Who used my bed as a litter over the winter?

Cafe Society
1

There are two beds in my back and side yard. One is always the home of tomatoes and peppers over the summer. Over the fall and winter it is the home of neglect. The almost end of winter and the incredibly beautiful weather we’re having around these parts (part of The Winter That Never Was. Mother Nature’s apology for winter before last’s year’s Worst Winter EVA) I’ve started to clear out my beds.

Pulling up the old tomato and pepper plants I found. . . turds. Hard, dry animal poop. The Boy tells me to break it up and turn it over and spread it out in the bed. I’m like- ewwww. It’s not like I haven’t put a bag of manure onto the bed in the past. But that was in bags and in no way looked like turds. My son laughs at my squeamishness.

For more information on the turds that will be removed: there are no dogs wandering this 'hood, pooping about but there are cats. These turds look way too big to belong to a cat. Other animals that have left carcasses on and around my property-- Racoons, squirrels, opossums, snakes, roosters, geese, moles, rabbits, frogs. . . East Coast suburban critters.

Sooooo, those in the know-- Is my son right and I’m being squeamish for no reason or-- ugg! Unkonw poop! What’s the scoop on poop for soil?

2

If you’re sure it’s not dog poo and it’s too big to be cat poo, out of the animals you’ve listed I’d bet on raccoons; they tend to pick a single area and use it as a toilet for a while - and you don’t want to use that as fertilizer.

3

Raccoons are filthy creatures that are total nuisances. If it is indeed a raccoon, and he keeps coming back, I would recommend “dealing with it” how you so choose. (My father trapped and relocated several raccoons that were wrecking his bird feeders, killing birds, and pooping in the pool and hasn’t had a problem with them since).

4

I also wouldn’t use dog or cat poop due to the potential health hazards. I know rabbit poop can be used as-is, even uncomposted, due to its nonhazardous nature.

Rabbit poop is easy to identify. Everything else, I’d regard with suspicion.

5

I guess I won’t be eating out of any veggie garden my son grows!

6

Sorry, my toilet was on the fritz!