Why Clean Yards Daily?

Sgt. Poopers provides daily dog waste removal, disinfection and deodorizing in Greater Dallas, Texas.

What if your toilet emptied directly into your backyard? Disgusting? Well, having a dog defecate there is just as bad. Here is why dog waste should be removed daily (or as often as possible).

Be Healthier

Dogs feces contain more than sixty human-communicable diseases. One gram of dog poop contains more than 20 million “parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens and viruses harmful to humans” according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That's why dog waste has zero commercial value, unlike manure. Manure only comes from grazing animals (herbivores) like cattle, horses, sheep and goats. They don't eat other animals, organisms, or meat. Their manure is healthy for grass because it is grass, whereas dogs are meat eaters. You can't use dog waste as manure. Fruit and vegetables grown in dog poop will be contaminated with bacteria and can make people sick.

Diseases can be spread to humans just by walking through contaminated grass or sidewalks. This include dysentery, cholera, hepatitis, typhoid, tuberculosis, ear infections, blindness, roundworm, tapeworm, hookworm, Giardiasis, Salmonellosis, Toxocarosis, Campylobacteriosis, Gastroenteritis, Cryptosporidiosis & Cysticerosis.

Dogs produce 10 times the fecal coliform of plant-eating animals like cattle. Fecal organisms from dog waste can easily survive for months and longer on the ground. Toxocaris (roundworm) eggs remain viable for up to 3 years and readily infect humans. A study found that walking through poop-contaminated yards resulted in 421,000 fecal bacteria living on the bottoms of shoes. Worse, it was found that up to 99% of those bacteria transfered easily to tiles and carpet inside homes. (Ref: Department of Soil, Water & Environmental Science at the University of Arizona, April 2008). At Sgt. Poopers we are experts on infection, disease, and germ control.

Have Fewer Flies

Truth is not always pretty, but it's always better to know the truth. Flies are "filth insects"—they benefit by spreading disease. One fly carries twice as many germs as a cockroach. One fly can easily carry more than a million bacteria on its body—ref: USA Center for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov When flies rub their legs together or groom their wings, they are actually sowing bacteria.

If as a result you become sick and throw up, get diarrhea, and even die, they benefit because theoretically there will be more liquefied food for them to eat and more opportunities to lay eggs. The eggs they lay in fresh dog waste hatch in just 12 to 24 hours. Fly larva (maggots) feast on dog waste, crawl away, pupate, and transform into more disease-spreading flies.

It gets worse. Flies taste through their feet. That's why they walk across your sandwich or your arm. They can not bite, but can only suck liquids into their mouth through a pair of sponge-like appendages at the end of their soda-straw mouth. When they land on something, they immediately vomit the contents of their stomach onto the surface. Their stomach acid begins to dissolve the surface and they return to lap it up. Now you know why, when you shoo them away, flies always try to return to the same spot and are often quite persistent. It's because they want to recover their lunch of dog poop which they vomited onto your sandwich or perhaps your arm. Of course their stomachs and body pass along the germs of up to 65 diseases.

And that's not all. Flies cannot retain what they eat for long. So each time they land, they also defecate! The little tan spots on your car, that's fly poop. Flies do not travel far throughout their short lives—rarely more than a block. So a fly born in dog poop in your backyard will likely be the same one that lights on your potato salad. And that is why flies are a genuine threat and not just a minor threat or a nuisance. Of course we can handle any fly infestation.

Have Fewer Cockroaches

This one is self explanatory. Cockroaches come out of hiding at night and eat. They don't eat a lot, and so the waste from just one dog can support a thriving population of cockroaches.

Have Fewer Rats

Some people claim that rats eat dog waste. I'm not sure about that. What I do know is that rats eat cockroaches. Love them. So anywhere you have cockroaches, there will also be rats.

Sgt. Poopers Conservation Control Corps seal The real problem with rats is that they urinate everywhere they go. This is their social communication system. And also how they wage war. Their urine and feces contain bacteria of some 35 diseases. Wherever you see their feces, you are looking at a surface absolutely spattered and smeared with bacteria-laden rat urine. For real. This is not hype. Rat urine in an area tells other rats that "this area is safe from predators, offers good food, and sex, sex, sex." They don't have a mechanism for marking dangerous areas. So if you are seeing rat feces on your back patio, know the whole surface is contaminated. Our special approach as conservationists, enables us to fix any outdoor rat infestation.

Enjoy a Healthier Environment

With more than 1.2 million dogs in the DFW area, that’s a Dallas-sized city’s worth of raw sewage sitting in our backyards. Landfills are designed to safely contain substances such as dog waste and dirty diapers. Yards are not.

DFW deposit some 900,000 pounds of raw sewage onto the landscape each day. That is more than the human waste produced in many cities which have sewer systems to handle it.

Stormwaters carry bacteria from dog poop into streams and lakes via storm drains. DNA studies have shown that pet waste is a significant contributor to bacterial contamination in area waterways. Storm water carries pet waste and other pollutants directly into streams, rivers and lakes. And unlike modern sewer systems, storm water does not receive any treatment prior to its discharge into our waterways. Storm drains are designed to carry storm water only, but ultimately, they carry tons of live fecal germs.

In addition to toxic bacterial contamination, pet waste degrades water quality by contributing excess nutrients, leading to cloudy green water from accelerated algae and weed growth, objectionable odors, and the death of fish.

By letting Sgt. Poopers remove dog waste from your yard each day, and by disinfecting each spot where dog waste touched the ground, you will protect your own health, limit populations of flies, cockroaches, and rats, and prevent pollution run-off into storm drains. Your home may be miles from the Trinity, but the river starts in your own backyard.

You are invited to watch our short video demonstration (below) to learn more.

Case Study: Lynnhaven River

A case in point is the polluted Lynnhaven River in Virginia. Some of its waters had been closed to oyster and clam harvesting since the 1930s. Using techniques that were not available in past generations such as DNA testing, scientists found up to one fourth of the fecal coliform in the polluted river was from pet waste. A campaign was launched to raise awareness on the importance of cleaning up after dogs particularly BEFORE rain or watering washes it into storm drains. Result: in February 2008 the state health department found the river clean enough to reopen 1,450 acres to oyster and clam harvesting.

In addition, Virginia’s poop-scooping campaign to educate dog owners on the importance of weekly lawn clean up lowered the population of flies and other pest insects that constitute another vector for disease transmission.

Disinfecting Hot Spots

Dog waste is above-ground sewage. You don't need that in your backyard. We take care of your property and clean up by coming daily, scooping and we can also disinfect and deodorize to reset the germ count from dog waste back to near zero. Instead of billions. In addition, we can also disinfect your garbage and recycling cans or roll carts inside and out. At Sgt. Poopers we are experts on infection, disease, and germ control.

In addition, the more frequently we clean your yard, the cheaper it is per visit. Prices for our daily service start at just $8 per day. We drive to your home, grab tools, pooper scoop the entire yard, remove the waste, dispose of it, clean our tools. That's a lot of service for just $8! See our prices here.

Reasons to Scoop

Animal waste contains harmful organisms that can be transmitted to other animals and humans.
Dog waste creates soaring populations of flies, cockroaches, and rats—all of which are survive by spreading disease.
DFW's 1.2 million dogs deposit 900,000 pounds of solid waste onto the ground per day.
Roundworms and hookworms deposited by infected animals can live in the soil for long periods of time (years) and can be transmitted to children and adults.
Storm water carries pet waste and other pollutants directly into waterways.
Animal waste adds nitrogen to the water. Excess nitrogen depletes the oxygen in the water that is necessary for underwater life.
No one likes to step in pet waste and spread it into their home, car or business.

Finally, there is the price. We provide unbelievable low prices to make our service affordable.

Pet waste removal prices

Video Demonstration

Daily Cleaning Summary

Graphic from our original 2008 website

A backyard contaminated by dog waste is no walk in the park! Our procedures and protocols are designed to protect and conserve the most precious parkland of all — the one you call home. It’s like having a park ranger for your own backyard which is why we say, “We treat your yard like a National Park!”

Sgt. Poopers invites you to go green "with a little help from your friends." We're a conservation company, so our protocols are based on the principles of conservation. Our approach is common-sense, holistic, always safe, and 100% effective. Our methodology works and you will see immediate results. On top of everything else, no contract is required. We do not use toxic chemistry that can harm people or pets. We restore the balance of nature and make living environments safe for you, children, pets, and beneficial insects like honeybees and butterflies. Please tour our website to learn more. If you have any questions, please call us today at (214) 563-6379. For your convenience, you may also request services from this site.

Steve Hall, Conservation Advocate signature