What food attracts deer the best?
By far the most popular and widely used bait for attracting whitetails is corn. Not only is deer corn highly consumed and well received by whitetails in almost every habitat across the continent, but it's also one of the cheapest options for hunters.
From larger plots of forage soybeans covering 10 or more acres, to small parcels of broken tree canopy planted to brassica; various crops including corn, milo, turnips, peas, clover, and alfalfa will attract and keep deer. One of the surest ways to attract deer is through their stomach.
Doe urine in the liquid form is probably the most common attractant scent used by deer hunters. It is good for calming deer's nerves and piquing their curiosity, since it simulates a new deer in the area. Since it is a common smell in the woods, it very seldom scares deer—bucks or does.
Food Plots
Plants that typically attract deer include red clover, chicory, and orchard grass. Certain high-protein crops, such as peas, soybeans, turnips, alfalfa, sorghum, kale, or corn, are also attractants that the animals enjoy feeding on. Deer like the nutritious nuts that come from chestnuts and acorns as well.
An inexpensive way to feed deer is with corn. Deer love corn and many hunters rely on it for supplemental feeding. That being said, corn is not an excellent source of protein, which is essential for antler growth and the nursing of fawns.
Deer love peanut butter, so it is an excellent bait. You can use peanut butter alone or in a mixture to lure deer into an area for hunting or just to enjoy watching them. Peanut butter is much cheaper than most commercial deer attractants and works as well or better.
Vanilla Extract will attract deer. Peanut Butter works too, atleast in the SC woods I hunt in.
- Brassicas. This is arguably one of the most popular food plot choices for whitetails. ...
- Oats. Oats are a great choice for cereal grain lovers. ...
- Wheat. Wheat is good. ...
- Austrian Winter Peas. Maintenance and Spraying. ...
- Winter Rye.
- Deer Cane Black Magic. Cabela's. Black Magic by Evolved Habitat has made its mark in the deer attractant category. ...
- Apple-Flavored Attractants. Amazon. ...
- Orange-Flavored Deer Corn. Orange Corn Company. ...
- C'mere Deer. Bass Pro Shops. ...
- Tecomate. Amazon.
Deer are attracted to the smell of soil as is, but if you want to up the attraction factor, pour some buck or doe urine, or scrape starter into it.
What attracts deer more than corn?
Peanut butter has physical properties that will help deer hang around in front of your trail cameras better than corn. It tends to leave a longer-lasting residue than corn, so whitetails stick around wherever you smear it.
Like apples or pears, sugar beets should be spread out and not piled up, and it pays to cut a bunch in half to spread the aroma and lure more deer into the bait pile. People talk about the bait pile, but in fact, it's much better to spread the bait out over a large area than it is to pile it in one place.
I divide a 40-pound bag of corn into four 10-pound buckets, and put a bucket out every 3 days or so. I spread it out thin in an area about the size of a sheet of plywood so that the deer will have to work for each kernel, and set the camera to video with a minute delay between videos.
Mineral Blocks
Minerals are essential for deer health. You can purchase mineral blocks or salt licks specifically for deer and leave some on a feeder around your land. Salt is an extremely cheap commodity and it is also a very easy thing to find. You can also mix nuts and other foods around the feeder.
Deer eat woody browse in the winter. This can be leaves, berries, saplings, bulbs, or buds. In wintertime, they will take their pickings from the ground. They can also have some lush forage such as kale, radish, turnips, apples, or cabbage if it is available.
Not surprisingly, deer stay away from poisonous plants! Daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies are common flowers that have a toxicity that deer avoid. Deer also turn their noses up at fragrant plants with strong scents.
Without talking too technically about rods, cones, nanometers, color spectrums, and short and long light wavelengths, we know this: Whitetails can distinguish blue from red, but not green from red or orange from red. Research also suggests deer distinguish light grays and tans better than dark reds, browns and greens.
Are salt licks good for deer? Using salt licks can actually be good for the deer in your area. Many of the salt blocks put out by hunters contain important minerals and nutrients that these animals need. This allows deer to grow bigger, and stronger, which benefits the animals, as well as hunters.
Deer love the pure sweet apple taste and aroma.
For example, some stores sell scented deer corn, such as orange-flavored corn. Products flavored with apples, such as corn, liquids and other attractants are known to draw deer, who love apple scent.
What is a whitetail deer's favorite food?
They love pecans, hickory nuts and beechnuts acorns in addition to acorns. A couple of favorite fruits are apples, blueberries, blackberries and persimmons. Deer occasionally enter yards to get their mouths on flowers, vegetables and ornamental trees -- quite often to the surprise of the homeowners.
Red clover is the Easiest Food Plot for Deer. Spread the seed and spray the grasses to act as a mulch for the clover, or spray in the fall and frost seed in late winter right on top of the snow. The freeze thaw patterns of spring creates cracks the seed falls into to germinate.
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FOOD PLOT CROPS | ||
---|---|---|
Annual Cool Season | Annual Warm Season | Perennial |
Rye | Soybeans | Ladino clover |
Corn | Sunflower | Alfalfa |
Chicory | American jointvetch | Alsike clover |
- Deer Cane Black Magic. Cabela's. Black Magic by Evolved Habitat has made its mark in the deer attractant category. ...
- Apple-Flavored Attractants. Amazon. ...
- Orange-Flavored Deer Corn. Orange Corn Company. ...
- C'mere Deer. Bass Pro Shops. ...
- Tecomate. Amazon.
Deer pellets, for example, are very popular choices. Don't feed foods like corn, bread, barley, alfalfa, or hay – while small amounts of corn, alfalfa, and hay are fine in moderation, too much can lead to digestive problems or malnutrition.
Some good fall food sources include hard mast (e.g., oak acorns, beech nuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, etc.), soft mast (e.g., apples, pears, persimmons, etc.), and agricultural crops (corn, soybeans, brassicas, cereal grains, etc.).
Deer attractants like salt and protein licks can draw deer into your hunting area. Many also provide added nutrition for better rack growth and a healthier herd.