What's actually living in the poop in your yard
Roundworm, hookworm, whipworm and giardia all pass through dog waste. The part that matters for a yard is how long the eggs last in soil.
This is the least pleasant thing we know about the work, and it is the reason the job is worth doing properly rather than occasionally.
We are not vets. What follows is the yard-contamination side of it, which is the part we deal with. Anything about your dog’s health is a conversation for your vet.
The main four
Roundworm. The one that matters most for a yard, because the eggs are extraordinarily durable. They can remain viable in soil for years, they resist cold, and they are not affected by anything you can spray. A yard that has had an infected dog on it stays a source long after the dog has been treated.
Hookworm. Larvae hatch in warm damp soil and can penetrate skin directly. This is the one behind the warning about walking barefoot in a yard where waste has been sitting, and it is not theoretical.
Whipworm. Eggs survive in soil for years, similar to roundworm, and reinfect the same dog repeatedly from the same yard.
Giardia. A protozoan rather than a worm. Passes in waste, survives well in wet conditions, and is a common reason a dog gets treated, gets better, then picks it up again from the same ground.
Bacteria including salmonella and E. coli are in the mix too, though they do not persist in soil the way the parasite eggs do.
The reinfection loop
The pattern a vet sees and we see from the other end: a dog is treated, the treatment works, and a few weeks later the dog has it again. The dog was cured. The yard was not.
Eggs deposited over months are still in the soil. Treating the animal without clearing the ground it uses means the cycle restarts. This is a large part of why vets ask about yard hygiene and why the answer “we pick it up now and then” is the wrong answer.
What this means for people
Children are the main concern, specifically young children who play on grass and put their hands near their mouths. Roundworm infection in people is uncommon but it does happen, and almost always this way.
Barefoot adults are the hookworm scenario.
Neither is a reason to panic about a yard that gets cleared. Both are reasons not to let a yard go for a season.
What actually reduces it
Prompt removal, consistently. Eggs in most species need a period of days after being deposited before they become infective. Material removed within a day or two is removed before it becomes a problem. Material left for a week has already done what it was going to do.
That window is the entire argument for weekly service over occasional cleanups, and it is a biological fact rather than a sales line. We did not set the timeline.
Beyond removal: keep your dog on whatever parasite prevention your vet recommends, wash hands after yard time, and if your yard has gone a long while without attention, clear it before the kids are back on it rather than after.
What we do about it
Our techs bag everything and it leaves in your outdoor can. Nothing gets buried, nothing gets left in a corner, and nothing goes in a yard waste bin where it would end up in municipal compost that never reaches the temperature needed to kill any of this.
