We’ve actually had some luck (though it’s still a problem, it has become a smaller one). With regard to the flower beds, I found simply keeping them moist (daily water), full of plants, and excrement-free (clean the poo quickly) has really kept the animals at bay. For repeat offenders, and especially those that like to pee/poop in the same location, cayene pepper (perhaps mixed with water in a spray bottle) actually does work, but every so often you need to reapply it. Eventually, the animals tire of cleaning the painfully-spicy stuff off their paws.

With regard to your yard (and mine), I again found cleaning the poop ASAP kept the number of offenses down, but I also made it known to the animals they weren’t wanted…now I never hurt them, but most animals seem to hate being sprayed by the hose or being yelled at as shoes are thrown at them. You could try spreading cayenne across your yard (animals hate it, and you wouldn’t have to do it forever as they’ll eventually tire of the burning), but this doesn’t seem practical if your yard is large.

In the end, I suppose I could sum it up with three possible solutions:

(1) practice temporary diligence in making it known the lawn belongs to you and not the dog/cat/ferret/feral neighbor child. Spread cayenne pepper in commonly-used areas, douse them with water (buckets, hoses…I even use the sprinkler when I don’t have enough time to unscrew it), and the occasional yell/shoe-throw.

(2) Talk (politely) to the neighbor and ask them to keep an eye on their dog/cat/ferret/feral child. If you’re within city limits, I’d be amazed if leash laws don’t prevail. Dogs in particular are not supposed to be allowed to run free, even for a quick potty break. If the neighbor is less than kind about the situation, feel free to call animal control and report the violation; sometimes hefty tickets are better motivation. For instance, one of my neighbors slammed the door in my face after I respectfully asked her to keep her angry, manaically evil little dog in her yard…she later received a citation from animal control related to a call from another of our neighbors.

(3) If all else fails, build a fence.

Good luck, and let me know how things go!