Pet Waste Planning For Your Community
When communities promote themselves as “pet friendly” to attract residents or homeowners, but then do not have proper amenities for pet owning residents, such as pet waste stations the community is not living up to its promise. As a community manager how do you clean up your community? We’ll help guide you through this below.
Install Pet Waste Stations
Did you know that the most common reason why pet owners leave dog waste or do not dispose of dog waste is that they don't have a bag or nearby receptacle for the task?
By introducing pet waste stations it will help your residents meet community standards through encouraging compliance while also decreasing pet waste, by encouraging pet owners to pick up and dispose of their dog waste correctly.
There are three pet waste stations you can select from for your community.
- Dispenser Station: A bag dispenser on a pole with a sign.
- Economy Station: A bag dispenser and an open waste receptacle.
- Premium Station: These pet waste stations contain waste bags that limit their odors and have durable waste receptacles with lids.
It’s important to think long term for your pet waste stations for your community. It’s important to tie it in with your overall community brand and the quality you want to maintain for your community. For example if you are a luxury community we would recommend a premium station in order to match your community brand and standards.
Decide on the Best Pet Waste Locations
Selecting the right locations is critical because the ultimate goal is to make it easy for dog walkers to pick up a bag at the beginning of their walk and for them to dispose of it at the end.
It’s best to evaluate the density of homes in your communities and the areas with the highest traffic. The next thing to consider is if the identified areas are convenient for dog owners while having a low impact on homeowners or amenity users.
Educate Residents of the Community
Another important element of pet waste management is education and awareness. The ultimate goal of controlling pet waste issues is providing residents with the means and motivation to keep their community clean.
When residents understand the importance of picking up after their pets and they see the others in the community supporting pet waste pickup, they’ll become more likely to participate. Your residents will be an important part to help maintain property values plus advocate for the health and safety for their families, friends, and neighbors.
A big step is to create materials designed to help educate residents about the importance of picking up after pets. Another part is to continuously update your community map outlining the location of pet waste stations so that residents know where they are. If you have a community newsletter always remind them of your pet waste management program.
Maintain Common Area Cleaning
Depending on the type of community, cleaning common areas may require maintaining the entire ground from litter and pet waste.
In other cases, the issue will centralize itself in a few locations known as “hot spots.” These locations are where waste tends to accumulate more frequently than others.
As you determine the type of common area cleaning it is recommended that communities perform common area cleanings at least twice a year, although many communities perform cleanings on a monthly or every other month basis.
Hire A Professional Pet Waste Management Company
Managing pet waste must be consistent in practice or it will fade and go back to square one to the original problem.
The most effective and reliable solution for managing pet waste in your community is to work with a professional pet waste management service. These specialists bring their tools and know-how into your community to eliminate issues related to dog waste and make your residents happy.
Overall, when it comes to pet waste management planning, the most effective strategies involve the introduction of pet waste stations into the community, common area cleanings, ongoing resident education, and hiring professionals.
Need A Professional Pet Waste Management Company?
At Poo Patrol LV we are experienced at cleaning your communities and common areas. Let us be the one who encourages a healthy and safe environment with your residents. You’ll be a happy community manager too! Sign up today!