Expert Advice

Thanks for your question David, I’m often asked whether it’s a good idea to put pet poo into a worm farm.

I recommend that you don’t!

There are two main reasons

1. There are diseases in pet poo that can transfer to humans. So, if you put pet poo in your worm farm and the poo does not completely mix and process, those diseases will be held in the worm castings. When you use the worm castings to feed your fruit trees or vegetable plantings, the pet poo diseases will transfer via the soil into your plants. Then, when you eat the fruit or vegies, you could contract the disease…Although the risk is slight, its well worth avoiding!

2. Composting worms like to eat organic scraps like lettuce leaves, melons, carrot and pumpkin, etc. If your worms are already being fed plenty of food scraps they will probably leave the pet poo to slowly decompose on its own.

So, what can you do with your pet poo?

Put the pet poo into a well mixed and well managed compost system or bury it in a hole in the ground at the drip-line of European tree species – but please don’t bury pet poo near Australian Natives which are sensitive to the extra phosphorous that the poo contains.