Life with a robotic mower doing the yard work for you couldn’t be any easier. Until it runs over a freshly laid dog poop!
Robot lawnmowers and dog poop aren’t made for each other so you’ll have to get on some gloves and sort out the sorry mess.
This problem is more common than you think, but probably one of the last considerations you would have when purchasing a robotic mower.
If how robotic mowers handle dog poop has just crossed your mind, this concise article should reassure you that your mower will survive an encounter with poo and includes all the essentials of dealing with poop on your robotic mower.
Robotic mowers running over dog poop is a common concern of new owners
After all, your dog is going to love your carpet-soft, fresh-cut grass!
And answering the call of nature is just what they do when there is a comfortable, clean, and litter soft outdoor surface.
If you do not clean up after your pet before your robot starts its mowing journey, it is likely it will take on any poop that is left there – ewww!
And it’s not just dog poop that can mess up your lawnmower
Even if your garden is pet-free, you still may be treated to the pungent deposits of your local wildlife including:
- foxes
- badgers
- raccoons
- cats
Thankfully tackling these types of animal dung on a robot mower is much the same as regular dog poo.
What your mower does to grass it will attempt to do a poo
This means that the high-speed chopping and mulching efforts of your robotic mower will be directed to the poo on the grass. The results of this are varied but almost always smelly and messy. A robot mower may:
- stop mowing and change direction if it is a large poo that creates an obstruction
- break up the poo and smear it into the grass
- whip the poop around the cutting disk and blades as it continues its mowing course
- be smeared with the poop on its underside and wheels
- have the poo hitch a ride on the mower causing it to move awkwardly
- fling and scatter the poo in many directions
- mulch down small and imperceptible poops into the lawn
If you are about to tiptoe barefoot onto your lawn after any of these happenings you will be in for a nasty surprise, and perhaps a clean-up job.
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Dog poo will not damage your robotic mower
Thankfully, the powerful motor and rotary blades mean that there is very little even a large poop can do to a robotic mower other than making a stinky mess.
Some robotic lawnmower owners simply let their mower continue on its journey, letting the grass clean up the mower and using the poo as an all-natural fertilizer.
However, a feces-stained robot in the summer heat may start to smell bad quite quickly.
Leaving poo on the lawn isn’t great for you or your grass
Don’t be lazy. Dog poop is not good for your grass as it can cause burns and discoloration of your lawn. It also is a health hazard, especially if you have children playing on the lawn.
Old poop on your mower is no fun and will make your mower unsanitary.
Investing an hour or so in cleaning up the poop will keep your robot mower looking and operating at its best!
How to clean poop off your robotic mower
This is not a fun chore, but cleaning up your robotic lawnmower will keep it hygienic and fully operational. To clean poo off your mower you’ll need:
- a bucket of warm water with some dish soap in it
- a stiff bristled brush
- some cleaning rags
- an old towel
- protective gloves and eyewear
Depending on the level and area of soiling you can hose down the chassis of your mower. To tackle ingrained poop on the blades and wheels follow these quick and simple steps:
- Place your mower upturned on the old towel, to prevent the chassis being scratched or damaged.
- Dip your stiff-bristled brush in the warm water and scrub down the underside and wheels of the mower. If the waste is dried on you may have to repeat this step multiple times to soften it up.
- Once the solid material and grass are removed, use a fresh bucket of soapy water and wipe down the underside of the mower including the blades (wearing gloves).
- Dry off the robotic mower with a soft cloth.
And to keep the poop problems at bay, why not get a helpful robot to pick up after your dog?
Perhaps the solution to dog poop stuck under your robotic mower is… another robot! This clever bot sounds like the stuff of dreams, but for a cool $400,000 it could be cleaning up your lawn.
The Beetl is a robot that locates and picks up dog mess, wherever and whenever it is deposited. This ingenious bot runs on two wheels and patrols your lawn using an onboard camera to identify the poop it targets.
It has been programmed to ‘see’ poop on the grass and speed over to it wherever it’s found within the boundaries you program for it.
When it finds its ‘smelly’ bounty, a trap door underneath the bot opens and a scoop protrudes and picks up the poo and places it in a sealed compartment.
Take a look at the Beetl in action:
This dung Beetl is currently only a prototype but we are sure that demand for this little helper will be through the roof.
Rounding up
Dog poop on your robotic mower is no fun at all. But it is not the end of the world, and a little soap, water, and elbow grease should help you and your robotic mower move on from a poo encounter.
Remember, the ultimate solution to the problem of dog poop on robotic mowers is checking for fresh poop and picking it up before your robot starts mowing!