Do Robot Lawn Mowers Handle Dog Waste on the Lawn?

A robot lawn mower is one of the most amazing technologies of the last decade, which has given people a lot of free time by automating lawn mowing. It's pleasant to watch your beloved robot lawn mower in action as long as it doesn't run over dog feces, because then things can get messy. Or will it? Read on and you'll find out all about it in the article below.

Robot lawn mowers running over dog poop is a well-known problem

If a robot lawn mower can't handle dog feces, it can actually spread them messily all over the yard, which completely negates the benefits of having a robot lawn mower. That's why it's understandable that dog owners might have the following question when considering buying a robot lawn mower: how do I know if my robot lawn mower can or can't handle my dog's poop?

Dealing with feces should be everyone's concern

Even if you don't have a dog or cat at home, you can still find various droppings in your yard. This is especially true for more natural areas, where rabbits or foxes might do their business in gardens. And even if you don't have a pet yourself, your neighbor's cats can also end up in other yards and treat them as their bathroom.

What does a robot lawn mower do when it sees poop?

Robot lawn mowers come in all types and depending on the situation, the robot lawn mower has several options to choose from. These can be the following.

• The robot lawn mower stops mowing and changes direction because it considers the feces an insurmountable obstacle.
• Drive over the poop and spread it a bit on the lawn, in the worst case, over several meters. The poop can also get stuck to the mower's belly and wheels.
• If the poop were to come in contact with the rotating blades, something even more unpleasant could happen – the blades could spray poop all over the yard. Nobody wants to see such a surprise in their yard in the morning.

Dog poop doesn't damage the robot lawn mower

Fortunately, despite all this drama, you generally don't need to worry about the robot lawn mower, because a little mess doesn't do anything to it. The only damage could be an unpleasant smell, which on a hot summer day can become quite pungent.

How to clean a robot lawn mower from dog poop?

The robot lawn mower has done its job as well as it's been programmed to do, but sometimes running over dog poop can be unavoidable. How do you properly clean the machine in this case?

There's nothing difficult about cleaning it. For this you need a suitable brush, warm soapy water and gloves. First, it would be good to clean off the larger traces with a brush and then carefully wash the entire robot lawn mower with soapy water and a brush, wearing gloves at the same time. After that you can dry the robot lawn mower and it's ready for another round.

So how do you avoid the unpleasant dog poop yard caused by a robot lawn mower?

The simplest thing is to deal with the problem at its source – pick up the dog poop. Nobody wants ever-accumulating brown piles on their beautiful green lawn, which can eventually become even a health risk for children and turn a lawn mower into a smelly mower.

Another option is to buy a separate robot that picks up dog poop. Such robots are not yet widely known and cost as much as apartments, but if you enjoy watching robots roaming around in your yard and have a bit of money to spare, why not.

The third and probably best option is to research robot lawn mowers when buying one that have dog poop avoidance built in. Some robot lawn mowers have what's called a POOP guarantee or "Pet Owner Official Promise"

In summary

A robot lawn mower that undoes hours of its work by running over a bit of dog poop without suspecting anything is not nice at all. Fortunately, the robot lawn mower doesn't suffer anything from this and it's relatively easy to clean. The situation itself can be best prevented by picking up dog poop and getting yourself a proper robot lawn mower that can detect dog droppings and leave them alone.