Wildlife is beautiful to admire from afar. The majestic beauty found in nature supersedes anything synthetic or man-made. The timid, wide-eyed, and free-spirit deer are no exception. Not only are they fun to look at, but they also bring an energy of adventure and wonder. Read on to learn how to attract deer to your yard.
While a hunter or wildlife photographer might have different goals for seeing one in person, attracting deer to your property offers a range of benefits.
If you’re lucky enough to live further away from the city, you’ve likely seen wild animals like deer at first hand – especially if you live close to mountains, forests, or large bodies of water. Bears will say hi from across a river, raccoons will try to snack on your garbage, and the ever-inclusive deer might show up in your backyard to check out their new neighbors.
If you live within North America, you’ve likely seen deer at least once. If you play your cards right, you can end up with a whole Disney movie situation right outside your doorstep. So, in this article, we’ll teach you exactly how to attract deer, what are the benefits of doing so, and what you might want to consider before you do. Whether you’re hunting, want to attract deer for photography, or just want to see Bambi up close and personal, our short article can help.
Where Do Deer Actually Live?
The two most famous deer species we’re all familiar with are native to North America. Those Bambi-looking ones, for example? Those are White Tail Deer and they generally tend to live across Canada. The second type is the Mule deer which you can generally spot across the continental US. That said, enjoying the sight of a cute little deer buck isn’t restricted to just the Great North. There are over 60 different kinds of deer living across Central America, Asia, and Europe as well.
Deer are creatures of habit and easily spooked. So, when they find someplace they feel safe in, they’ll tend to stick around. During the day when there’s more scary activity going on, you’ll find them sleeping or staying close to their den. They particularly love fields or spaces with big bushes, tall grass, or anywhere with tall foliage. This can make them hard to spot. They’re so skittish that they can even sleep with their eyes open if they have to!
Having good options for food around is also something they’ll take into account when choosing where to hang out. So, providing that for them is a smart way to get them to come to visit. Check out more info below on what their favorite foods are!
Benefits of Attracting Deer
There are a ton of benefits to having deer roam the outside of your home, and this is especially true if you have kids. Learning about nature and then working towards making your outdoor space a welcoming environment for them is great fun for the whole family. It’s also an excellent way for kids to learn firsthand. Seeing pictures of deer from a book is cool, but the real thing? Those are memories your kids will never forget.
Another useful aspect of having deer around is that they help keep the growth of your plants in check. This is especially useful if you have a huge property that’s expensive or time-consuming to upkeep. That’s free lawn mowing right there!
By providing food for them indirectly, you’re also helping the ecosystem around you flourish. You probably moved to your large plot of land because you love the nature that surrounds it. And so, helping provide for it by creating a safe space for deer to find food is a great way to keep the beauty of your home alive and well.
Of course, for those who like to hunt deer, the benefits speak for themselves. Hunting deer can present challenges and even safety concerns. Knowing the right way to find and attract them can make a difficult activity easier. There are even some legal issues regarding what kind of bait you can use and what rules you need to follow.
Since this article is mainly on how to attract deer to your yard we won’t dive too deep into those issues.
Negatives of attracting deer
Before you decide to go ahead and open up a deer daycare on your property, it’s worth understanding some of the not-so-fun side effects of attracting deer to your yard. As wild animals, deer can come with a variety of diseases. While most won’t affect human beings (like rabies), others certainly will. For example, deer can carry ticks on them which when transferred to people can cause Lyme disease. They can also attract a variety of other bugs such as No See Ums.
Deer will also eat all your plants and destroy your yard, so if you’re spending tons of money on landscaping, you’ll probably want to revaluate that. Lastly, and while not very common, it’s possible that if you make direct contact with them, deer will become fearful of you and end up attacking you.
Best Ways to Attract Deer to Your Yard
There are a variety of ways you can help make your property more welcoming to deer families. There’s a huge community of people that differ in opinions for what should be used to attract deer. We’ll go over some tried and true methods.
The best time of year to put these tips into effect is during summer when they’re more likely to be roaming around outside their sleeping quarters. We’ll dive into the best ways to attract deer using budget-friendly options and share tried and true conventional methods.
What Do Deer Like To Eat
Giving deer viable sources of food is a great way to convince them to stop by. While it’s true they’ll eat any type of plant they can get their mouths on, they do have some favorite ones. Anything that comes with fruits, flowers, berries, or even twigs as an appetizer is more likely to catch their eye. Here is a shortlist of what to plant to attract deer:
- Blackberry bushes
- Fruit trees
- Wild strawberries
- Sunflowers
- Red Clover
- Ferns
- Juniper
How To Call Deer
Do you know how there are special whistles you can use to call ducks when hunting? You can also do that with deer! If you’re not trying to hunt them down, you can still take a cue out of the hunter’s book when it comes to making them come to you. Head over to your local outdoor sporting store and ask for a deer whistle. This tip will mostly work if you’ve already spotted them in the distance. All you need to do then is pull out your new tool and call them over. Keep reading for more ideas on how to attract deer to your yard.
Make Homemade Deer Attractant
One of the most efficient ways to attract deer is by using scents they just can’t ignore. Vanilla extract, peanut butter, and sweet apples are all foolproof options. You can make a homemade attractant by chopping up the apples and mixing them with peanut butter and vanilla. Then, you can spread them on trees bordering your property for deer to snack on. They’ll come running!
Get Creative with a DIY Deer Feeder
If high price tags of commercial deer feeders make you squirm, you can make your own cheaper version. It will work just as well as the store brought one. In fact, to make one will cost the same as a meal from a fast-food restaurant. There are ridiculously easy ways to build your affordable feeder and we’ll show you how.
One popular method involves using a gallon bucket. You can fit a feeder at the bottom, using a tin can, while holding it up with a tripod or hang it from a branch. Another easier way involves using a PVC pipe. Simply place food through the pipe and stand it upright. With a large enough hole, a deer can munch on food through its opening.
Offer Them A Salt Lick
Salt offers deer high amounts of minerals they might not be able to find another way. Big blocks of Himalayan pink salt hanging from a tree is another great way to attract deer. They’ll lick at it as they drop by, and will quickly learn to come back if they’re needing a salty fix. It’s also a great cost-efficient option since salt licks will last you months and months without needing to be replaced.
Remove Things They Don’t Like
As the easily scared animals we all know deer to be, it’s helpful to remove things they might find threatening from around your property. Have any windchimes? You should probably take those down for the season. That cool moving garden ornament you bought from a garage sale? It should probably also come down. They’re also not into reflective surfaces or fences, so do keep that in mind as well.
How To Attract Deer with Peanut Butter
A jar of peanut butter can be just as effective as any market brand bait or commercial attractant. Start by smearing a chunk of peanut butter and posting it on a stand of trees. Cut the bottom of the jar to let the deer eat from its end. People have been doing this for years and have raved about its effectiveness. This works well in heavily dense tree areas with lots of deer. If you do this, make sure it’s compliant with local laws.
In Closing
Having such easy access to nature from your property is an incredible way to help calm stress and anxiety. Animals have been proven to lower cortisol levels (the hormone in charge of stress) in humans. This applies even if you’re just looking at them from a distance. Plus, how cool is it to be able to brag about the deer that ran across your yard? We hope this article has helped you figure out how to attract deer to your yard.