# poop what is it good for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224 "2003-05-09T23:17:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/21 "2003-05-10T22:57:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Exposed to the eliments-- tell me how long these things will live ? The answer is “indefinitely”. Worm eggs, bacterial cysts and inert viruses have all been found to be infective after decades and there is evidence of activity afer centuries. > [@](#): > > If youre afraid that your kids will get into it- you shouldn’t have it. Well that is an interesting viewpoint. If you’re afraid your kids will get into the garden because you have contaminated the flower bed with faecal material, you shouldn’t have the garden. ou could just avoid the contamination and alllow the kids the joys of playing in the garden couldn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/22 "2003-05-10T22:58:51Z")
“bacterial cysts”. D’oh. Try for bacterial spores, although I guess ‘cyst’ is is just as correct technically. ---
**Author:** ![heygeno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9a140/32.png) [@heygeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heygeno)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/23 "2003-05-10T23:14:18Z")
heyblake Not TRYING to be rude… but you sound like someone who would WRITE about gardening ( or anything else ) and not- be one who does it. Keep your tongue and your kids away from POOP - and you have nothing to worry about ! ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/24 "2003-05-10T23:25:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by heygeno \* > \*\*heyblake > > Not TRYING to be rude… but you sound like someone who would WRITE about gardening ( or anything else ) and not- be one who does it. > > Keep your tongue and your kids away from POOP - and you have nothing to worry about ! \*\* Maybe you could easily accomplish this by _not_ composting your turds? By, oh, I dunno, flushing them? And Blake knows enough about composting to actually turn the pile… ---
**Author:** ![heygeno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9a140/32.png) [@heygeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heygeno)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/25 "2003-05-10T23:33:59Z")
heyjack@ss I have yet to teach my dog how to use the can. Any pointers ? ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/26 "2003-05-11T00:45:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by heygeno \* > \*\*heyjack@ss > > I have yet to teach my dog how to use the can. Any pointers ? \*\* I think you need pointers in more than that. If you’re here to pick a fight, you’ll want to go to the pit. ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/27 "2003-05-11T01:22:45Z")
G’day Nightsoil (consisting largely of a mixture of human faeces and urine) is widely used as a fertiliser. In this the urine is actually more valuable and less problematic, as it contains most of the nitrogenous compounds and is generally sterile, whereas the faeces tends to contain the eggs &c. of various parasites, some of which cause serious health problems. There is a very interesting book called _Away With All Pests_ in which two American doctors recount their experiences in China in the 1950s, helping the Chinese to implement public health measure to cut down on some serious parasitic diseases. The solution they settled upon was to collect the nightsoil into large pits, and cover it with a good thick insulating layer of earth for a couple of weeks. The fermentation that ensued generated enough heat to either kill the parasites directly, or to fool the eggs and larvae into prematurely developing, as a result of which they died. After the minimum period had elapsed, the cesspits could be uncovered and the treated nightsoil, rich in nitrates and phosphates, used safely as a fertiliser. Here in my home town fully treated sewage effluent is used to irrigate gold course with spectacular success. And in lots of places fully treated sewage sludge is sold as compost. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![heygeno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9a140/32.png) [@heygeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heygeno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/28 "2003-05-11T03:48:10Z")
heyjack@ss You started it. If you can’t take it -don’t dish t out. ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/29 "2003-05-11T04:36:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Agback \* > **Here in my home town fully treated sewage effluent is used to irrigate gold course with spectacular success.** In fact it is used to irrigate _golf courses_. Agback ---
**Author:** ![heygeno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9a140/32.png) [@heygeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heygeno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/30 "2003-05-11T04:55:11Z")
In Ohio (usa) dried sludge (sewage) is sold to business and private homeowners. Black as coal and powdery ( like a heavy powdered milk ). It has a chemical/poohy smell that is tolerable. Safe for lawns and flower beds. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/31 "2003-05-11T21:01:28Z")
[http://www.weblife.org/humanure/index.html](http://www.weblife.org/humanure/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Salieri2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Salieri2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salieri2)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224/32 "2003-05-13T17:40:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vbperry \* > \*\*… > So cow manure and horse manure are good fertilizers, but dog poop and cat poop are not. My assumption is because cows and horses eat a diet of vegetation, while dogs and cats eat meats. . . > Thank you to all that reply. \*\* The OP having been well dealt with by now, I can’t stop myself from pointing out that one of the assumptions being made here is that dogs & cats eat meats. Depends on what you’re feeding. If it’s anything from a bag, then no, not so, at least not in anyway that resembles a carnivore’s diet. Most commercially-produced dry foods make up their protein percentage from vegetable bases and sketchy things like “poultry by-product meal” which is not derived from meat, per se; largely intestines, beaks, feet & such. A lot of pet food also contains such things as hydrolysed hair, dehydrated food waste, dehydrated garbage, and, er, excreta. Yes, there is meat-based protein in there, in the form of meat or meat by-product meals, which have been dehydrated and baked. (Or, in some cases, derived from euthanized pets, how’s that for recycling?) But if you look at the ingredients in the order listed, there’s typically a majority of corn or rice products in there, even wheat and soy. I doubt those beaks and feet are digested, & then excreted, in a form similar to the way in which actual meat–striated muscle flesh derived from slaughter–would. Your super-premium labels like Innova, Canidae, Flint River Ranch, Solid Gold, & more actually include meat labeled as such in their ingredients. I used to feed one of these & had few complaints, but when I switched to a raw diet (yes, I _have_ done my homework) the difference in poop was immediately noticeable. Now the debris on my back lawn looks more like wolf scat than cow poop. There is a very distinct difference. Basically all this is to say that your average pet poop has more in common with cow & horse manure than you think, and if you want a true carnivore/herbivore fertilizer comparison you’ll have to start with a good look at the food. Whew! Scary article about pet food at [http://www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=79](http://www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=79). Dog Food Comparison Charts at [home.hawaii.rr.com/wolfepack/foodcht4.html:eek:](http://home.hawaii.rr.com/wolfepack/foodcht4.html:eek:) :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poop-what-is-it-good-for/174224.md?page=1)