The best deer attractants to mix with corn must have at least two of the three essential attributes: aroma, taste or flavor, and nutrients. Aroma is the fundamental requisite because deer, irrespective of the species, are highly sensitive to smell, so that’s what attracts them first.
Here are the 10 best deer attractants to mix with corn:
- Pure vanilla extract or pudding mix
- Peanut butter in a feeder
- Regular sugar, salt, and mineral blocks
- Apples, cider, pulp, or juice
- Forage and fruits
- Nuts, beans, and grains
- Molasses (deer may linger to overeat)
- Deer pheromones
- Readymade deer attractants
- Homemade deer attractants
In addition to aroma, the best deer attractants to mix with corn must have either taste or nutrients, preferably both, so that the bucks, does, stags, yearlings, and fawns linger around for a while and return for more. This guide discusses ten types of deer attractants to mix with corn.
1. Pure Vanilla Extract or Pudding Mix
Vanilla’s unique aroma is enticing for humans and deer. However, don’t go overboard with it since the fragrance can become overwhelming. You may use up to two spoonfuls of pure vanilla extract for as much as 40 lbs (18.14 kg) of corn. You could also use Vanilla pudding mix, but it needs a higher proportion.
2. Peanut Butter in a Feeder
Peanut butter is aromatic, tasty, and nutritious. You can mix peanut butter with corn for a food plot. Alternatively, you can use a feeder. A gravity feeder, like this one found on Amazon, loaded with corn and peanut butter, may work better as deer will be around for a while longer and will return for subsequent meals.
3. Regular Sugar, Salt, and Mineral Blocks
Deer love sweet and salty foods. You’re perhaps aware of the popularity of mineral blocks among deer feeders, hunters, and enthusiasts. You can mix both sugar and salt with regular corn. You can combine all three, mix them, and sprinkle the mix on a standard mineral block.
4. Apples, Cider, Pulp, or Juice
Deer love apples, be it the fresh fruit with its core intact, pulp, juice, or cider. You can cut red or green apples into quarters, scatter them into a pile of corn, and place the food on a plot or around a mineral block. You can combine all four types of deer attractants discussed till now.
5. Forage and Fruits
One perennially reliable approach to choosing deer attractants to mix with corn is replicating the natural diet of the species prevalent in a particular region. Most deer species love leafy parts of woody plants, herbaceous plants with broad leaves, crops, seeds, grass, and fruits.
You can use delicious fruits with corn as deer attractant, including berries, cherries, plums, pears, and others native to your region. Choose the most aromatic fruits so that deer can sense and track a food plot from a reasonable distance. Hence, fresh and seasonal fruits work best.
6. Nuts, Beans, and Grains
Most deer species in the US love nuts, beans, and cereals. You may use acorns, pecans, and hickory nuts. Also, deer’s love for vegetables or agricultural produce isn’t a secret. Thus, consider using beans, soybeans, peas, and leafy and aromatic veggies like cabbage and broccoli.
The natural diet of deer demands a lot of protein, especially during summer and periods of intense activity. Since you intend to use corn as a deer attractant, you can supplement it with oats, buckwheat, or other high-protein grains. Also, these will keep the deer around longer.
7. Molasses (Deer May Linger To Overeat)
Some deer attractant manufacturers often advertise that molasses may excite deer to eat more than they should, which is true. However, it isn’t a concern if you buy only molasses and mix with corn, especially if you want a few deer to linger to overeat and return for another serving.
8. Deer Pheromones
Deer pheromones are a natural bait. Choose an appropriate deer pheromone at your local stores or online, depending on the species dominant in your area. The best time to use deer pheromones is pre-rut and rutting periods. Also, estrus is very effective during peak rutting.
9. Readymade Deer Attractants
A few readymade deer attractants on Amazon.com may contain corn, but scents or mineral blocks don’t. You may consider Outdoor Hunting Lab Hot Doe Estrus. This rut scent contains doe pee for scrapes, drags, and drippers.
An alternative is Tink’s Doe-in-Rut Buck Lure. The 4 oz (118.29 ml) bottle with a convenient squirt top has 100% natural deer urine. Tink’s is one of the oldest market leaders in this segment, and its products have been bestsellers among hunters for almost five decades.
If you prefer using edible deer attractants with corn, consider Big & J Long Range Attractants BB2 Granular. This combo pack has a mineral block and a nutritious meal to serve as a deer attractant. You may choose the original or an apple flavor in different sizes.
Monster Meal Attractant is another effective option. This deer feed doesn’t have an intimidating or unnerving smell that may not lure wary bucks. A relatively more effective option is Big Tine Fortified Deer Blend. This cherry-flavored feed in the form of seeds packs nutritious whole grain and nitro, which is probably why bucks, does, and yearlings love the food.
Here’s a video comparing Big Tine, Monster Meal, and Big & J:
10. Homemade Deer Attractants
You may use one or more of the deer attractants discussed in this guide to mix with corn. Also, you may try unique recipes at your home using corn or oats, apple cider, vanilla, baking soda, regular sugar and salt, molasses, and a few other ingredients as you deem fit.
Here’s an awesome deer attractant recipe that you can use to mix with corn:
You may wish to use fewer ingredients or prefer a deer attractant that’s easier to make. Consider a simpler and more affordable recipe using sugar, iodized salt, cherry jello, vanilla pudding, green apple mix, and raisins. Mix all the ingredients in a bag, and you’re ready.
Here’s a video about this distinct deer attractant to mix with corn:
Best Deer Attractant for Early Season
The best deer attractant for early season is a combination of aromatic and tasty feeds and pheromones or scents. Deer socialize during early season, so mock scrapes, food plots, and feeders are effective attractants. Use corn with apple, cherry, vanilla, acorn, or anise.
Best Deer Attractant for Summer
Summer is a period of intense activity, so the best deer attractants are aromatic and nutritious foods, especially rich in protein. Hence, you may mix the corn with oats, soybeans, buckwheat, apples, pecans, and other seasonal fruits and vegetables.
For more, check out What Can Deer Smell? (How To Avoid Detection).
