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Dog poo smell

janettaylor3452janettaylor3452 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
We moved into our house nearly six years ago.  The previous owner had one of those dog poo bins buried in the border.  We dug it up and disposed of it, but now whenever the weather is warm and dry, the garden stinks of dog poo.
Any suggestions for how we can get rid of this awful smell please?
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Posts

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    you haven't got a Viburnum tinus in your garden by any chance? If you do then when it is attacked by Viburnum beetles, they give off a smell reminiscent of dog poo.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    Ditto Palustris's post. IMO the smell is particularly noticeable after rain when the bush is drying out.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I find eryngium can smell a bit poopy too. I'd be amazed if the compost still smelled after six years so it might well be something else. If a flower is attracting a lot of flies like blue and green bottles then that's usually quite telling that it uses similar smell compounds to the faeces that they're normally attracted to.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    You don't have neighbours with dogs by any chance? We used to be able to smell the dog poo from our neighbour's garden in hot weather. They weren't gardeners and the only thing they used the garden for was to put the dogs out to do their business. Fortunately they moved away.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • janettaylor3452janettaylor3452 Posts: 5
    Thanks for your comments.    We removed the faeces with the bin, but some may have seeped into the soil, although this would be a couple of feet down.  We do have a dog, but clean up whenever she goes to the toilet.   A neighbour has suggested this afternoon that it may be the flowers on some lavender cotton which is planted near to the site of the dog poo bin.   Maybe that is the problem.
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Never noticed any scent at all from the flowers of Cotton lavender. the leaves are aromatic, but certainly not unpleasant, nor particularly strong unless the leaves are crushed.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I find my santolina does niff a bit when it's in flower (different smell to the leaves) but I wouldn't have said like dog poo.  Give it a good sniff and see if that's what it is though, particularly if the smell started when the flowers came out.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FiddlingOnFiddlingOn Posts: 84
    I always think achillea stinks of dog poo. I marvel that anyone buys these plants. Or maybe it's just me...
    Whatever it is, I hope you manage to resolve it.
  • janettaylor3452janettaylor3452 Posts: 5
    Thank you.  I have grown achillea in the past, although I never noticed a smell.  I don't know if it makes a difference that my lavender cotton is the green variety rather than grey.  I've chopped all the flowers off which is a shame, but the foliage still has a lovely herbal smell.    We'll see if that works.
  • mikeymustardmikeymustard Posts: 495
    Do you have foxes in your area? Even if they're not crapping everywhere you can still smell them
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