Are your pets endangering you and others? If you are not keeping your personal property and/or areas you frequent clear of pet waste; all of us may be endangered. Have you thought about this? Please read the following: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deemed pet waste a “nonpoint source of pollution” in 1991, which put pet poop in the same category as oil and toxic chemicals! A single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coli form bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans. Dog feces are one of the most common carriers of the following diseases: · Heartworrms · Whipworms · Hookworms · Roundworms · Tapeworms · Parvo · Corona · Salmonellosis · Cryptosporidiosis · Campylobacteriosis According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pet droppings can contribute to diseases animals pass to humans, called zoonoses. When infected dog poop is deposited on your lawn, the eggs of certain roundworms and other parasites can linger in your soil for years. Anyone who comes into contact with that soil—be it through gardening, playing sports, walking barefoot or any other means—runs the risk of coming into contact with those eggs; especially your dog. Here are the dangerous facts:
1. Dog poop is NOT good fertilizer. It's toxic to your lawn! The high nutrient concentration in dog poop will burn and discolor the grass, creating "hot spots".
2. Nearly two decades ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified pet waste as a dangerous pollutant in the same category as toxic chemicals and oil.
3. You may not live near water, but un-scooped poop from your yard is carried by overland water flow or is washed into storm drains, ending up in far away streams, rivers and ground water.
4. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms pet waste can spread parasites including hookworms, ringworms, tapeworms and Salmonella. When infected dog poop comes into contact with your lawn, the poop will eventually "disappear", but the parasite eggs can linger for years! When a human or animal comes into contact with that soil through everyday activities like walking barefoot, gardening or playing, they risk infection from those eggs ... even years after the poop is gone.
5. Pet waste is teaming with E. Coli and other harmful bacteria including fecal coli form bacteria, which causes serious kidney disorders, intestinal illness, cramps and diarrhea in humans. (There are 23 million fecal coli form bacteria in a single gram of pet waste!)
6. Dog poop often contains roundworm larvae, which cause blindness. If a human ingests a roundworm larva, it can migrate through the body causing disease to the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, heart or eyes. So when people (especially children) touch soil, dog toys or anything that has been in contact with dog feces and then touch their mouths, they can become infected.
Dog poop doesn't just "wash away" or disappear. So if you're not disposing of your dog's waste, you're putting yourself, your family, your dog and your water supply at risk. Information source: Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) |