Anyone living with deer in their community knows the all-familiar sight of deer poop in their lawn.
These animals love to do their business while they graze your grass and look for other delectable treats like acorns.
Deer feces is comprised of several small pellets which are referred to as “scat.”
Sometimes these pellets may be condensed together in clumps and other times they will be scattered (pun intended).
While it’s a nuisance to navigate when walking through your yard, we’re sure you’re wondering, “Is deer poop good for your lawn?”
Deer poop is very good for your lawn provided that it’s spread around evenly. Scat contains high levels of nitrogen which is an amazing natural fertilizer. However, when deer manure is left in large clumps, there is an overabundance of nitrogen which can easily burn your lawn.
What are the benefits of deer poop?
Deer manure can be extremely beneficial for lawns and gardens.
This is because it contains high levels of nitrogen which is regarded as, “the most important element for plant growth.”
Nitrogen is responsible for the deep green color of healthy grass by helping it produce chlorophyll.
It also assists in ensuring grass plants remain strong and disease-free; especially through those hot summer months.
Another huge benefit of nitrogen is that it helps keep your lawn full and lush. There’s nothing worse than a spotty lawn with tons of dead spots!
Check out this video on the importance of nitrogen to your lawn:
Is deer poop bad for my lawn?
Remember how we just discussed all of the wonderful benefits of nitrogen for your lawn?
Shouldn’t it go without saying that since deer poop contains nitrogen, it should be an amazing natural addition to your yard?
Well, here’s the rub… although deer poop is great for grass, it needs to be evenly distributed.
Deer poop can be very bad for your lawn if you allow it to sit in large, concentrated clumps in your yard.
This is a case of, “too much of a good thing.”
While nitrogen is such an amazing element for our lawns, too much of it will cause grass to burn.
When grass plants receive an overabundance of nitrogen, the roots begin to rapidly lose water which causes the plants to dry out (burn).
This is why scat should never be allowed to sit in large piles in your yard. Spread it around evenly so that no individual area receives too much nitrogen and ultimately dies!
Here is a picture of 3 separate deer poop piles in my back yard:
Shortly after this picture was taken, I used a garden rake to distribute the droppings over a larger area to prevent any lawn burn.
It’s important to note that deer don’t always poop in clumps like this. Sometimes the small pellets are distributed naturally by the deer. If this is the case, there is no need to intervene.
Should I remove deer poop from my lawn?
Now that we’ve talked about the benefits of deer poop and the conditions in which it could harm your lawn, you may be wondering if you should just get rid of it altogether?
You should only remove deer poop from your lawn if it is clumped together and you have no intention of distributing it around a larger area to prevent lawn burn.
Listen, we get it. You have better things to do than worry about the deer poop sitting in your grass.
However, if you take pride in your yard and don’t want those unsightly dead grass spots, it’s essential that you either rake deer poop clumps around in your yard or shovel it up and remove it entirely.
We tend to think that both of these processes require the same amount of effort, so why not rake it around to get the full benefits of deer poop’s nitrogen content?
You’ll find that your lawn will be healthier, stronger, greener, and fuller since the scat is no longer causing those nasty brown burn spots in your yard.
Final Thoughts
So, is deer poop good for your lawn? Absolutely, but only if you ensure it’s spread around evenly like we discussed above!
The nitrogen content of deer poop can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. That’s completely up to you to decide.
If you choose to let it sit in your yard and fester in large clumps, you can rest assured that you’ll have nasty dead spots in your lawn as the excess nitrogen robs grass plants of their moisture.
However, if you decide to be vigilant and spread deer poop around as we’ve advised, you’ll find that your lawn has that lush, desirable look that every homeowner yearns for!
We really hope this article has helped answer your question. We would love to hear from your guys’ experiences about how deer poop has impacted your yards; either positively or negatively.
If you’re hoping to eradicate deer from your yard entirely, have a look at our article on how you can achieve this!