How to deal with a phantom lawn pooper?

A question about : How to deal with a phantom lawn pooper?

Nobody has fences around their front lawns in my little cul de sac. We have pavement, and each property has paving slabs leading from the pavement to front doors so you don't need to trudge across people's lawns. Where our and our neighbour's land meets the pavement, an old tree with a little flower bed has been planted. In the last couple of months, we've all noticed that there's been almost daily deposits of dog pooh in it. It's not from our dog, who has very distinctive pooh thanks to her raw food diet, or our neighbours immense large-breed cuddle fiend.

By chance today, I saw the lady who walks a small dog for a new couple across the road walking merrily across our front lawns with said small dog, who wasn't on a lead. There's now a fresh deposit of dog pooh in our flower bed. I didn't actually witness the dog leaving its little gift in the flower bed, but it seems a little too much of a coincidence since literally every other house is empty during working hours. Do I lie in wait tomorrow and see if I can catch the demon pooh depositor? What do I say if I do?

(BTW, do feel I should add that I'm more bemused and unimpressed than full-on I'm calling the dog warden fuming, but that never comes across very well in writing).

Best answers:

• Are there any cats in the neighbourhood that may have left you the little gift? Could it have been a fox?
  If I were you, I'd probably lie in wait to catch them in the act, but you do run the risk of looking like a mad person staring out of your window all day!
• I would pin a notice to the tree kindly reminding any dog walkers to pick up after they've been (the dogs that is, not the owners). Hopefully the owner will see it and realise they've been caught and be shamed in to clearing up next time.
• You have to catch the dog in the act and say to the woman please dont let your dog do his buisness on the lawn and tell her she needs to clear up after it.
  If she continues to do it, put it in a bag and post through her letter box.
• I'd do the sign - maybe even attach a few empty poo bags to it too.
• I'd keep a lookout tomorrow and as and when it happens again, pop outside and say: "Excuse me, but could you pick up your dog's mess please?"
  I couldn't be doing with hanging notices etc up.
  One of my neighbours' dog did a big jobbie a while ago. I just asked her if her dog had done the mess. She apologised and cleared it up, and always has done since. Problem solved
• I'm a cat owner too, but take a large cat and a small dog and there isn't much difference!
• The lady with the dog shouldn't be walking across your private lawns!
• I have a phantom lawn pooper too.....
  At first I thought it was a dog, but haven't seen anyone walking near my front lawn with a small dog in a year.
  I have a sneaky feeling it is the mahoosive beast of a cat that lives opposite.....nothing I can do about it really as I never catch him at it.
  And he is cute.....
• A firiend who had a similar problem got a garden sign in the shape of a rabbit holding a notice which said 'this my dinner please do not poop on it'.
  Since then no poop.
  Wouldn't be any good for a flower bed but maybe one saying 'please do not poop in my flowers'.
  There are various poster available
  https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/dog-p...2/20/1/1005/13
  https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/don-t...3/20/1/1005/13
• I have the same problem. I have watched out for the culprit quite a few times and as soon as I stop looking out then it happens, a large deposit on my front drive.
  I also have dustbins outside the front that I bought to make waste disposal easier and in the last few days someone has put a carrier bag full of dog poo into one of them. I would pick it up and put it in a bin bag but have to psyche myself up to do it as there is a lot of poo on the outside of the bag too.
• I tried putting some signs up around the edge of my property and as I'm on a corner there's a lot of perimeter to poop on, but every single one of the signs was removed within hours, by someone with a guilty conscience no doubt.
• There's some mucky beggar round my way who's letting his dog mess on the pavement every morning - from the amount of mess it's not a small dog. If I can catch whoever it is, I'll be having a word and reporting to the dog warden or whoever is responsible for pointing out the error of their ways to people.
  Whoever is doing it must be able to see that it's getting trodden everywhere - what makes them think it's ok?
• What I don't understand, is why people wouldn't be picking it up at this time of year.
  Free pocket warmers!
• There are a lot of irresponsible dog owners around
  There is a lovely walk nearby dedicated to dogs and most of the owners pick up after their dogs and dispose of it in the bins provided But, it seems that some of the owners of large dogs(huge mounds) feel it's beneath them to do this, bl00dy oik's
  It must be a bigger problem than even I realise because in the parish mag this month there is a warning of Ј80 fine IF caught and a 'don't poop in my garden' sticker to put in the window!