Long story short; my wife's grandfather is experiencing the beginning stages of dementia. That being said, he sometimes does things that make no sense at all. This past weekend I had a herd of deer beginning to visit my food plot that is centered in an Oak Tree filled field. Acorns are falling, and the plots are growing. The deer movement has come to an abrupt halt. My wife's grandfather decided to help (without asking) and cut down the tall grass (food plot of oats, chickory, clover, alfalfa, etc). To make matters worse he got out his gas can and poured fuel on every any mound he saw. He honestly doesn't know any better. He truly thought he was helping me. This man is a retired officer in the army, and hunting is not a hobby of his. To get deer patterned back in I have stopped hunting the area. I have put out corn, apple flavored corn, sliced apples, and soaked the tree stumps with grape Kool-Aid. Is there anything I can do to get the deer back? Right now the doves are enjoying the newly cut oats and corn. It's illegal in GA to hunt over bait, so at the moment I am just trying to get the deer back that had been visiting twice a day. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well, I think you can recover from the mowed plots, the gasoline might be a bit more of a problem. Any gas on the surface should evaporate, but what gets soaked into the dirt will likely kill anything around it and possibly cause it to not grow for several seasons. Depending on how much and how many locations, I might consider going out and digging up those spots to remove that contaminated soil. Aside from that, give the deer time, they like to eat short stuff too. They love my clover plots after I have mowed them. The good news is the chickory, clover and alfalfa will do just fine coming back from a mowing, in fact it's good to stimulate good fresh tender growth. The deer love those fresh shoots.
I think digging the ant beds up May be a good idea. Thanks for the tip. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So far there hasn't been any movement. The squirrels, chipmunks and doves are enjoying the freshly mowed buffet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
To my amazement I had a herd of does on camera last night at 11:30 eating acorns. Due to GA law I won't hunt the plot for 10 days due to the amount of baiting, but deer are coming back. Apple flavored corn, cut apples tossed around, and a Kool Aid mixture poured into a few stumps and logs overpowered the fuel scent. The deer cleaned the corn completely. Unfortunately here in GA it has been hot with no rain. My freshly cut plots are turning brown and dying out. The positive is that I have about 20 Oaks growing in the field. That should be more than enough incentive to keep the deer moving through. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wow:-) Sounds like a great guy that tried to lend a hand but.... They'll came back. Just laugh it off and get ready for that huge buck. Kilboars Hunt Club
