Shrimp in the Compost Pile And the Misery That Ensues

Let’s talk about rotten shrimp and compost.

A few weeks ago we went fishing on the coast and brought back several pounds of big, fat table shrimp. We grilled some as soon as we got back and froze the rest. Last Monday, my wife Janessa thawed them and cooked a delicious shrimp boil. We invited some friends over and filled our bellies.

We snacked on the leftovers for a few days until they got mushy in the refrigerator. There were probably two dozen left. Instead of throwing them in the garbage, I added them to the compost pile.

Shrimp contain bacteria that help them to decompose quickly. Better yet, shrimp shells contain high amounts of chitin, a rich source of nitrogen and other nutrients.

I dug a hole in the compost pile into which I dumped the leftover shrimp boil, which included a few potatoes (we picked out all the mushrooms and corn). I then covered the hole with some compost and added a few inches of grass clippings.

I didn’t give much thought to it until this past Saturday. Both of our boys were home from college. Janessa and I went to a pool party at a friend’s house and the boys stayed home with our dog Heidi.

When we got home that night, I thought I smelled a skunk outside. Heidi, half miniature schnauzer and half blue heeler, gets to sleep wherever she wants inside our house. I told the boys not to let her out. Janessa and I went to bed.

I woke up the next morning to an even stronger stench inside our house. I thought the skunk must have sprayed under our old farmhouse, which sits on piers and beams. But when I went outside, I couldn’t smell it anymore.

That could only mean one thing: our dog Heidi got sprayed.

I went into the boys room. Sure enough, she was laying on her side on one of the beds. She didn’t want to get up. I forced her up and realized what she was hiding – all of the white spots on her right side had been stained yellow. So was the spot on the blanket where she was laying.

I went to the couch of the living room and smelled. Yep. The recliner? That, too.

Ugh.

The smell had not yet awoken Janessa. My first mission was to wash the dog. Heidi hates water and normally fights a lot when I bathe her. This time, she knew what was coming and pretty much resigned herself to the inevitable.

Luckily, we had several cans of tomato sauce in the pantry. In case you don’t know, tomato sauce works wonders for getting rid of skunk spray. It works on humans, too. Just lather the dog with tomato sauce, making sure to massage it deep into the hair and down to the skin. Rub it in really well. Then rinse the dog and smell. Your nose will probably not work too well after smelling a skunk-sprayed dog, so get someone else to smell.

Still skunky? Rinse and repeat.

After washing Heidi, I walked around to the compost pile near our house. Those shrimp that I carefully buried in the pile a week before were strewn all over the ground. That’s what attracted the skunk.

Next time, I’ll throw the shrimp in one of the other compost piles away from the house.