You can search "deer" on GardenWeb, and you'll likely get numerous threads on this topic. Many people, including myself, are opposed to artificial means of attracting deer (or birds for that matter) and you may wish to consider long-term impact of encouraging deer. If you are doing any reforestation of your land, you'll want to discourage deer instead to protect your saplings from destruction.

Deer naturally keep to protected areas to avoid predators, so won't want to venture out where they can be killed. So you may not have much luck, even with salt licks and feed.

By providing protection to the deer (plant evergreens: cedars, spruce, or pine) and a natural source of food & water (create a pond & let your acreage return to native scrubland) you'll create a better environment.

If you have a dog or there are neighbourhood dogs loose, deal with that first, as it is a cruel fate for a deer to be run down.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

Attracting deer is a bad idea for many, many reasons, as stated above. One not mentioned is that you make them more likely to be attracted to bait stations run by hunters on other land. In addition, many areas already hold all the deer they can handle (if not many more). Just enjoy them where they are, as the wild creatures they are intended to be.

Another consideration is danger to the deer and any motorists on the road near you. Since you only have 1.5 acres, I assume you are close to a road. Deer don't have much sense when it comes to staying out of the way of cars. They not only often lose their own life when struck by a vehicle, but they can cause serious injury or death to the driver and passengers as well. The best advice on deer is to just let them be and enjoy them in their natural habitat.

Not to throw water on your efforts to attract deer, but I noticed that you are in Wisconsin. Wisconsin regulates the feeding of wildlife, especially deer. I suggest you check the information in the link below carefully; the fines can be quite high for violations.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wildlife Feeding Regulations

Thanks for the update. First I wouldn't call what I'm doing baiting. It's no different than feeding the birds. The second is I'm in an area where there are no problems.

I also forgot to add that I gave up on this idea knowing that the deer could eat my new landscaping that I will be doing.

jdx, when you have time, read the articles linked by northeastwisc again. I did, and they clearly show the detrimental effects to deer of not just baiting to hunt, but also feeding for 'viewing opportunities'.

I don't think anyone said you were baiting them. I believe that she meant that feeding them might make them suseptible to baiting. They would come to trust artificial feeding and then become easily lured by hunters that choose to bait them. Glad you reconsidered your idea.

Deer are wild animals and need to stay that way. By taming them down and providing food so they learn to depend on that food isn't healthy or safe. A family near where I live just had a family pet killed by a deer, they had fed the deer, the deer made it their territory and killed protecting it by attacking. Could just as easily been a human. Also, when you entice deer into your area you entice ticks. They will transfer from the deer into your shrubs and bushes, not healthy for humans or pets. Lyme's disease.....

They are beautiful and I enjoy seeing them also but let them roam as nature dictates. Don't make them dependant upon alternate food and forage.

You don't ever want to accidently be caught between a momma and her baby....

If you are looking to attract deer I have just the product that will bring them in from far away. Deer will walk past corn to get Buck Bran. We sell many deer attractants, mineral licks and lures but nothing compares to Buck Bran. Give it I try and you will not be disappointed.

Dont worry even if you had feed available for deer year round, they will only consume about 15% - 20% of their diet on feed. 75% of a deers diet would be on native browse and forage.

The only concern with feeding is when large amounts of feed are located in one area and many deer feed in that same area then they sometimes can be subject to passing on diseases.

Buck Bran is an attractant not a feed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fleming Outdoors

In our area (same general area as Kirk - near a town called Deer Park) we currently have too many deer. Each day I drive to work I see dead deer along US HWY 2. Last year we had a cow moose and two calves in our area. They also met their fate along HWY 2. We now have a bull, cow and calf moose visiting our area (along a small river). I'm hoping they don't try to cross the highway (1-2 miles away). Humans and wild animals have a hard time mixing without very careful and thoughtful planning by humans. Problem is, collectively, we humans are detrimental to the wellbeing of wild animals. Whether we intend to or not we often attract deer to our yards just by being there (water when it is dry, grow very tasty stuff, etc.). I can see feeding deer intentionally when nature is rough - providing a food source to help maintain a population when food in the wild is temporarily scarce. But, feeding just to feed tends to increase a population further than it really should be. As stated above, our own increasing population is detrimental to wildlife (changing habitat). A wild animal population that increases artificially will impact its wild environment negatively (over eating wild food sources). These food sources are relied upon by multiple species - which further upsets nature's applecart. Overpopulation also usually leads to increased transmission of disease - and with fewer natural predators to cull the weak/sick the overall health of a species deteriorates.

What I'm getting at is that it is a very tough call when deciding to feed wild animals. It is best to search one's soul to find out why we are really doing it. Are we doing it for them or us? Educating oneself on the consequences is the best way to approach the decision making end of it. That's what's great about forums such as this one - one learns a lot - some of which may be bad tasting medicine that we find out we need to take.

Ooops - in my reference to Kirk I thought the Kirk above was another Kirk I know who lives in eastern WA. Guess I'd better read things more closely!

Wanting to bring animals up closer is completely understandable and something we have all wished for as nature lovers at some time or another, even if it's just because they are out of binocular range.
But be careful what you wish for. I just found my 7th dead deer this week, , less than a 1/4 mile from the 6th, and I know that the trend will likely only continue because we are in the middle of an outbreak of EHD, epizootic hemorrhagic disease. It's brought on by the bites of a small flying insect (not sure if it's a midge or gnat or what exactly) and transmitted when the insect bites an infected deer and then bites an uninfected deer nearby. The disease is always present, but some years have severe outbreaks due to a variety of environmental factors. Since we are smack in the middle of a very severe drought, there are two things occurring that spur the disease onward: many pools of formerly deeper water have now become shallow puddles, perfect for insect breeding. And the numbers of watering holes has been greatly reduced so that animals must congregate at what few are left. In the 15 years I have lived here, our creek has never totally gone dry until this year. There is one tiny pool of about 4-5 inches in depth, and it is totally rancid. The deer I have found are all near water, or former watering holes, as the disease makes them seek it out. The ones not fortunate enough to somehow fight it off succumb in a horrible way, severely bleeding internally and convulsing. I had to drag a small buck out of what was left of the farm pond we have...he actually died out in the water. I have started using my eyes and nose to locate more animals--the circling of turkey vultures and the strong smell of decay are becoming the hallmarks to watch for, a grim end to a dry summer.

Any time you have a situation where animals congregate you are bettering the chances that any disease present will be able to spread. I must admit to some hypocrisy here, since I occasionally feed sunflower seed to the birds, especially in the winter months. However, I am as equally concerned about the decrease in songbird populations as I am about the increase in deer populations so I make my choices based on this information.
Wanting to share our surroundings with nature is a basic desire for most of us, but sometimes there are consequences we may not be aware of.

If you want to attract deer just plant roses. They ate EVERY rose that tried to bloom in my garden! I desire to eradicate them and you want to attract them! I know! I will just send all of mine to you!!

Betty

I own some woods that follows a creek line and i would like to put a food plot in the woods to attract deer i was wondering if i should plant it near the creek and also i was wondering what i should plant to attract deer.

As odd as it sounds last year our conservation department magazine suggested turnips.

Have not tried this yet.

Plant Clover any type, they love it!! You can buy seed and just direct sow !!

I was searching the internet to find out what types of food deer like to eat, as there are a few deer in my neighborhood I see from time to time and I wanted to attract them. I came across this post and as I was reading through all of the different reasons why NOT to feed deer, I kid you not, a tick crawled across my computer screen. I don't know if it came off me or my dog who is sitting right next to me on the couch. That's reason enough for me to NOT want to attract them anymore! Yikes!

well if you live close to a city pls dont feed them but if you live where I do in the country thay come up and eat my okra every year down to a stub in the grown lol and thay love greens to all kindas lol i had to put up flashers in garden to keep them out but i live 25 miles from the nearest store but i love to watch them too just my input for the year god bless and gl

This appears to be a long dead post, but I couldn't help myself after reading all this horrible advice. Herds of deer have roamed this continent for thousands and thousands of years, long before any of our houses, roads or shopping centers were ever here. Heck, most people don't even know that at one time even ELK were abundant on the east side of this country. If it had not been for our destruction of their habitat and over hunting (holy moley I sound like a greeny...what happened to this hunter?) they would still be around (Restoration of populations have been started, thankfully). Back to the topic...

It doesn't matter if you own .5 acres or 5000 acres, the decision to landscape your property in a way that promotes prosperous wildlife is not only responsible, it is the right thing to do! Notice I said promote, not attract. I haven't looked this up so I am sure I will get corrected, but I would be damned if I couldn't give any game warden a good argument for what I am about to propose:

Do a little research, often there is great information on .edu sites that have agricultural curriculum and often free information regarding restoration of land back to native habitat. If you live in Wisconsin, check out these sites:

http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/pdf/woodycover.pdf

http://labs.russell.wisc.edu/landscape/publications-ii-alphabetical/

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/yourland.html

That is only a few to get you started. Now, that isn't to say your areas natural habitat would normally support deer, but chances are great that if you have seen them, it once did. Not only is restoring natural habitat good for deer, it is great for birds, bees, little critters and even big ones! BEARS! But that is nature. If you don't like it, move into an apartment or something.

Also! Check this out, Wisconsin is zone 6 based on round stone's map:

http://roundstoneseed.com/wildlife-habitat-mixes/1051-deer-and-turkey-habitat-mix.html

http://roundstoneseed.com/wildlife-habitat-mixes/1046-quail-and-pheasant-habitat-mix.html

http://roundstoneseed.com/wildflower-meadow-mix/1006-tall-grass-meadow-mix.html

PLANT SOME SEEDS! Go find a native nursery. Planting native grasses, browse and shrubs for deer and other critters to munch on is NOT and will never, ever be considered baiting. Introduction of "food plot" mixes may be illegal in your area, but never native grasses or shrubs.

I understand deer are in abundance up north comparitevely to here in the swamp (Big Cypress, FL), but by introducing more native landscaping and food sources, it will only help to prevent congregation around other limited food sources.

Hope this helps and sorry for my ranting.

-Tony

We have deer and they will eat unprotected roses and love to munch the apples hanging low on the apple tree.

That being said, we only have four or five at a time....and they have been very polite. For many years, they've visited our farm and eat only around the edges of the bed, unless something attracts them to an area.

By offering water, natural foods, cover for protection and places to live....the wildlife will visit. If you have a small yard/acreage, think more about birds and insects. Maybe a few smaller visitors. If you have more land, then by all means leave some large grassy areas for deer and larger visitors.


Just don't attract them towards the road or your door. Wildlife is just that....wild. To try to 'tame' them will only endanger you and them. They're sense of self-preservation and being aloof will keep them from becoming easy targets....for those, who do not want to help, but hunt them. Good luck with the planting :)

I wanted to say, plant anything and deer will eat it! My husband has been feeding the deer at our house for about two weeks. 5 acres, in Montana. A feed store will have a cracked corn that will even have some birdseed in the mix. They will attract deer bunnies and wild birds at the same time. I prefer the mix as after the deer leave, the bunnies and birds come. I put them right on my doorstep. The deer will even come right to our window to ask for food. They come right up to my hand and will eat a celery right out of my hand after only two weeks. I would put the food far from the house at first, then gradually get closer especially somewhere where you can see them from a window.

What a lovely topic this is. For anyone seeking to bring deer to their surrounding environment, I'd suggest expanding your ideas to not only offer them good food, but also a welcoming habitat! That's when I really started to see them come around more often. Show them that there is safe shelter, plus that good food, and you'll see deer and those babies soon enough :) If you can take it as a milestone to work hard just to bring in that first deer duo, it will become so much easier season after season (deer generation after another!). And, if you can manage that, I'd also suggest to let yourself be seen by those deer now and then. I always open the door to say hello, and over the years - they've come to be quite comfortable here. A family of 5 will come strolling through while I'm working in the garden, eating nearby, babies running and jumping - it's a lovely sight. So please don't give up - it is certainly possible to create an inviting place for them. I'm glad you have the yearning for it!

With all that said, try to leave a fair amount of your land raw and natural. I'd say pay special attention to the edge of your main clearing as it blends into that forested land you mentioned. Blur those lines a bit through use of brush piles, or planting tall bushes that they can lay underneath. Let your grass grow tall - that's what helped me greatly. In the mornings I would start to see patches of grass which were folded down from where they slept. It makes a great deal of sense, as they're surrounded by tall grasses - hidden from predators, etc. I also have a small hill of trees, and they like to sit at a very small clearing between them all - giving them a nice overview. So ponder things like this as well: what would make them feel safer on your land? And work your land to offer them that.

Aside from that, begin to plant native plants and herbs that they enjoy (and you could, too!). They love berries, and certainly apples ;) Speaking of those, do let them fall and leave them be, too. The deer love easy pickings. Sometimes, I'd even find myself raking them in a pile for the deer. And any extra makes for wonderful soil later on!

Ah and lastly, take into account where the wind travels most often and the sun's orientation. Just as we do, deer look to shelter from the wind and take in the sun when needed to stay warm, and shade to cool down. Knowing this, and how it affects your specific land, will really help you to plan where to plant more trees or bushes!

I hope this paints a picture and inspires you to keep up the good work! And again, thank you for seeking to encourage deer on your land. That warms my heart :)