Dill, Hill speak to BDN about impact of urine on plants
The Bangor Daily News spoke to Jim Dill, pest management specialist at University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Dana Hill, director of the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at UMaine, about the impact of human and animal urine on plants. “The idea behind it is that [human] urine does contain some level of ammonia and that is known to have some repellent qualities, but to have the level of ammonia needed to keep deer away the person would have to be fairly dehydrated or have some other form of a medical condition,” Dill said. “Bringing your pets to the veterinarian for regular exams, vaccinations and deworming is important. These are important to prevent zoonotic disease,” Hill said. The article also noted that food safety experts at UMaine Extension recommend washing vegetables in clean, room temperature water.