What happens if you bury dog poop?

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Quick Answers

Burying dog poop can help decompose it faster and prevent the spread of disease. However, there are some risks to be aware of like potential groundwater contamination. Overall, responsible burial in your yard is usually better than leaving poop on the surface.

Is it Okay to Bury Dog Poop?

Burying dog poop is generally considered an acceptable way to dispose of it, with some caveats. The main benefits of burial are:

Speeds decomposition: Burying poop helps introduce it to soil organisms like insects, bacteria, and fungi that will help break it down. This happens faster underground than leaving waste exposed on the surface.

Prevents spread of disease: Dog feces can contain parasitic worms, bacteria like E. coli or Salmonella, and other pathogens. Burying it can help prevent the spread of disease by containing contamination underground away from people and other animals.
Reduces odor: Rotting poop smells bad! Burying it underground contains the odors and prevents them wafting through your yard.

However, there are some potential downsides to be aware of:

Groundwater contamination: Poop contains nitrogen and bacteria that could potentially leach down through soil and contaminate groundwater over time, especially in areas with high water tables or very porous, sandy soil.
Nutrient overloading: Dog waste releases nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus into the soil. This can be beneficial in moderation, but too much waste in one place could overload the soil and cause nutrient runoff issues.
Accumulation: If you bury in the same shallow holes repeatedly, waste may accumulate faster than it decomposes, causing a buildup of contamination.

Best Practices for Burying Dog Poop

If burying dog poop on your property, following best practices can help minimize risks:

Bury far from gardens and water sources: Choose a poop burial spot at least 5 feet from any edible gardens and 100 feet from streams or wells to prevent contamination.
Dig a new hole each time: Don’t reuse the same shallow hole, as too much waste will accumulate. Dig a fresh 6-10 inch deep hole in a different spot each time.

Cover with dirt: Fully cover buried poop with at least 8 inches of soil to prevent odors and discourage animals from digging it up.
Avoid flood zones: Prevent runoff contamination by burying far from flood zones or anywhere with a high water table close to ground level.
Alternate locations: Bury in different areas of your yard over time to prevent excessive nutrient build up in one place.

How Long Does it Take Dog Waste to Decompose if Buried?

When buried underground, dog poop typically takes 2-6 months to fully decompose. However, exact decomposition rates depend on several factors:

Climate: Warmer temperatures and moisture accelerate decomposition. Waste will break down faster in warm, humid climates than cold, dry areas.
Soil properties: Sandy, loamy soils with good aeration and drainage help decomposition. Heavy clay soils may slow it down.

Waste volume: Large volumes take longer. As a general rule, one single poop may decompose in 2-3 months, while a full backyard clean up job may take closer to 6 months.
Depth buried: Deeper burial preserves poop, slowing decomposition, while shallow burial exposes it to more microbes, insects, moisture, and air speeding decay.
Nutrients: Higher nitrogen waste with more protein decomposes faster than lower nitrogen, high fiber waste.

Turning over and aerating soil in the burial area can help speed up decomposition. Avoiding very deep burial speeds the process. In ideal conditions, most waste buried 6-10 inches deep should fully decompose within 3-4 months.

Is it Safe for Dogs if They Eat Buried Poop?

It’s natural behavior for some dogs to try digging up and eating buried poop. This is known as coprophagia. Consuming their own or other dog’s feces can pose some health risks to dogs including:

Intestinal parasites: Roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and other parasites are commonly transmitted via feces. Eating poop can infect your dog with parasitic worms.

Bacteria and viruses: Salmonella, E. coli, giardia and parvovirus are examples of pathogens dogs can contract from feces.
Nutritional imbalances: Waste doesn’t offer balanced nutrition and dogs that eat a lot of poop may develop deficiencies.
Gastrointestinal issues: Eating poop, especially in excess, can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and other GI upset in dogs.

To minimize health risks, it’s important to try to prevent your dog accessing and eating buried feces. Fully covering waste with 8+ inches of soil can make it harder for dogs to dig up. Home remedies like sprinkling chili powder or lemon juice on burial spots may deter dogs. Consulting your vet about coprophagia prevention methods can also help.

Can Buried Dog Waste Contaminate Ground Water?

There is potential for buried dog feces to leach down through soil over time and contaminate groundwater supplies in some circumstances. Key risk factors include:

Local geology/soil type: Sandy, gravelly, or porous soils provide less filtration allowing contaminants to move through soil faster. Heavy clay soils offer more filtration of contaminants before reaching groundwater.

Depth to groundwater: The deeper the water table underneath your property, the more soil layers poop contaminants must pass through before reaching groundwater, reducing risk.
Burial depth: Shallow burial increases groundwater contamination risk. Deeper burial provides more filtration.
Rainfall: More precipitation results in higher leaching as water transports contaminants down through soil.

Septic systems: Nearby septic tanks can contribute to elevated nitrate and bacteria levels. Dog waste adds to this contamination risk.
Waste volume: Burying extremely large volumes of waste in one area concentrates contaminants increasing groundwater risk.

While groundwater contamination is unlikely from occasionally burying poop on your property, best practices like deep burial, alternating locations, and waste removal help minimize any long term risk in vulnerable groundwater regions.

What Kinds of Contaminants are in Dog Waste?

Dog poop contains a number of potential contaminants and pathogens that require responsible waste disposal:

Bacteria: E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridia species. Can cause gastrointestinal illness in humans.
Parasites: Roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, giardia, coccidia. Can infect humans and pets.

Viruses: Parvovirus, coronavirus, rotavirus. Spread between dogs and contagious to humans.
Nutrients: Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium. Can cause algae blooms and eutrophication if they leach into waterways.
Antibiotics: Antibiotic resistant bacteria if dog is on medication.

Hormones: Testosterone, estrogen, progesterone from dog waste can accumulate in soil and water.
Heavy metals: May be present at low levels if dog eats contaminated prey or soils.

What Risks do Contaminants in Buried Dog Waste Pose?

Potential risks from burying dog waste include:

Groundwater contamination if contaminants leach down to aquifers. Can pollute well water.
Soil contamination in areas of excessive waste accumulation.
Parasite infections if humans or animals ingest infected soil.

Surface water contamination if waste contaminants runoff into streams, lakes, or coastal waters during rains. Can cause algae blooms.
Produce contamination if edible gardens are planted in waste burial spots. May transfer bacteria like E. coli to food.
Spread of antibiotic resistance from soil bacteria exposed to medications in waste.

Bioaccumulation up the food chain if animals eat plants or prey contaminated by dog waste.

Responsible waste burial practices like deep burial far from water and gardens minimizes these risks. Removing and properly disposing of poop bags regularly is also important to prevent excessive waste pile-up.

How can Buried Dog Waste affect Wildlife and Pets?

Buried dog waste can pose some risks to other backyard wildlife and pets if not managed properly:

Parasite transmission: Roundworms, hookworms and other parasites in poop can infect other dogs, cats, wildlife, and humans if buried waste is dug up and ingested.
Bacteria transmission: Feces can contain harmful bacteria like parvovirus, Salmonella, or E. coli that spread between species if waste is unearthed and contacted.
Soil and water contamination: Nutrient leaching into soil and waterways can promote algae growth that disrupts aquatic ecosystems harming fish and wildlife.

Bioaccumulation: Hormones, heavy metals, and other contaminants concentrated in burial zones can accumulate up the food chain as wildlife eats plants, prey, and soils in the area.
Garden contamination: Burial under vegetable gardens can transfer E. coli, parasites, and other pathogens to fruits and vegetables eaten by wildlife, pets, and people.

Using best burial practices like deep burial, frequently alternating locations, and waste removal helps reduce risks to nearby pets and wildlife over time.

Is it Better to Bury Dog Waste or Throw it in the Trash?

For environmental impact, burying dog poop is generally preferable to sending it to the landfill. Key factors to consider are:

Burying Dog Waste	Landfill Trash
Breaks down and decomposes within 2-6 months, returning nutrients to soil. Avoids methane release from decomposition in airless landfills. Can be done on-site; no waste transportation needed. Poses groundwater contamination risk if burial practices are poor.	Waste is entombed; no decomposition. Produces methane if landfill gas is uncaptured. Requires waste collection transportation. Minimal future groundwater risk.

Considering these factors, responsible burial on your own property is generally the most eco-friendly option. It avoids landfill pile-up and recycles nutrients locally back into your soil. However, you must follow best burial practices to minimize groundwater risks.

Can Buried Dog Waste be Beneficial?

In moderation, buried dog poop can have some soil benefits:

Nutrient source: Feces provides nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients that nourish soil and plants as it decomposes.
Organic matter: The organic material in waste feeds soil microbes and improves soil structure over time when buried.
Moisture retention: Organic matter boosts soils’ ability to absorb and retain moisture.

Source of beneficial microbes: Billions of helpful bacteria in dog guts and feces diversify soil microbial communities when buried.

However, in excess these benefits turn negative as nutrient overloading and soil contamination can occur. By using best burial practices, you can gain soil advantages from waste burial without the drawbacks of over-accumulation in one area.

Conclusion

Overall, burying dog poop is usually an acceptable and eco-friendly method of waste disposal, provided basic precautions are taken. While a small contamination risk remains, the benefits of timely decomposition, recycling of nutrients, reduced pollution, and avoidance of landfills usually outweighs this when burial best practices are followed. Alternating burial locations, deep burial, and adherence to setback distances from gardens and waterways will allow you to safely reap the advantages of on-site dog waste burial.