Doggy Septic Systems

[Bushriver]

Does anyone use or has anyone tried a dog septic system where a plastic container is buried and waste is put in and supposed to compost into the ground. Sounds good in theory, but wondering if they actual work?

[RuralPug]

Really depends on your soil type. I had one that worked brilliantly in sandy or loamy ground but was useless here in clay soil. Mine came with specially bred worms that needed to be topped up every 12 months.

It's important to keep the water up to them so you need to take that into account if you are on tank water with no dam.

[Bushriver]

We have dam water but not sandy soil, where I'd put them is a bit gravelly though? The ones I've seen come with stuff to add to them so I don't know how much $ that adds up to over time.

[Papillon Kisses]

There are two alternatives should you be interested:

The first is having a worm farm dedicated to dog poo. It has to be dedicated to poo as worms prefer it over any other matter, so if if you add fruit or veg it will rot and cause issues.

The second is that you can add poo to a compost heap. Anything organic can go into a compost bin. It may be best to add it in the center of your pile / addition where it's more anaerobic and will break down faster and not smell.

With both of these you have to withhold from adding poo to the farm or heap a week or two after worming your dog/s as the residual worming treatment will kill the worms you want to keep alive!

Secondly you must ONLY use the worm castings or compost from these systems on non-edible plants.

ETA I perhaps should have added that we haven't tried any of the above or the septic system. I'm currently using flushable poop bags. They are non toxic and dissolve in water.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Papillon Kisses

[RuralPug]

We have dam water but not sandy soil, where I'd put them is a bit gravelly though? The ones I've seen come with stuff to add to them so I don't know how much $ that adds up to over time.

II would imagine that gravelly soil would be excellent, as drainage is the key. Sounds like an enzyme type, works on the same principle as septic, so frequent applications of water are still essential.

I can imagine that in gravelly soil, breakdown without added enzymes would be very slow if just burying the poop so you might well get very good value from a doggy septic!

[poochmad]

At last! Poo bags that I can put in the toilet! Hurrah! No more maggots!!