How to bait Deer

fingers284 said:
There is a lot of truth to the "plant a garden" thing and the potted plants. We have both in the yard and of my last 8 deer kills, the furthest from my house has been 125 yrds...and I only went that far out because he was worth the "trip"...a 170 inch Mule. all the others have been 80 yrds or less. The wife has a constant war on with deer throughout the summer over them picking certain flowers out of her hanging pots, all within 15 yards of the house. Potted plants get most of their visits during late evening or at night but the garden can have deer in it any time of the day...and she has to physically make an attempt to remove them, usually they hold until she gets within 40 yrds of them.

About the only garden plants we plant that they don't regularly hit is carrots, wont touch them but peas can be eaten off to the roots. One thing that surprises us is that they will eat onion tops to the ground but if a complete onion is pulled, they wont eat the actual onion.
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Oh I don't disagree with them, I was just being light hearted about their advice.

A garden is something I will think of for the future.
 
the spank said:
What you'll spend on bait to get deer coming regularly you can likely buy the meat you need......best bet is plant a food plot if you have a limited income to spend $ on for bait. Plant simple things like sugar beets or turnip mixed with plants that provide good green feed above ground at periods throughout the season. Once the growing season is through and deer have eaten the greens they like aat the their preferred times they will dig up the root plants, the turnips and beets etc that you planted....
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Yes, hence my abundant free supply of apples is what I'm trying to use right now.

So far I have spent $0.

I have two boxes of ammo to zero and use. I may think about the use of peanut butter
 
the spank said:
What you'll spend on bait to get deer coming regularly you can likely buy the meat you need......best bet is plant a food plot if you have a limited income to spend $ on for bait. Plant simple things like sugar beets or turnip mixed with plants that provide good green feed above ground at periods throughout the season. Once the growing season is through and deer have eaten the greens they like aat the their preferred times they will dig up the root plants, the turnips and beets etc that you planted....
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A bag of corn at tsc is $13ish and you'll get about 20 coffee can scoops out of that. 1 can a week is pretty cheap, all things considered but ya, if you have to buy things like apples and peanut butter on a regular basis, you're likely better off buying your meat.
 
I use salt blocks here, and I note you'll have to try them to see if the deer need them. Most areas they do, but if there is a natural salt source they may not use it much. I use them to keep deer in the area more than bait for them.
My neighbors bait the hell out of their place and I don't attempt to compete. But some of the deer cross my place to get to theirs, so I get the benefit. The 40 or so apple trees I have scattered about helps too.
They generally bring in a big round bale of Alfalfa to supplement the giant oaks they have on their place, and add other baits as needed.
If you can find molasses cheap, (good luck with that) deer love it, and it works fairly well as a cover scent.

My neighbor to the north was one for trying all the latest internet buzz. He nailed a peanut butter jar to a tree and put a camera on it. The squirrels and mice loved it, deer ignored it. Not even one touched it. I know, lots swear by it, but deer are fickle sometimes.
 
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An update for you all.

My game camera caught a delightfully tasty looking 4 point Mule deer, I have a plethora of apples spread around in that area. I may have some free peanut butter on the way, it's time to cross my fingers as hunting season approaches.
 
We do have CWD here in Alberta and the big box outdoor stores sell a crap load of lick/bait, although it is not legal for hunting it is legal for other uses.
 
We can’t bait here in Ab, but I did get some nice pictures on a friends no hunting pasture. The deer love the small apples from my neighbors yard. I also have a picture of six or seven coyotes on an apple pile. Getting pic are a blast. Love when the moose come in and stick there nose in the camera. As I no longer hunt big game I only go to areas where I know no one will be hunting near by. If you want bird pictures use oats!
 
jlovie said:
I find the deer in my are couldn't care less about live stock licks but seem to love the apple flavored ones from tsc, etc. They especially love the Primos ones of you can find them. Whatever you use, put the block on a stump. Deer (along with other animals) will paw away at that stump long after the actual block is gone.
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Yeah, try and find a stump for it. The weather will cause that stump to soak up those salts and they will keep coming back long after.

I’ve also had good success with green apple flavoured kool aid crystals, and pb&me. Pb&me is a powdered peanut butter. I’ll mix the two together and sometimes add water and pour the mix on a lick, sometimes just pour small trails or piles of the powder, and sometimes mix the powder with any corn/feed/alfalfa.
 
verminaard said:
Yeah, try and find a stump for it. The weather will cause that stump to soak up those salts and they will keep coming back long after.

I’ve also had good success with green apple flavoured kool aid crystals, and pb&me. Pb&me is a powdered peanut butter. I’ll mix the two together and sometimes add water and pour the mix on a lick, sometimes just pour small trails or piles of the powder, and sometimes mix the powder with any corn/feed/alfalfa.
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I’ve been dumping a bag of the red loose mineral salt from the feed store in a hole I dug a few years ago at one place nearby, originally I dug it just deep enough to dump a 1/4 of the sac in. The deer and elk etc have dug it out so that it fits a whole bag, I’ve had a trail cam on it all year for a couple years running. Lots of activity regardless of the time of year.
 
Butcherbill said:
I’ve been dumping a bag of the red loose mineral salt from the feed store in a hole I dug a few years ago at one place nearby, originally I dug it just deep enough to dump a 1/4 of the sac in. The deer and elk etc have dug it out so that it fits a whole bag, I’ve had a trail cam on it all year for a couple years running. Lots of activity regardless of the time of year.
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Nice.

The one stump I use started out about 2.5 feet high and is around 16 inches round. They have gnawed and stomped it down about halfway in 2 years.

Another spot I just dropped one of the mineral chunks that you can pick up. It was about 15lb or so. It didn’t melt nearly as fast as the livestock ones, even with the deer stomping on it.
It was gone last season already, but they still come back and have about a 3” deep divot 6” around where it was.
 
I've been gifted a salt lick!

I'm going to deploy it tonight and see whether it helps, apples and the lick will be deployed in the same place, as of tomorrow I will be out of apples
 
I have an apple tree that is fairly productive some years and I gather up the ones that drop and dump them near my stand. This time of year I also like to toss a couple grocery bags of apples in my freezer - that way later in the season, when apples are long gone and food is harder for the deer to find, I take a bag with me when I head out to the stand.
 
Most amuezzing ,I've always chuckled at the guys baiting Bear and Deer
down in the USA .
All my life living and hunting in B.C. not knowing that
baiting was a thing here , then in CDN Tire there it was
a pallet of Deer bait .

Always some thing new ...
 
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