5 Options For What To Do With Dog Poop Until Garbage Day

Enjoying time with ours dog outside is one of our favorite activities! Figuring out what to do with dog poop in the yard? Not so much, especially when it ends up places it shouldn’t, like on your dog or shoes.

It’s hard to figure out a solution for what to do with dog poop until garbage day, but not impossible! Whether you’re in an apartment or townhome or just want to figure out a way to deal with waste that is low odor and easy, we’ll have a solution that will work for everyone! We’ll take you through our 5 favorite ways for what to do with dog poop at home and give some additional advice from our years of experience. Say goodbye to unpleasant odors and hello to an odor-free and easier existence!

The importance of proper dog poop disposal

Proper dog poop disposal is more important than most people realize. Whether you just want a clear, carefree area for your dog to use dog agility jumps and dog agility tunnels or just don’t want to smell dog poop, how to store dog poop until garbage day is going to be an issue at some point.

Dog poop can contain a host of unpleasant surprises, but bacteria and parasites are the most common. E. coli, Salmonella, and roundworms are some of the most frequent issues, but many other are possible. These pathogens can cause serious illness if proper hygiene does not follow exposure. Children are always at risk, especially if they aren’t aware they came into contact with dog poop. We recommend checking out Merck’s Veterinary Manual if you want to learn more about what can be in your dog’s poop.

One of the primary reasons we started investigating options for what to do with dog poop until garbage day was from our dogs’ accidental contact with it. Every once in a while, one of our dogs would step in it when running back inside or chase a toy into it.

Besides the hygiene issues, it’s frustrating for us and our pups don’t like it either. If your pup manages to get it on their harness or leash, it’s even more frustrating. Cleaning dog poop offequipment isn’t a fun time, but it comes off the same as everything else! Check out our guide on how to clean dog collars if you run into this unfortunate situation.

Our favorite options for what to do with dog poop until garbage day

Whether you live in an apartment, townhome, or a house with a yard, it’s possible to deal with dog poop. We live in a house with a fenced yard (you’ll have the most options if this is your situation), but everyone has at least a few options that will work.

Pet Genie (or Litter Genie)

The Pet Genie (or Litter Genie if you have a small dog) is a fantastic option to the question of what to do with dog poop until garbage day. It traps odors, is commonly available and does what it advertises to do well. If you have had the Litter Genie for a cat, it’s basically the same, but larger and without the scoop. We like that it’s designed well and we’ve used the cat version for years.

Some cons are that the Pet Genie is more expensive than other options on our list and you have to order specific refills which are more expensive than we like. We have had some success using off-brand refills, but their quality varies wildly. The other issue we ran into is that if a bag breaks or gets shut in the door, it can get…messy and hard to clean. We haven’t run into this too often, but at some point it will probably happen.

We find it to be best for apartments or townhomes with limited exterior space, mostly because of the initial and recurring cost. Despite the cons, it works great and we’re a huge fan of it, but there is another option we like better and recommend for most people.

Diaper genie

We won’t spend a ton of time on the Diaper Genie, but wanted to call it out as an option. It has all the same benefits and drawbacks as the Pet Genie and is a great solution for what to do with dog poop until garbage day.

It’s perfect if you have young children and already have the device on hand, which means you can avoid buying redundant equipment and supplies. The Diaper Genie is also much larger than the Pet Genie, which is perfect if you don’t like changing bags often or have a large dog. The Diaper Genie also has a foot pedal instead of a lid you have to touch, which is a definite improvement.

Some cons are that the device (and refills) are more expensive than the Pet Genie, which isn’t surprising because both are larger. As it’s intended for human use, it’s also unlikely to be at your local pet store, which will change where you shop for some pet supplies.

It’s typically best for the same situations as the Pet Genie. More specifically, we really like the touchless opening feature of the Diaper Genie. If you have small children, large dogs, or just like the touchless opening ability, we’d highly recommend the Diaper Genie as one of our favorite options for what to do with dog poop until garbage day.

Exterior trash cans

A small exterior trash can is our favorite solution for what to do with dog poop until garbage day and we’ve been using it for years. There’s a lot of flexibility in how you can accomplish this, but we got a Behren’s 6 gallon metal trash can from our local hardware store. They are much cheaper in person than online, so we highly recommend that option. Ours was about $20 and looks the same as when we purchased it years ago.

This is our favorite option for a variety of reasons. To start, you can use a scooper or dog poop bags because the opening is so large. It’s also the cheapest for upfront and recurring costs, which means it is easy on your wallet, too. We appreciate not using the company’s specific refills (like the Genie products) which gives you much more flexibility on where to buy bags at.

Some cons of using an exterior trash can are that it can blow away if it’s empty and particularly windy. It’s also not the most appealing fixture outside for most people, but it’s easy to hide behind other objects or landscaping. Check out some of our plant guides (dog safe shrubs, flowers safe for dogs, and outside plants safe for dogs) on some easy ways to hide your dog’s poop bin. Ours is behind some flowers outside of our fence, but we’d recommend a shrub like forsythia if you really want to hide it.

Dog waste station

If you live in a townhome or apartment, this is our favorite option for what to do with dog poop until garbage day. It’s perfect because the station combines all the items you need to deal with dog poop in one spot near where your dog poops! As it’s outside and not near your living areas, it’s odor-free for you, too!

Dog waste stations aren’t terribly expensive, especially if your HOA/landlord considers it an investment. For a single family home, it’s likely excessive unless you want to be passive-aggressive about people leaving their dogs’ waste in your yard. Even if you don’t currently have one, it’s worth a shot to ask your HOA/landlord and they may be receptive to it, too.

The dog waste station isn’t the best option for single-family homes or if you have a very stingy landlord or HOA. We think it’s a reasonable cost for an improvement to your home’s common area, but not everyone will see it that way. Also, someone ends up having to upkeep the trash and refill the bags, so it does involve a bit of recurring work for someone.

Dog waste removal company

Having someone else pick up your dog’s poop is the dream..as long as you don’t mind paying for it! It’s definitely the most hands off option for what to do with dog poop until garbage day, which makes it great if you’re extremely busy and would rather spend your time having fun with your pup! Depending on where you live, it can be affordable, too. For us, there is a company that does it once per week for $15 with an additional fee if you have more than 3 dogs. Not too bad!

It’s definitely the preferred option if you’re extremely busy or can’t bend over repeatedly. The costs can range from easy to justify to brutal, depending on where you live, but there seem to be a few options in whatever area as long as it’s a suburban area. We like the poop “magically” disappearing.

It’s not the preferred option if you don’t have an affordable service option near you or if money is the priority for you. We don’t mind picking up poop periodically, but our dogs are pretty compliant when we’re outside and rarely step in it. In the warmer months, we have to do it before mowing anyway, so it’s a reminder in case we haven’t cleaned our yard yet.

Other tips and considerations

Besides our favorite options for what to do with dog poop until garbage day, we wanted to share some other tips and tricks that we’ve leaned along the way. These tips aim to make your life easier or cheaper and are all related to dog poop. If you’re looking for ideas to make your fenced-in yard easier, check out our guide on how to dog proof a fence!

First, if you want an easy way to remember to pick up dog poop, we recommend pairing cleaning your yard with mowing or garbage day. We like the mowing option best, but it only works for 2/3 of the year for us because of where we live. For us, it’s a great forced reminder in case you haven’t gotten to it yet, and no one enjoys mowing over dog poop, anyway. In the winter months, we swap over to getting it when we collect the rest of our trash for garbage day. We like these orange dog poop bags and we’ve been using them for years because they are easy to see before you mow them.

If you’re looking to save money, the cheapest option is the exterior trash can, unless your landlord or HOA pays for the dog waste station. After the initial purchase, all you’ll need to purchase is regular trash bags, which is fantastic. Next are the Pet Genie & Diaper Genie, in that order. They’re both more expensive upfront and cost more because of the special refill system. The most expensive option is a dog waste removal company, but it is the least effort.

The last point we wanted to touch on was how to reduce your environmental impact, if that’s something you try to do. If you don’t, skip this section, but it’s no more expensive or effort. To start, the bags that biodegrade or have plant material are as good as the regular ones and basically the same price. We recommend those and have been using these bags made with plant fiber for years and have had no issues. If you want to go further, a scooping system would be even better and less work for you!

Conclusion

What are your favorite choices for what to do with dog poop until garbage day? We use the exterior trash can as our preferred option because it’s the cheapest and least effort for us. The flexibility to use poop bags or a scooper means it will work for almost anyone, as long as you have a place to put it.

Have a different option for what to do with dog poop until garbage day? Let us know, we’d love to try it out! If we like it, we’ll give you a shout out! Share your favorite with us by tagging us on Instagram @TheRulyBully !

Have fun!