ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley - Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley's Lil Bitta Pod - 19th September 2026

Episode Date: September 18, 2026

On Today's Lil Bitta Pod... we peel the curtain back on an iconic radio prank!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the ZDEM Podcast Network, it's Fletchhorn and Haley's Little Bit of Pod. Welcome to A Little Bit of Pod. Now, producer Carwin, where were we the other day and there was a bottle of water? And I said, oh, maybe someone had, and it was it in the car? Yeah, we're in the car and there was a drink bottle of water. Yeah, but it was an old soft drink bottle and someone had put water in it. And I was like, well, maybe it was for the radiator. Or maybe, and I said to Carwin, maybe someone has it for their lawn to stop the dogs.

and she looked at me like, what are you on? What are you on? What do you mean lawn to stop the dog? Thank you, Haley. I don't know what this is, either. You know, Vaughn? Yeah. Do you know what it is?

This is like growing up in New Zealand in the 80s and 90s. Maybe he's got a water bottle, a big bottle full of water. Half full. People put empty soft drink like coke bottles. Plastic 1.5 or 2.25 litres. Yeah. They would wash them out. They'd put water.

They'd filled them and they left them on their front lawn because they believed it stopped on. shitting on their lawn. There was some urban looms, booms and unfenced front lawns were littered with half full plastic soft drink bottles. I've never heard of this ever in my life. It was madness and it was some old wives tale or some, I don't know how it got out whether it started as a prank.

Was it like physically? Like they think that the dogs can't walk past the water? There was something that deterred the dogs. No one even knew what the story was. Also like side note dog poos were a lot more white. back in the day. They were so much in the 90s. I don't know what the dogs were eating

in the 90s and 80s. Aesthetically, I would rather have dogs shit on my lawn there's plastic bottle. Same. Because it's low and kind of flat and it's just dirt and nature. Did you Google this? Yeah, the myth was the widespread urban legend claims that dogs wouldn't defecate near water or the reflection of the

sunlight scared them. So a scientific test and real world observations to prove that the trick is completely ineffective dogs routinely ignored the bottles and would even shit right on them. It was like some small town bullshit. That went viral in a way that we don't know how because there were no computers or internet.

No, it would have been on some kind of like, I don't know, magazine style, Good Morning Show or like a Tet was on a TV or in the newspaper. Or it's like a ploy by big soft drink to buy more bottles. Yes. And having a use for the plastic bottles after you dress. We're not landfilling these. And my memory was only with the clear ones. Yes, it was clear ones.

It wasn't the brown or the green. You couldn't use a sprite. No, it had to be cold. Or an LMP. It had to be a shweeps. Yeah, yeah. And you take the label off. I've never heard of this in my life.

So the spinoff did a story about this a few years ago in 2020. Oh, I love it. The spinoff always has done a story about anything that's happened in this country. We love that. Some comments on it. My Polynesian family got pulled into this big time. Hapes of families in South Auckland had bottles on their lawn. My grandpa used to have them on the lawn till one day while staring out the window.

I saw a dog taking a shit right on the bottle. Yowed at the ground. He yelled at the dog. He yelled at the dog. He yelled at the dog. He yelled at the dog. placed them with he tipped out the water

and he said no we're done with that shit now how close was it like mine sweeper where you had to have a certain distance or you might have tens on how big your lawn was you might have one or two and it wasn't everyone it was just the people that had heard this and it was so weird

I don't know what this is like the first I've ever heard of it so apparently Ruth Glint passed the bug man who used to be on Maggie's Garden World you know Rudd Glint passed he apparently perpetrated this rumour He said it worked

And someone called Eon Scaro Eon Scarrow Eon Scaro was in New Zealand Gardening personality broadcasting Fucking Eon Scarrow Do you think they got together One night over a couple of beers And you're like

We'll we'll start this So what? It started on Maggie's Garden World This might just Is this international This might just be a Kiwi thing Do you reckon Maybe one time

He got drunk Shade on his lawn And then was like Oh my goodness The dog Don't worry I've got a strategy In 1989 is part of a radio prank.

It's a radio prank. It's a radio prank. Oh my God. New Zealand gardening guru, Eon Scarrow, said that he'd put a plastic water bottle on the lawn and it stopped dogs from using the front yard as a toilet. It was a 1989 radio prank. Oh my God. That's brilliant.

Wait, follow up. It was a spur of the moment joke. He came up with it on the spot. And even, it went international in 89. Before the internet, it went international. You won't know this. Gilbeth, who? You guys got played.

You had the internet. Okay, Alan Scarrow did it without the far. Follow up podcast idea. We get Rood on the show because I can get his contact details real fast. Well, Elon passed away in 2013. He's still on the ZBs all the time. Yeah.

I actually just find Rood Klein passed a very interesting man full stop. He's always got a fact about a bug. We should totally talk to him about it. I can't believe you hadn't heard of this, Haley, but maybe it was pre-like it was more the late 80s early. Because when do you say he did this? 89. 89, yes.

I remember it was big in the 90s. This makes absolute sense as to why my Nana would have done it, because she would love the garden radio program. I, Bev would have said this is bloody stupid. Drick and she would have to say it from the get-go. What a full circle mama. Yeah. Did you have to, like, refill them?

No, you just left them there and they're just simmer in the sun. And you'd have to move them, otherwise your lawn would go dead under you. But this was a thing for years. Okay, so I just turned on Facebook post December 17. in 2025 residents in Canpour overseas have come up with a quirky new methods to stop dogs pooping near their homes. They're having bottles filled with coloured liquid outside their houses believing it will stop straight dogs from paying on their...

Amazing. This is amazing. It's still rattling around. It's still just... I love it. It's incredible. There you go, a bit of New Zealand radio history for you there. They didn't teach that at Broadcasting School. No. They bloody well should have.