How much does dog poop pickup cost?

Here's every price we charge in one place, the math behind the monthly number, and how billing works.

What does dog poop pickup cost per visit and per month?

For one dog on a yard up to ¼ acre, weekly pickup is $19 a visit, every other week is $27, and twice a week is $16. Here's the full grid for one to four dogs, with the monthly amount you'd be billed.

Bigger yards and one-time cleanups are on our full price list. Prices include any tax that applies to our service. Every plan gets the same visit: a heads-up text, a full-yard grid sweep, double-bagged waste, a gate-check photo and disinfected tools. Here's what happens on a visit, step by step.

Notice that an every-other-week visit costs more than a weekly one. That's not a typo. Each visit covers two weeks of waste, so there's more to find and bag. Twice-a-week visits cost the least each for the opposite reason, though you pay for twice as many of them.

What makes a pooper scooper service cost more or less?

A plan's price comes down to four things: how many dogs you have, how often we come, how big the yard is, and add-ons. For a one-time cleanup, how long it's been since the last cleanup matters too.

1. Number of dogs. Each dog after the first adds $3 a visit on the weekly plan, $3 every other week and $3 twice a week. Up to four dogs are priced online. Five or more get a custom quote.
2. How often we come. More visits mean a bigger monthly bill but a smaller price per visit, since less waste builds up between them.
3. Yard size. The grid above covers yards up to ¼ acre. A yard of ¼ to ½ acre adds $6 a visit, and ½ to 1 acre adds $11. Over an acre, we quote it by hand.
4. Add-ons. Deodorize and sanitize, a pet-safe enzyme spray on the potty zones, is $8 a visit. Haul-away, where the bags leave with us instead of going in your trash can, is $4 a visit.

Here's everything beyond the base price at a glance:

The 30-second quote asks about these same five things, plus your ZIP code, and shows your exact price.

How much is a poop scooping service each month?

Your monthly price is your per-visit price times the average number of visits in a month, rounded to the nearest dollar. The averages come straight from the calendar. A year has 52 weeks, so weekly service averages 4.33 visits a month. Every other week averages 2.17, and twice a week averages 8.66.

So one dog on the weekly plan is $19 × 4.33, or about $82 a month. A few more examples:

Averaging keeps your bill steady. Some months have one more service day than others, and your monthly price stays the same either way. Skipping a visit doesn't change it either. Going away for two weeks or more? We'll pause your plan if you text us at least one business day before your next visit, and paused time isn't billed.

What does the first cleanup cost if it's been a while?

Nothing, if you start a plan. The first cleanup is free with any weekly, every-other-week or twice-a-week plan: we clear the backlog on the first visit at no extra charge. If the yard turns out to need much more work than a normal first cleanup, we'll contact you before doing the extra work. You can accept a price for it, or cancel and get a full refund. No judgment either way; yards get away from everybody.

A one-time cleanup is different, because clearing the backlog is the whole job. Its price depends on how long it's been:

How much is a one-time yard cleanup?

A one-time cleanup starts at $133 for one dog, plus $28 for each additional dog. Bigger yards and longer gaps since the last cleanup add to it, and the online quote accounts for both.

The online price is a starting estimate. We confirm the final price with you before we start, then send an invoice after the work is done. It's due within 15 days, you can pay it by card or bank account, and it doesn't start a subscription. One-time cleanups suit the spring thaw, a move-out, a backyard party, or a yard that simply got ahead of you.

Is weekly worth the extra over every other week?

For a yard your dog uses every day, usually yes. With one dog, the difference is about $82 a month for weekly against about $59 for every other week. Here's what the extra buys.

The CDC says roundworm eggs in dog poop need 2 to 4 weeks in the environment to become infective. Weekly pickup gets waste off the lawn well inside that window. On an every-other-week schedule, a pile can sit for up to two weeks, right at the window's early edge.

Flies run on a faster clock. UC IPM, the University of California's pest management program, says house flies can go from egg to adult in as little as 7 days in summer. It recommends removing dog feces at least once a week.

Every other week still makes sense for one small dog in a lightly used yard, especially if you grab what you see in between. The CDC's own advice is to pick up your pet's waste every time, so any schedule works better with a little help from you. Our guide to how often to pick up dog poop matches a schedule to your pack and your yard.

How does billing work?

You sign up and pay online. Your first month is charged at sign-up, and after that the same amount is charged on the same date each month until you cancel.

• Due at sign-up: your first month. The first cleanup is free.
• Month to month: no contract, no minimum term and no cancellation fee. Cancel from your account page or by text, and you won't be charged again. Service continues through the month you've paid for.
• Paying: card or bank account, with no card fees. Stripe processes the payments, and you get an emailed receipt every time.
• Price changes: at least 30 days' notice by email or text, and you can cancel before a change takes effect.

The fine print is in our terms, written in plain English.

What if my yard is huge, I have a big pack, or it snows?

Yards over an acre and packs of five or more get a custom quote. Start a quote online, or call or text (586) 325-7970. We get back to new requests within one business day. Managing an HOA, apartment community or dog park? That's our commercial service.

Snow doesn't change your monthly price. The National Weather Service's normal for Detroit is 45 inches of snow a season, and January and February bring the most. When it piles up, we pick up everything above the snow and catch up when it melts. A visit we miss because of weather or our own mistake, and can't make up, is credited on your next bill.

Still deciding whether a service makes sense for you at all? Here's our honest take on whether dog poop pickup is worth it.