How to sterilise garden??!!

[Croneathome]

Poor dog’s diarrea has been diagnosed as a coccidia infection (protozoans). It’s being treated and she’s already much better, but now I’m thinking of the garden and the five or six soupy stools that were impossible to clear up properly, probably full of eggs, and am imagining an eternal cycle of treatment and reinfection. I will talk to the vet about this, but in the meantime, any ideas on what I could do to blitz the garden and minimise the chance of reinfection? (Have no idea how she got infected in the first place). She’s 2, not a puppy, healthy, full of beans and not stressed.

Soda crystals and hot water?

You can get a freezer spray for sloppy dog poo - use that to clear up any remnants, then spray the area with dettol

Jeyes fluid is most people's go to for this.

I would check with the vet about the incubation period for reinfection and keep her out of the garden for that length of time.
Regular poo and pee walks put a strain on the daily schedule but way better than reinfection.

I use buckets of water with jeyes fluid and boiling water then scrub. Then rinse it down with soda crystals and hot water. Finally rinse it as normal. It takes a bit of time but at least you can be sure it's clean and washed away.

This 100%

I used boiling water on the remnants when my dog was suffering from Giardia (another parasite) Someone was always watching her when she went in to the garden, with the kettle on ready, and we soaked it as soon as possible. The vet thought the reason she suffered with the infection for so long was probably that she was very young (8 weeks when it started) rather than reinfection, and our other dog managed to avoid it completely despite using the garden as well

But runs a really high risk of passing it on to numerous other pets (and wild animals) in the neighbourhood

Another vote for diluted Jeyes fluid. As PP said you don't want him pooing all around the neighbourhood, infecting other animals(or reinfecting himself). It sounds horrible for you and you poor dog.

Jeyes fluid is poisonous to dogs and cats and coccidia eggs are resistant to most disinfectants. They are killed by steam cleaning - is that an option (might work for patio etc but not for whole garden). Otherwise it’s poo picking straight away, and sunlight (ha)

Jeyes fluid is toxic to dogs so best avoided

Kilcox extra can be used.

I would not be too happy if you are willing walking a dog in public that has coccidia as you are putting more dogs at risk of catching it.

Jeyes fluid is only toxic when wet.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

A good point about not walking dog in public areas so as not to spread the infection, but she´s been treated (toltrazuril) so there shouldn´t be any viable eggs (oocytes) in her poo any more (besides which, I always pick up after her immediately, and following treatment this is again possible).

I was more worried about oocytes left in my garden from difficult-to-pick-up poos prior to treatment. My vet tells me that the oocytes are highly resistant to all detergents (with the possible exception of 10% ammonia, but that I´m unlikely to be able to drench my garden sufficiently for this to be effective), and that boiling water will no longer be boiling by the time I pour it on the garden. Her advice is to keep the grass as short as possible to a) discourage dog from eating it (avid grass muncher) and b) let the weather get to the soil and do it´s worst (hard frosts every night at the moment). And also to whisk her straight back to the vet at the first sign of possible reinfection.

Coccidia oocysts are notoriously tough to kill, so the focus is usually on good hygiene and reducing the load in the environment rather than trying to sterilise it completely. The best you can do in the garden is pick up stools promptly, rinse the area well with water, and expose it to as much sunlight and drying as possible, since oocysts don’t survive well in hot, dry conditions. Steam cleaning or boiling water on hard surfaces can also help. With your dog already on treatment and otherwise healthy, the risk of an endless cycle is low once the garden is kept clean

Reinfection is always possible, but it usually takes a fairly high parasite load to cause symptoms in a healthy adult dog. Your best strategy is daily removal of fresh stools, regular hosing of the area, and limiting access to damp, shaded corners where oocysts survive longest. Some owners also use garden lime on soil patches to speed drying and make conditions less hospitable. Don’t worry too much—once she’s fully recovered and her immune system has responded, she’ll be more resistant if she encounters coccidia again.