Could Deer Be Good For Your Garden?

So, I’m driving home a few weekends ago, pull in my driveway, and what do I see?  Five big deer staring at me.  Being the nature lover and city dweller that I am, I love seeing those beautiful brown-eyed animals trotting around my yard.  I know, I know, they eat hostas, tomatoes, and, let’s face it, about anything you want to grow yet I still love having them around.

Staring at these deer face-to-face got me thinking: what happens to their poop?  (A question that I am sure has popped in your head from time to time – admit it). I mean, we have a lot of deer in our yard and a lot of plants, so naturally I assume we have a lot of deer poop.  But, I didn’t even know what deer poop looked like.  After a quick Google search, I immediately apologized to the teeny tiny dog down the street that I’ve been blaming for the poop.  Then, I thought, could this poop be put to a better use than throwing it away? 

O.k., o.k., I’m getting to the composting part.

Can you backyard compost deer poop?  
Short answer: turns out, you can.  Deer are herbivores, so their poop shouldn’t have harmful pathogens in them.

What’s the catch?
There’s always a caveat, right? You still want to make sure your compost pile gets hot enough to kill any nastiness in the poop as there have been reports of deer eating meat occasionally. 

Just like in other “areas of our life”, you want to be regular… with turning your pile that is. Now that spring is officially here, break out that pitch fork and start turning.

And, by the way, when handling your compost, wear gloves.  Let’s be serious, we all love talking about poop but don’t want to touch it.

Back to one of my first questions:  yes, deer poop can be put to good use.  How’s that for a silver lining the next time deer are chomping on your award-winning hostas?

 

Guest Post from our Mystery Blogger. :)