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Coon Droppings
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:08 pm
by Barnyard
One of my hay lofts still has about a foot of hay/straw laying on the floor. This has been there since we bought the place eight years ago. The floor needs replacement in sevearl areas so I have not bothered with it. I am now getting around to cleaning this out so the floor can be replaced. The hay/straw is full of coon droppings. Can this be spread on the garden or should I dispose of it another way?
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:59 pm
by Jim Becker
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:32 pm
by beaconlight
We had raccoons in the attic. It was a crawl space over the 2nd floor. I dropped moth flakes in after removing the cover of the roof vent fan. They left and I covered the vents on the side the entered and left through with hardware cloth. They never returned.
I would imagine you could compost and use the hay and droppings in the garden but I would wear a good breathing mask while doing so.
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 6:07 pm
by Former Member
I would burn the hay and droppings in the fire pit, before spreading the ashes on the garden, after reading what Jim linked to.
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:01 pm
by ricky racer
I think that you should probably wear a mask when you handle the stuff so you aren't breathing in all the dust while pitch forking it onto a wagon, what ever you do with it.
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:38 pm
by Barnyard
Thanks guys. I did a little more digging and found these tidbits:
Don't use raccoon feces as a garden fertilizer
Use a shovel or rigid scoop to gently lift feces and any other contaminated material and place it into a heavy-duty plastic bag.
Close the plastic bag tightly and discard it in your garbage can.
I already had the gloves and mask part of it ready to use. Now I'll just bag it and send it to the landfill.
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 8:07 am
by krose
After reading that article, I would not use it either.
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:45 am
by Stanton
Good rule of thumb would be to use droppings/manure from only domesticated livestock (i.e. horse, cow, chicken) and never wild animals. Of course, with any manure, you should probably compost it or let it sit awhile to "tone down" before casting on your garden.
Hope your guests are not repeat squatters. With your dogs, I doubt they'd come around for long.
Re: Coon Droppings
Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 10:13 am
by Barnyard