I read an interesting post on reddit earlier today. It was from an individual who doesn't have a dog, but their neighbor has two large dogs and never picks up their poop. To complicate matters, their yards are kind of small in their particular neighborhood, and the climate where they live is hot, sunny, and humid. Sounds a lot like Houston Texas doesn't it. Because the poop just sits there to bake in the sun, the smell is left to waft into the neighbors yard, perpetually leaving a bad stench that keeps them from enjoying their own back yard. To make things even worse, the dog poop also attracts lots of flies, so now they have an insect issue as well.
But wait, it gets worse..Did you know that rats and mice will actually eat dog poop? While it is not their preferred food source, it is an option. This creates another problem with not picking up dog poop. Rats and mice are known carriers of bacterial diseases like Hantavirus, and also create fire hazards when they chew on electrical wires. So not only is this neighbor causing a bad smell and swarms of flies by not doing their dog poop scooping, they may actually be putting themselves and their neighbor's (and their childrens') safety in jeopardy.
Unfortunately, in this particular story, the person complaining was afraid to talk to their neighbor about the issue because they struck them as "anti-social" people and didn't want to encounter any problems as a single woman living alone. Instead she sought out advice online about how to deal with the issue, and was met with recommendations to call animal control, or even the local health department because they have the power to condemn or force cleanups of properties that might be responsible for creating insect/pest/disease problems.
The take away...we realize that many home owners don't see having a clean back yard as a necessity, but we urge you to consider the value of it so that you can be a more respectful neighbor.
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