in a EDITABLE garden.
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Perhaps this country went astray the past twenty five or so years or were brainwashed in most areas.Everything is a big deal 90% of the people who have gas guzzling pickups no more need a truck than a hole in their head.They all moved to the suburbs from town and ASSUMED a truck was part of the package actually most never need to go to the land fill or recycling center.We do alot of pruning every year and rather than take the trimming away I find spots in the yard over the snow fence behing some evergreens and make a brush pile the birds love it for shelter and it quicker than you would think breaks down in a natual way so r their is room for next years branches.Same idea with leaves ,grass clippings kitchen scraps and dog poop.No need for bins and formal composting equipment.I have areas around the property that need rehab thus I start a new temporary composting area.Recently I realized a large Blue Spruce of mine was on the verge of malnutrision so it is my lastest compost area if my wife complains the paper etc is un sightly I cover with a little bark mulch and dress it up being in front of the house one would never guess it was a compost pile.Add some red wiggler worms and away you go.The Blue Spruce by the way is looking great.
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A person needs to compost what they feel comfortable with. If you are not comfortable with poo in your pile, don't use it. If you are looking for a way to dispose of pet waste and you feel comfortable composting pet waste, then go ahead and compost it. And understand that poo could be a potential vector for a disease or parasites. If you are comfortable with your piles ability to heat up to kill pathogens and you are diligent about proper hygene (washing your food and hands) then go ahead and compost poo. I do find this comment on a compost forum a bit confusing. "The post about the leggionaires disease also tells me that it is important to keep as much bacteria out of the soil as possible." I think the post about leggionaires disease was to remind people to use proper hygene and precautions when handling the compost. Trying to keep bacteria out of soil is contrary to what composting is all about. As we are adding organic matter to increase microbial activity in the soil.
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Hi all! I'm a regular reader, but infrequent poster but I thought I'd chime in. I have two large dogs. One of them will only go in the back right had corner of the yard. Great! I used to clean up that area every two days and put the waste in the garbage can. One winter, many leaves had fallen on top of the area and I went a few weeks w/out picking up after her. When I went out to clean up, the layers of waste and leaves had added up to about 3 inches. I decided to rake it up with a garden rake and bag it. I noticed that under the pile, the matter had all started to decompose and there was a rich humus left behind as well as many many earthworms. At that point, I decided to try a seperate compost bin for the dog waste. I created a bin with shredded leaves and hay and I add the waste to it every few days. When I add the waste, I either make a hole in the leaves (with a fork, of course) and then cover it up OR I put a new layer of leaves on the top. This cuts down on any odor and encourages decomposition. The worms have showed up on their own and are multiplying and turning the bin for me. I don't do anything to it. I don't have an odor and after a year, I don't have a full bin--it reduces very quickly. I have not used this compost on the landscaping, but in a few years, I will probably put it on the ornamental shrubbery. My point in this long post is that the worms are doing what they are bred to do--decompose organic matter. Any animal waste is deposited on the ground and handled by a variety of insects. Sure, not in the same volume of two domesticated dogs living in a small space, but with a certain amount of management, this or any other composting system will work for dog waste. Whether you decide to use the resulting compost is a personal decision, and we're all educated on the topic enough to make an informed decision about it. I commend all of you for making an effort to reduce waste in the landfills! My local landfill is petitioning the county to expand at this point, which is a sore spot with the few environmentalists in the area. Cheers! Sang.
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Jessica is probably right but nothing wrong with using it somewhere else if it makes you feel better. And just start over with a new batch and you'll be fine. The problems with poop are related to two things: e coli (which is also in cow manure, BTW) and parasites. A few months of composting takes care of e coli and other microbes which can't survive in an aerobic environment outside the body that long. As far as parasites, if your pup is well cared for it shouldn't have any to begin with.
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albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
7 years ago
Microsoft Word - dogwastecomposting2.rtf - nrcs142p2_035763.pdf - Composting Dog Waste
doggy__
Original Author
7 years ago
ty, very good article, and has alleviated my worries about worms, since I now realize that my dogs don't have them, and they are easily identifiable...

.... but it also says:

Decrease health risks by:

Not applying dog waste compost to crops intended for human consumption

In fact it says that several times, so i am still worried,

how far do i need to keep my doggy composter away from my garden???
theparsley
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I think you mean edible, not editable.

Nobody is going to be able to tell you exactly how to vermicompost dog poop safely, because there is really no way to make it 100% safe.

If your main goal is to get rid of your dog's poop sustainably rather than putting it in the landfill, I'd say you could try the buried bucket method in some out of the way corner of the garden and just leave it there until it gets full...and then just move the bucket, leaving the castings in place. Or, if you spread the vermicompost anywhere in the garden, only put it around ornamental plants, and make sure you don't use the same bucket or tools on any food plants.

If you want to make vermicompost to use on any kind of food plants, you can make a separate compost bucket or bin somewhere else and feed that one with your food scraps and other plant waste.

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