The Life of Lysgaard 878

Pet Poop and Apartment Maintenance: Risks of Not Picking Up After Fido
Pets, including dogs, are great friends for people of all ages and backgrounds. They can teach young kids about responsibility by taking care of another living thing. On the other hand, they can offer companionship to adults who are living alone. Moreover, they can even help people with disabilities go through the daily motions by providing aid in accomplishing various tasks, like crossing the street safely.
For these reasons and more, a significant number of home renters have pets. 67% of American households have at least one kind of pet, 53% of which own dogs. With this in mind, it’s crucial to set up policies about managing dog poop as part of your apartment maintenance if you allow pets or plan to allow them on your property.
Addressing problems before they arise is one of the best ways to improve resident retention. For pet poop, in particular, you need to clarify the rules about the areas where your tenants can let their dogs answer the call of nature, how they can dispose of it properly, and whether you’ll be providing pet poop bags.
You should also ensure that these regulations are disseminated effectively. With ExactEstate, our cloud-based property management software includes an online resident portal where tenants can get notified of new policies in an instant. This way, everyone is on the same page and gets started on taking care of the community right away.
Health Risks of Leaving Pet Poop in Public
Health problems are the most significant danger for your apartment community when tenants don’t pick up after their dogs. Pet poop can contain pathogens that carry diseases and make people or other dogs sick.
These are five parasites and bacteria associated with pet poop in public:
1. Hookworms
Hookworms are parasites that attach to your pet’s intestinal wall. Their larvae can hatch from eggs that are deposited in the soil through dog poop.
Hookworms can penetrate human skin and cause an itching sensation. Usually, it can be treated by topical over-the-counter medication. However, there’s a species of hookworm that can develop in the human intestine, so it’s best to have your tenants pick up after their pets right away.
For dogs, this parasite sucks blood and can lead to internal blood loss. Puppies are more at risk because they might not survive after losing a significant amount of blood. Hence, it’s better to keep public places clean and avoid these areas from getting contaminated.
2. Roundworms
Roundworms are another common parasite found in pet poop. A majority of dogs get infected with them at one point or another. Puppies may even have roundworms at birth since they can be passed on by the mother while they’re still in her body.
Similar to hookworms, roundworms live in a dog’s digestive tract, and their eggs can be found in dog feces. When poop isn’t picked up right away, these eggs can hatch and infect the soil. As a result, children and adults who come into contact with the contaminated area might unwittingly become infected.
With dogs, the larvae usually stay in the digestive tract. However, in humans, they behave differently. One particularly scary risk is ocular toxocariasis, which occurs when roundworms migrate to a person’s eye. This can lead to inflammation and, worse, blindness.
The nervous system could be another target in humans. Here, roundworms can cause fever, fatigue, respiratory problems, and abdominal pain.
Digestive issues are an indicator that your dog might be infected with roundworms. Symptoms include:
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Unexplained weight loss
Having a potbelly
3. Giardia
Giardia, a single-celled parasite, also infects the digestive system of dogs, and its cysts can be found in feces. In dogs, giardiasis leads to diarrhea and can result in death when left untreated.
Humans also get digestive problems when exposed to this pa