One of the irritants of walking in the city is the constant risk of slipping or squishing on smelly, dog turds. Shit happens and neither pet owners nor city sanitation seem capable of keeping the sidewalks/pavement clean.

Enter the dung beetle, specifically the 2 mm adult of the scarabaeidae family, placed like medicine in a capsule. The capsule, porous enough to allow gas exchange to keep the beetle alive, would also be strong enough to withstand canine chewing, but would dissolve in the journey through the intestines. Finally, with a pet snack flavor and color on the outside, these poop pills would be added to dog food or spread on the target area for ingestion.

Later, upon dung plus dung beetle deposit, the bugs would quickly go to work rolling and bowling excrement into corners, cracks and sewers.
-- FarmerJohn, Apr 10 2002

this will further encourage rats, I am told (to do what I have no idea but someone will tell me)
-- po, Apr 10 2002


Put dung beetle eggs in the capsule, not adults. Unfortunately, they need some sort of spongy earthy stuff to tunnel into, and whence to roll their balls of dung. O woe. Wholesale urban redesign to accomodate dung beetles?
-- Dog Ed, Apr 10 2002


I'm more in favor of a vigorous "slapping ignorant owners upside the head" policy, sort of a neighborhood watch thing. Better to fix the danged problem than cover up for it.
-- Delcan, Apr 11 2002


<sp: "encapsulated">
-- bristolz, Apr 11 2002


Owners that must clean up dog poop on the paths can then do so with mops and water -- dissolves that poop away while water and neutrugents are added to the soil!
-- reensure, Apr 11 2002


<tries to add "neutrugents" to her dictionary but keeps getting an error message>
-- bristolz, Apr 11 2002


Try spungcrumb, as in ‘spungcrumb moss’ and you get the same strange result. My botanist friends are so wierd.
-- reensure, Apr 11 2002


I dunno, I think they should be slaped and stabed as often as possible.
-- angel, Apr 12 2002


That should be "stabing them in the fot".
-- neelandan, Apr 12 2002


<tries to add "spungcrumb" to his dictionary but keeps getting an error message> You're right... the same strange result.
-- waugsqueke, Apr 12 2002


How about a genetically engineered tapeworm / dungbeetle hybrid ? A creature that can live as larvae in the stomach of a critter, then passes out with the faeces, then hatches into a beetle that likes to hoard dung ?
-- gargarax, Apr 13 2002


If you see a dog owner leading his animal away from its fresh sidewalk deposit, tackle him and rub his nose in it.
-- Guncrazy, Apr 14 2002


I think I'd prefer the crap just lay there than have it "rolling and bowling" all over the place. Maybe instead the dung beatles could live in a little wooden shack tied into your shoe laces and just take care of after the fact cleanup duty?
-- spartanica, Apr 14 2002



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