Raccoon feces - Ask Extension
Hi, I have two questions.
1. wrote before and was advised that clear plastic is more effective than black plastic at heating the soil. I cannot fi...
Knowledgebase
Raccoon feces #874364
Asked June 24, 2024, 1:24 AM EDT
Hi, I have two questions.
1. wrote before and was advised that clear plastic is more effective than black plastic at heating the soil. I cannot find any references for clear plastic ut several university based reports on using black. Do you have a reference for using clear plastic (which unfortunately is fairly white in color).
2. How long do I need to solarize to kill ascarid eggs? One season? two?
Thank you.
Ramsey County Minnesota
Expert Response
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23950-tapeworm-infection
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7845101/
There have not been studies to determine how long tapeworm eggs live in the environment. It has been shown that they don’t survive freezing. So waiting one season should kill all eggs. Trying to sterilize the soil is difficult in MN because of so many cloudy days. Sanitation/sterilize also kills everything including necessary soil microbes. So solarizing soil has significant deleterious consequences on soil health and plant health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7845101/
There have not been studies to determine how long tapeworm eggs live in the environment. It has been shown that they don’t survive freezing. So waiting one season should kill all eggs. Trying to sterilize the soil is difficult in MN because of so many cloudy days. Sanitation/sterilize also kills everything including necessary soil microbes. So solarizing soil has significant deleterious consequences on soil health and plant health.
