Neighbour pouring bleach onto footpath

[Furo]

So I thought I'd get people's opinion as to whether This is legal? We live close to a house who's owner keeps pouring bleach onto the footpath. We can strongly smell bleach and see the floor white and unfortunately noticed when we were walking our dog past there.

The fence does have signs to ask people to not let their dog do their business in front of their fence so I wonder whether she pours it down to clean it off dog poo/pee or if it's more sinister and even if it is allowed??

While I can obviously walk on the other side with my puppy, a cat might not be able to stop contact with it.

You could always go down the route of suggesting something more effective (and safer) as the ammonia in bleach can actually encourage dogs to mark more What ammonia in bleach

1 part bleach to 10 parts water is standard for cleaning up bodily fluids, blood etc and am sure it does dog poo well too. The chorine evaporates pretty quickly.

How do you know it doesn't get on people's shoes if you don't know where they do it?

Or on people's hands when they garden?

Or on children when they play in a garden where cats are shitting?

Is it not recommended to bleach the yard when parvos been around?

yes of course, cat shit is just as much as poblem as dog shit, it's all over the place, people are constantly complaining about it, just like badger shit and rabbit plops ... yeah right. I'm sure you're a responsible dog owner though and pick up all your dogshit, as legally required to because it's potentially dangerous, unlike say fox poo, and don't leave it lying around outside my house like my feckless neighbours do.

why try and make it the same when it's clearly not? you don't see people bagging up cat/fox/cow/sheep/chicken poo.

'who knows where my cat shits, you can't smell it, it's not massive, it's not on the footpaths, it doesn't get all over people's shoes and it doesn't carry disease. in fact I never see it, unlike all the dogshit around. I think k she buries it, unlike next doors dog'

Classic comment, cat shit does smell, no it doesn't get buried all the time and I am sick of it in my garden. I still wouldn't chuck bleach around that will kill birds/wildlife. But then as a cat owner you might not worry about birds and wildlife maybe?

Cat shit does carry disease?
I have a cat, I like cats but you are not correct.

Of course cat shit is a problem.

It's only not a problem fior you because your cat shits in someone else's garden.
I would love to see cat owners bag it.

As for foxes, bagging by the owner might be problematic, mainly because they generally don't have owners.

Well, people don't encourage foxes to live in their homes like they do cars/dogs. Domesticated poultry is generally contained in gardens too. Horses you might have a point with, but obv not as common a pet in urbanised areas.

It isn't illegal for dogs to mess in public areas. It is illegal to not clean it up.

Does bleach deter cats?
We have 2 neighbours cats that shotnin our garden almost every day. I'm sick of Cleaning it up especially as im pregnant and concerned about toxoplasmosis risks. I have tried all sorts of cat deterrents and nothing has worked. I would happily bleach the paths (in my own back garden) if it is an effective cat deterrent.

Nothing deters cars. Dogs might, but the relief is only temporary.

People should keep their cats indoors and stop pretending they don't shit everywhere.

Normal household bleach very very quickly breaks down to salt and water. It's very safe for the waterworks. Google it. So EHO won't be interested.

Animals on the other hand might be a more concerning matter however.
Maybe she mixes a bit with a bucket of hot water and then rinses it with another bucket? Have you actually seen how she does it? Is she just squirting neat bleach everywhere? I doubt it

The smell of bleach will encourage cats to wee there anyway. Maybe you could come at it from the angle that she could use something else that would work better.

Bleach is not very safe going in to open drains, many are connected to local ponds and water ways. It's a class 1 hazard for aquatic life.
Speak to environmental health rather than some random on mumsnet giving the ultimate descuon that it's safe and they won't be interested.

I sympathise with the poor woman. She's probably just trying to wash away remnants of dog crap. A dog crapped on my driveway and since it's tarmac, it's hard to scrub it out of the little dips so I poured an entire bottle of antibac cleaner over it. I don't want to harm any wildlife or people's pets (and I don't actually want to pay for the antibac or the gloves I binned) but it is a higher priority that my kids don't go blind from dog poo. Unless anyone has a better suggestion I have to clean up in this manner.

I don't think that we can sterilise the outdoor world though, I am no scientist but it's surely more likely that a child will get eye damage from chemicals poured on the pavement rather tha dog poo?

Toxocariasis is very rare – there are approximately two cases of illness due to infection per million of the population a year. On the rare occasions when human infection occurs, it usually only causes mild, flu-like symptoms. Toxocara antibodies are present in fewer than 2 in 100 healthy adults in the UK, who have previously been exposed to infection with no ill effects.

Of those infected, none have had permanent blindness. Yet it's fine to chuck chemicals around that will kill birds and fauna.

We had a problem with dog fouling outside our house every day. I contacted our local council and they sent round the dog warden who advised us to mix some bio washing powder with water and pour it on the path as apparently dog hate the smell and should be deterred. It worked and I don't think with it being diluted should cause any damage to dogs.