Optimizing Your Community for Maximum Pet Waste Pickup

For many pet-friendly communities, dog waste left along walking paths and across open recreation areas is a common problem. In fact, pet waste is one of the single most talked about issues in homeowner association and community manager board meetings across the country. If not addressed, unattended dog waste in a community can quickly become a major point of conflict amongst neighbors.

1. Choose the Right Location

While there are several methods to reduce pet waste in communities, pet waste stations are typically the most effective way to make an immediate impact. When getting started with stations in your community, selecting effective locations is paramount. The goal is to make it easy for dog walkers to pick up a bag at the beginning of their walk and to dispose of it by the end. Here are some points to keep in mind when selecting optimal plots for pet waste stations in your community:

• Review the density of homes in the community and areas where dog owners tend to congregate, play, or walk
• Walk the property as a dog walker would to see if the proposed sites make sense on the ground from their perspective. Residents should be able to pick up and drop off poop bags within a few minutes’ walking time.
• Ensure potential sites are both convenient for dog owners and discreet for nearby residents. Consider proximity to playgrounds, pools, homeowners’ lines of sight, and other areas where a pet waste station may not be ideal for other residents.
• Position stations far enough off the sidewalk to allow foot traffic to continue moving while dog walkers stop to deposit bags of waste.

Want an expert opinion? DoodyCalls is happy to perform a site visit and provide our recommendations for a comprehensive pet waste management plan backed by our 23 years of industry expertise.

• Keep Litter Under Control

Once a small amount of litter or waste begins to accumulate in your community, you may start to notice more and more, and sometimes in the most unexpected places – like next to a perfectly suitable trash can, for instance. This is due to something called the bandwagon effect. In a nutshell: people tend to adopt the behaviors of the others around them – even if it means disregarding or overriding their own beliefs. When it comes to littering, the bandwagon effect is a powerful force. This is why it is critical to stay on top of even light litter or garbage that may be laying around the community.

In most cases, the issue will centralize itself in a few locations, commonly referred to as “hot spots.” Identifying hot spots and keeping them clean can work to curb the problem and also help to prevent it from spreading.

The bandwagon effect works both ways, and when residents see their neighbors working to make the community a nicer place to live, they tend to follow suit. The next time you spot a piece of trash on the ground in your community, pick it up!

Ready for some professional help managing pet waste in your community? DoodyCalls offers both pet waste station services and common area cleans to keep all spaces clean and safe for all to enjoy.

• Beautify Pet Waste Station Areas

While pet waste stations go a long way towards curbing community pet waste issues, there will still be some residents who fail to pick up after their dog. In these cases, a little encouragement may be necessary. One simple method for increasing station usage is beautification of the pet waste station areas.

• Install a pathway from sidewalk to station. Without any type of walkway in place, the grass along this short path will quickly deteriorate and become a muddy rut every time rain begins to fall. Convenience is key with pet waste stations and most dog owners will not trudge through mud, however short the distance, to utilize the station in poor weather conditions. To solve this problem, consider extending the sidewalk, adding a stone walkway or even simply filling the area in with small river rocks.
• Beautify the area surrounding your pet waste station with shrubs and/or flowerbeds. There is no need to attempt recreating the gardens of Versailles here, but a little effort and a few low-maintenance flowers can spruce things up.

Still not sure where to start? DoodyCalls can help!

What really matters is that your community has well-stocked, durable stations that fulfill the needs of residents, are properly serviced, and are in good working order for dog walkers to use every day. Visit here to learn more about how DoodyCalls can support our shared goal of keeping communities pet waste free.