You’ve seen your robot lawn mower tackle a variety of challenges.
It climbed that huge hill. It navigated a winding path. And it just gracefully mowed around your vegetable garden without compromising a single string bean.
But we’ve reached the final obstacle. And this one is a doozy.
There’s a big pile of dog poo. And your robot mower is headed right towards it. Who will win?
a Far cry from traditional lawn mowers
Maybe you’ve experienced this worst-case scenario with a traditional riding or push mower: dog poo smears everywhere. It gets all stuck in the blades. Maybe it even projectiles across the yard and hits your freshly-cleaned windows. (We have heard horror stories from landscaping pros who have to deal with this on a regular basis with their traditional lawn mowers. Needles to say, they are the unsung heroes of lawn care.)
And while we’re not advocating for you to never clean up the dog poo in your yard, we do get a lot of questions about how robotic mowers handle the “pies” your dogs leave behind in the lawn. Because in the back of your mind, you’re wondering if you’re going to have to clean the blades or worse, cause your robotic lawn mower permanent damage.
Here’s the low-down.
What happens to robotic lawn mowers if they run over dog poop?
In a nutshell: not much.
You see, since your robotic mower is in constant motion through your yard, the movement helps naturally wipe your blades clean.
Furthermore, since the blades on a robotic lawn mower are so protected by the hard shell of the mower’s body, you won’t see dog poo flying everywhere, because the shell acts like a shield.
When your mower goes over a pile of poo, it helps to flatten it. And once it goes over it a few times, it should get really flat. To the point where you will likely not even see it.
Then the grass will grow over it. And your big pile of poo will be no more.
And this won’t cause your mower to slow down or perform at a lower level. To you, your robot just beat up a big pile of poo. To your robot mower, it’s just a boring old Tuesday.
Why You Should still Clean up Dog Poo in your yard
Armed with this new information, should you just ignore it when your dog pops a squat in the yard? Does this mean you never have to do pooper scooper duty ever again?
Not so fast.
The dog poop might not be a problem for the robotic lawn mower, but it’s not healthy for your lawn. It can discolor your grass and even leave burns.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, dog poop is considered a pollutant and a human health hazard. It can carry diseases such as roundworm, hookworms, tapeworms, parvo, and much more. By not picking up the dog poop and mowing over it, you’re effectively spreading these diseases all over your lawn, which isn’t good for your lawn OR the health of you and your children. So needles to say, pick up the dog mess.
Hate picking up dog poo? Check out this robot that picks it up for you. (Yes really!)
Never Worry About Robotic Lawn Mower Damage with Autmow’s Maintain Me Program
Like with anything, your robotic lawn mower is bound to experience some everyday wear and tear. It’ll run over walnuts, fallen fruit from trees, sticks, and yes, dog poo. While most models handle these like a champ, it’s still a good idea to bring in your robot for regular maintenance.
Autmow’s MaintainMe Program makes it easy to keep everything running smoothly. We’ll take good care of your machine and ensure that blades are replaced regularly, boundary wires are in good shape, everything stays clean and good as new. Click here to learn more about Autmow’s MaintainMe Program.
