Dog hair can be a common problem for dog owners. It sticks to clothes and furniture, gets mixed in with the vacuum cleaner, and even causes allergies. The good news is that there’s a solution: composting.
Dog hair is biodegradable and composting dog hair won’t be a problem. As long as you include dog hair with your regular household waste to go in the compost bin, no one will have any complaints about the dog smell.
Dog hair does break down quickly and has a high nitrogen content which can help boost the compost, but dog hair does not contain many of the necessary micro-organisms that make a healthy compost.
It is best to add dog hair with other household waste such as eggshells, coffee grounds, and banana peels.
It is a well-known fact that composting dog hair with your food scraps and yard waste will speed up the decomposition process. However, it has been widely debated whether or not pet hair can be considered the brown matter and included in this type of gardening.
This will help create healthy compost that can be used in the garden or for house plants.
Composting dog hair is a great way to reduce pollution and help the environment. Living green can be easy, especially when composting. All that’s needed is a small amount of free time and a little creativity.
Is dog hair brown in compost?
Composting dog hair is a bit of a controversial subject. Some people love the idea, while others are disgusted by it. However, composting pet waste can be beneficial for your garden and lawn if you follow these steps to avoid contamination.
Dog hair is brown in compost? And not just brown: it’s biodegradable. As long as the hair is mixed in with your other compost materials, it won’t be a problem.
Composting dog hair will speed up the decomposition process and help create a healthy compost that can be used in the garden or for house plants
You will also reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills each year which is good for the environment. So let’s get started on how to go about composting dog hair.
The first step would be to find some brown material such as leaves or wood chips for your pile because this will help with decomposition.
The next step would be to mix in some nitrogen-rich materials like kitchen scraps or grass clippings with the brown material so that there are nutrients available for microorganisms living in your compost pile.
With that all lined up, the last step is to add the dog hair into the mixture. Make sure you mix this all together thoroughly so it’s nice and even throughout the pile
If you are successful in creating a healthy pile of poop, food scraps, wood chips, and grass clippings with a little bit of dog hair mixed in, you will have a perfect compost pile.
If you want to make sure the material is fully broken down before using it as compost, it may be a good idea to let the pile sit for at least two months. This will give everything time to break down and decompose properly.
It is worth noting that dog hair will not completely disappear like human hair; instead, it gets ground into dust-sized pieces and mixed with soil when you add it to your compost pile or garden bed. So if you’re wondering about whether dog hair will turn your compost brown – don’t worry! The answer is yes 🙂
Does hair decompose in soil?
In soil, dog hair will break down quickly where the dog has been digging in a garden bed. In general, dog hair is not considered harmful to plants or humans and can be added directly into compost bins for decomposition.
As always when adding new material to your compost mix in some aged materials such as leaves or straw with the dog hair. This will introduce micro-organisms that dog hair lacks and help the composting process along.
Dog hair has a high nitrogen content, which means it can quickly become rancid in humid weather or if not mixed with other materials. To avoid this, be sure to turn your compost often so the material breaks down evenly.
The benefits of composting dog hair are plentiful. By adding in dog hair with your yard trimmings, you are reducing the number of bags being sent to local disposal sites each week. Plus you are producing a nutrient-rich soil for use in your garden and flower beds. Composting dog hair is a great way to contribute to greener living and promote sustainability in your own community.
If your dog hair smells bad when you add it to your compost bin then useless dog hair the next time you plan on composting or add leaves or straw to introduce oxygen-loving microorganisms.
Is hair good for soil?
Dog owners should compost dog hair in the same way they would compost human hair, which is considered safe in small quantities when mixed into other materials.
Composting dog fur will reduce odor concerns around dogs while giving you a rich organic material to add to your garden beds.
Other Ways to Get Rid of Pet Hair
There are many other ways to get rid of your pet’s hair. Below we have listed some ideas:
- Cut it off at home using scissors or clippers
- Shave your pet with an electric razor
- Use a lint roller on clothes that may have picked up stray hairs
- Remove excess fur by brushing your pet regularly
- Save the hair for composting
What if hair is bad for soil?
Some people may find that pet hair in their compost bins can cause unpleasant odors. This is usually due to not enough carbon materials being added, so be sure to add brown material when you are adding dog hair.
The recommended ratio is one part nitrogen-rich material or green material (grass clippings, food scraps, etc) to two parts brown material (paper, leaves, straw).
If your compost is smelling bad then you may need to add some more paper and dry leaves. If the odor persists, the problem might be with adding too much dog hair which is not breaking down properly. In this case, try to add less hair next time.
