Does anyone know if soil type affects the dispersion rate and attractiveness of a mineral block or powders? It stands to reason that sandy soils will permit increased dilution yet they may also be easier for deer to dig into... What about clay, organic, heavily affected by pine/cedar trees etc. Any thoughts? Tom
Courser soil types, sand or silt...will allow the mineral to leach away fairly quickly but it's a non-issue for block type licks. Pit licks will still work but will have to be refreshed more often and can cause problems with local water sources if they are nearby. I've never had need to do it but there is a product called Bentonite or Pond seal which is bentonite clay. It swells up 18 times it's dry volume and is just natural type of clay so it's safe and is used in drinking water applications also. Theoretically a pit could be lined with an inch per foot of it, wet it down and swell it so it seals the pit and then fill the pit with soil and mineral. I suppose a plastic liner would do the same thing, bentonite isn't easy to find.
Im becoming torn on dumping minerals on the ground. I have a buddy who has a background in farming and he refuses to put minerals on the soil due to unnecessary increased tooth wear. Don't know if it does or not but I can't stand the thought of deer chewing their cud with a stomach mixed with dirt. I plan to split logs in the future to decrease soil consumption.
This thought has crossed my mind as well. From what I have seen on my deer and soil...it's probably not that big a deal. They don't eat a lot of it at a time or by the each and our soil is not extremely abrasive but sandy soils could deffinitely cause fast wear. I think the best option may well be slightly high food plot PH from ag lime and a soil check on micro-nutrients, this is the direction I'm heading with simple supplemental trace-mineral blocks at a low rate per acre.
Our mineral sites we have are in/on a clay based soil. It does help keep the minerals from leaching away. We also set up our sites using an old stump to pour some of the mineral on and if a stump does not exist where you want your site to be then a big log can be used. Splitting the log or at least cutting some relief cuts into it with a chainsaw are good ideas.
I have noticed different soils on our lease that the deer will not eat the mineral from but I can move it 50 yards and they will tear it up. I had really bad luck with mineral sites near pines and cedars so I stopped making sites near them and I thought it was from the acidic ground but I did start a site this summer on a pinch point where my camera is on a cedar tree. The site is about 10 yards from the cedar tree and the hole they made in a few months was crazy. I used to like to use it near sandy soils years ago but now I like a soil that can hold water, because after a rain the deer really like to hit it and drink the water in the pit and the dirt is softer for them to paw up. I do not pour it over stumps as much as others do but I have seen they really like that as well. There are a number of states that do not allow you have minerals in the ground when the season starts so I know guys that use a low side bucket and pour it in and let them eat from there and remove the bucket when the season start. Myself I like showing up to a new site a month later and seeing a big @$$ hole in the ground
