Elk and deer in a turf yard: what turf takes off the menu, and what still draws them in

01Does artificial turf keep elk and deer out of a yard?

It takes away one food, not the reason to come. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) calls elk grazers: grass may be 80 to 90 percent of their summer diet, but bark and twigs of trees and shrubs may be half of it in winter (CPW elk profile). Mule deer are browsers that eat mostly twigs and leaves of shrubs and trees, ornamentals included, and little grass; CPW says they live in any edge habitat, suburbs included (CPW mule deer profile).

Rocky Mountain National Park says elk feed mostly in the morning and evening, eat about 20 pounds of plants a day, and move down into the Front Range in winter (NPS). So turf matters most in summer; in winter, the trees and shrubs around it are what elk come for.

02What will they still eat, and how do I protect it?

CSU Extension’s Preventing Deer Damage says a hungry deer will eat almost any plant, so no plant is deer proof, and in towns a home landscape can become the main food source. Its advice, written for deer:

• Place tempting plants with care: near the house, inside a fence, or inside a ring of plants deer like less.
• Choose rarely browsed plants. CSU lists Apache plume, blue mist spiraea, common juniper, Douglas-fir, hawthorn, mountain mahogany, pinon pine, potentilla and rabbitbrush among them, and Russian sage, lavender, purple coneflower, daffodils and yarrow among flowers. Apples, aspen, roses, tulips and strawberries are often browsed.
• Protect trunks. Tubes help, but a buck scraping velvet off its antlers can still damage a trunk; CSU says fencing may be needed.

CPW adds that deer often prefer non-native plants, and suggests natives (CPW). In a turf yard the browse lives in the beds and trees, so plan those for the deer: mixing turf, rock and plant beds and turf around trees.

03How tall does a fence need to be for deer and elk?

Taller than most yard fences:

• Six feet or taller: CPW’s homeowner page calls this the most effective way to keep deer off a property.
• Seven to eight feet: CPW’s Fencing with Wildlife in Mind for a permanent non-electric fence against deer and elk; around gardens, 8-foot woven wire tight to the ground.
• Eight feet of woven wire: CSU Extension’s conventional deer-proof fence.

CPW says to fence small: keep the tall fence close around the garden or planting it protects, and let wildlife use or cross the rest. Deer balk at a fence with depth as well as height, so a staggered or leaning fence, tall plantings along it, or two parallel fences 36 to 38 inches apart can keep them out of a garden. The same guide says solid wood, iron, steel and chain-link fences can be a complete barrier to wildlife and belong on small enclosures, that yard fences often need not be over 4 feet, and that a fence meant to let wildlife through keeps its top at 42 inches or less.

Nothing on the turf is food, so the tall fence belongs around beds, trees and the garden. Check your town’s fence rules and your HOA’s guidelines before building higher (HOA approval).

Estes Park. On a development application for a site with important wildlife habitat, the Development Code caps fences at 40 inches, allows taller ones that staff approve to hold animals or protect gardens, or that leave openings at least 6 feet wide no more than 50 feet apart, and bans barbed wire (Sec. 7.8). Lots approved for single-family homes before the code took effect are exempt. It depends on your lot: ask the Town of Estes Park’s planning staff.

04Is it illegal to feed deer and elk in Northern Colorado?

Yes. Not legal advice. CPW’s rule, Chapter W-0, #021, bars putting out grain, hay, minerals, salt or other food a person “knows or reasonably should know” will lure big game, and salt or minerals that lure wildlife; normal agricultural practice is excepted.

CPW explains why: feeding crowds deer where dogs chase them, cars hit them and disease spreads; corn, birdseed, apples and grain give deer and elk acidosis, which kills many quickly; and the prions behind chronic wasting disease are in infected animals’ saliva and feces (CPW Feeding Wildlife). It names pumpkins left out for wildlife, too. Its yard checklist: pick fruit before it ripens and clean up what falls, net fruit trees, keep seed off the ground under feeders, and don’t leave out water.

05How do I clean elk and deer droppings off turf?

No turf maker we found writes about wildlife droppings, so the nearest guidance is for dog waste. CSU Extension notes that turf doesn’t break waste down biologically the way a lawn does (PlantTalk Colorado 1537), so pick droppings up:

1. Rake or scoop. Motz, an infill maker, says metal rakes are the tool most likely to damage turf; use a light plastic or bamboo rake, or a broom (Motz).
2. Rinse what’s left. For messy waste, a pet-turf maker says to pick up all you can, rinse with a hose and treat with a bacterial enzyme, without washing solids into the turf (K9Grass).
3. Keep the pressure low. SYNLawn warns that spray over 300 psi can severely damage turf and displace infill (SYNLawn manual); MSI says never use a power washer (MSI).
4. Wash your hands. The CDC, writing about pet parasites, advises keeping lawns and play areas free of animal feces and washing hands after outdoor activities (CDC).

Where rinse water may go: how to clean artificial turf. With a dog in the yard too: dog poop on artificial turf.

06What do hooves do to turf, and how are marks fixed?

No turf maker we found rates its product for hoof traffic. Motz says furniture with sharp edges will puncture turf and heavy objects left in place leave imprints (Motz), but says nothing about hooves. If dents, scuffs or kicked-up infill show after a visit:

• Brush it. Against the grain first, then every direction. Pressed blades should bounce back; a spot that stays flat may need infill.
• Top up by hand. Handfuls of infill, a thin layer at a time, brushed in; too much causes trouble as well as too little (Motz).
• If it stays: a low spot is in turf sinking in low spots; a cut or hole in how to repair artificial turf.

07How do I stay safe around elk in the rut and in calving season?

Give them room. CPW says elk mating is over by mid-October, and that rutting bulls spar for dominance and harems of cows; mule deer bucks fight for does in their fall rut. Late spring and early summer is calving season, when cow elk commonly charge anything they see as a threat to a newborn and can be especially aggressive toward dogs (CPW, June 2024). That June, CPW investigated a third cow elk attack in Estes Park that year: a woman walking a leashed dog startled a cow, which knocked her down.

• Keep back. Rocky Mountain National Park asks visitors to stay at least 75 feet from elk, about two bus lengths, and to back away if one approaches.
• Read the animal. CPW says a raised head, ears pointed at you or jumpy behavior means you are probably too close (CPW). Give it a way out, and let a bedded animal rest.
• Check before the dog goes out, morning and evening above all, and keep it leashed while elk are around.
• Leave a calf alone. CPW says its mother is most likely nearby.
• If it turns dangerous, call your local CPW office or law enforcement.

08What should a turf plan near open space show?

• Where the browse is: beds, trees and garden drawn in, with rarely browsed plants.
• What gets a tall fence, how tall, and how close it sits to what it protects.
• Gates that latch. CPW says a yard fence over 4 feet needs its gates kept secured.
• Nothing that feeds wildlife: no salt block, no water set out for deer, no seed spilling onto the turf.
• Edges that hold: edging options.
• A cleanup kit: a plastic rake, a hose with a spray nozzle, soap by the door.

More in questions to ask a turf installer, artificial turf installation and pet turf.