A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Four Legged Pests...

I've been having to deal with 4 legged pests invading my garden...

Some new neighbors moved in across the road along with their 5 dogs!!!

I know EXACTLY how you feel. the neighbor across the street has a big rottweiler and a little beagle and they go around crapping in our yard like it's a bathroom! they're gonna meet the bb gun if they keep it up and the owner is gonna have a big pile of it on his front porch if they crap in our yard again! I've heard that dogs don't like hot peppers or something so you could take some hot peppers like cayann (sp?)peppers or some really hot ones like that and add it to water and make a spray of it and spray it around your yard and maybe that'll help?

Well HELLO Chemical Bob!

Did you try talking with the owners???

Maybe you need to pooper scooper it and place it in a clear plastic bag.... when you go to speak with them.... they can observe the yuck their little kids are leaving behind.

I know you live in S. Carolina but IF they were in my state and in my yard "I" would trap all the dogs and have animal control come and pick them up. Repeatedly hitting their pocketbook to retrieve their dogs might change their minds about letting them out of their yard.

I know how you get....so be nice now!!!

Dogs and cats don't like citrus smells, such as orange, grapefruit, lemon, etc. I have used citrus sprays to deter my cats from areas I don't want them in. I don't know it this will work for your situation, though.
You could always put up a fence.

I appreciate all the input.

Truthfully, when i started this topic i had already responded to the problem i was having, but i was interested in seeing what other people's reactions would be...

I waited until my neighbor was working in her front yard and then i spoke (very loudly) to her... "I'm tired stepping in this dog $h!+"
Then i scooped up the piles and "slung" them over on her yard. She never said anything and then she walked around to her back yard.
I think what i said might have "sunk" in because i haven't seen anymore piles since then. I probably scared her... lol

Pet owners have responsibilities to their pets (proper care, maintenance, and protection), and to society. By allowing your dog (or pet) to roam free, you are running the risk of harming your pet... Not only could it be run over by a car, but it could also be exposed to other dogs which may have parasites or diseases. As gardeners, we know what a dog or cat can do to a garden as well!!!
Pet owners that allow their dog to "crap" on their neighbor's yard and walk through their garden is a sure sign of DISRESPECT toward their neighbor. Nothing personal, but that's how i feel.

HI Bob!!!

If you can get away with it, a multi pump bb gun only pumped once or twice will not penetrate the hide but it will sting like heck! Just be careful not to aim at the face as it will shoot the eyes out.

Over the past 10 years i have seen many problems caused by pets that have been neglected by their owners.
Up the road from my garden, about 5 years ago, there was some neighbors fighting each other because one neighbor didn't like the other neighbor's cat coming on his property. They eventually went to court and he won! The people with the cat had to pay a $300 fine. I think it was more about hating each other's "guts", than actually a pet problem.
The people with the cat eventually moved because of the dispute!

If i was looking at a new neighborhood to move into, checking out the "pet situation" would be a top priority.... Do people in the neighborhood respect each other's property? Do one of the home owners have a fenced in yard with 10 barking beagles?!?! Does the lady next door have 10 cats that run wild (that's for u Catlover- lol!)? If u are an avid gardener and like to invest lots of time and money outdoors and plan on making the most important investment of your lifetime, these are not foolish questions to ask yourself.

As far as dealing with pet problems and neighbors i tend to be "Reactionary"- when a problem arises, deal with it immediately. If you show weakness, that may be an indication to your neighbor that you do not mean business. You can be nice and polite, but sometimes you must get their attention. Sometimes, no matter what you do or say, they will not listen or respond to the problem. Unless you are willing to move,sometimes you just have to "hurt their feelings" in order to get some sort of resolution. Basically, we live in a society where victims have no rights. In some instances, people have served more time for killing animals than for killing humans!

And my response is The only poop I have to clean up is what the coyotes leave!!!

I do agree with you though that people need to be responsible for their pets(kids) safety and the actions/behaviors of......(a loud macaw ), cat, dog, or even a HUMAN!!!

Wowsers I would never handle poop in my yard like that! I prefer to be passive/agressive. LOL. A thing that really works is a motion detector sprinkler. It will spray dogs or deer with a good blast. IF YOU USE ONE DO NOT PUT IT WHERE YOUR METER READER WALKS. I walked right into one on a chilly April day and pulled it out of the ground and swore and they never put it back. Anyway they work well on critters.

Ohhh Tamara.... ....bet that was a shocker.

I actually never thought about that ....come to think of it...the sensor might be a good burglar deterrent too!

The sprinkler sounds like it would be a great deterrent for cats! It's got my vote!

I'm sure they must make a sound deterrant device as well...
I would love to see a video of a cat jumping 6 ft in the air from fright and a dog "dumping" his load on the run...

Hey....do you have any good pix of those purple cone flowers you grew...if so, would you start a thread in plants and flowers and post up to 3 of your best shots of them please. Thanks, Catlover

Great advice guys!
I once had a problem with my own dogs digging up my plants (we lived on a farm and the cow dogs wouldn't just stay in with the cows)...I took pieces of plywood and drove small nails through it...about an inch apart and layed it in the area they were digging on top of the soil just under the mulch, with the spacing so close together it didn't actually hurt the animals it just made it a deterrent for them to dig there. You just have to remember they are there when you work.
If you have houseplants and indoor cats place pinecones around the base of the plants...makes it uncomfortable for the kitties to do there buisness there but doesn't actually hurt them.

I used to have a big problem with squirrels digging, but i have yet to see a squirrel around there all summer... my neighbor has kept them in check.


My guess is that they will eventually put some sort of fence up- not a bad idea if you own 5 dogs...

"Howboutcha", thanks for the advice.

one of the things we use with our own dogs is a paint ball gun. not to actually shoot them (although we have tried to get the neighbor's rotties, when they are trying to torment my pomeranian) but if you aim the paint ball gun just past where they are (trying to dig out in my dog's case) it will scare the stuffing out of them. a few times of the noise and wizzing by, they get the point. and the paintballs won't hurt them, and if it is a neighbor dog, and they come home with a bright pink, orange, or green spot on their coat, they'll know the dog was where it shouldn't have been!

Bob!!!! I know how much you just LOVE squirrels...I'll bet you miss them....

Most places have leash laws, even in the country side here.No one uses fence here, other than for cattle, but dogs, and cats go through that without a hitch. I dont like to hurt peoples pets, but lucky that I dont have cats or dogs visiting frequently. One plus esp with cats is they like to hunt voles, and other small pests, which is a benefit. Out here, varmints are more a prob, mainly groundhogs, we dont use BB guns on those, usally a 22-250 or .223 gets rid of them for good. Had neighbors behind me that had guniea fowl for pets or some other reason, used to visit my yard, those things ate the heck out of bugs! Theyd chase grasshoper or any other bug that jump or hopped, and go to town on them. They disapeared after fall, prob foxes or coyotes got em.

Fortunately, i haven't had any more trouble with "crapping" dogs trouncing through my flower gardens or on my yard. No more piles!