I was at tsc earlier and seen some peppermint mineral blocks for horses. Do you think deer like peppermint? Lol I ask this cuz its such a strong smell, youd think otd be awsome for putting out and getting some good trail cam pics.
personal observation- I shot my first deer (a doe) as she ate a peppermint! when I was about 14 (many years ago!) I had a thing for Brach's peppermints (the little red and white hard peppermint candy.) I used to have a bag on me at all times, including when I was in my treestands. Anyway, I'd spit them out on the ground after sucking on them for awhile because they'd get really sharp edges and I'd do that rather than chew them up and make loud crunching sounds (...this was before scent control was so hyped.) So, on an early season Saturday evening hunt, I'd been in the stand for probably 3 hours and had about half a dozen Brachs carcasses littering the ground under my stand when a young doe comes trotting in from straight downwind, nose in the air. She stops directly under my stand and sticks her nose in the litter. Next thing I know, she's got her head up and is crunching away on one of my peppermints! Other than a Razorback 5- tipped Easton 2217, it was the last thing she ever ate. That being said, I spent the remainder of that and the following season convinced that Brach's peppermints were deer cocaine, and of course I never saw another deer anywhere near any peppermints I spit on the ground, but I can tell you that it can happen.
Peppermint is probably more like a curiosity smell to the deer. I know people who say vanilla extract or kool-aid powder can also attract deer.
Interesting. I too think it would be a curiosity thing for deer. I use Vanilla Extract, Almond Oil and Water to bring deer in. Spray it on any leafy vegetation and they will eat every leaf on the plant. Great for inventory of deer in a certain area.
Trust me, Deer do not like peppermint. Best Long Lasting All-Natural Deer Repellent | LaTorre's DEER OUT. Deer repellent made with peppermint oil.
They have vegetable and garden sprays with peppermint scent and flavor for the purpose of keeping deer away. I wouldn't waste the money, I'd get what I know works.
I am a deer nutritionist and formulator. I have dabbled with tons of different flavors and even included things like peppermint in requested minerals and feeds. Most of the flavors on the market are not NATURAL DEER ATTRACTANTS. What is natural isn't what we suspect. The deers nose is 60 times more powerful than ours. I will mention 2 that are good standard attractants. Anise and garlic. I invented a couple different attractants that i would put up against any. It is what i included in many feeds so that if a customer quit you and went to the competition, they would come back as their animals wouldn't eat the NEW FEED. Garlic and anise also have other functions and benefits beyond attractants. The attractants i have used are complex and include 4 flavors, another attractant and something that makes the flavors "long lasting." So, the guys who market the peppermints, cherries, and things of that nature are only appealing to the human nose, not the deer , sheep, horse or goats nose. As a ruminant nutritionist i will also say that there are byproducts and feed stuffs that many people would never think would be craved by an animal but they do. For me , half the fun is trying to make anything i've played with even better. I am not a betting man but i do know i'd never ever use peppermint, cherry, and apple for my flavor base. If your trying to get a deer to consistently consume large qualities of mineral, you need something that doesn't become so volatile and that is more....EARTHY....
