Little help

I ended up with about 5 acres located on a ridge overlooking a large cove. The property has a small house and about four acres is planted in black walnut trees, blue berries, and muscadines. The property is maybe 500 yds from the ridgeline with open pasture in between. Deer cross through from the cove to the surrounding pastures. Not unusual to see them at night. Have seen some very large tracks and droppings. The black walnut trees are about 20' tall and I mowed under them a couple of days ago. The grass was 2' high and there were several large bedding areas. The muscadines vines are 100yds long and were spread out 10yds but I cleaned all the spread up. 30 Blue berry bushes 6' tall.

My question is what do I need to do to keep the deer around? Do they eat muscadines? If so I'll let them grow. Do I need to add any attractant (mineral blocks, ect) to the area.? Is there anything I can do to make it more habitat? The house is unoccupied and will most likely stay that way until I sell it.

thanks

Yes they love muscadines

Hell with deer! Let 'em grow & make some wine 😉 But yeah deer will munch on 'em, and so will most everything thing else!

You wont keep a deer on five acres but you can make it a regular stop on their circuit. Muscadines are going to drop for about a month at the end of summer. Thats the extent of their usefulness as far as being an attractant. A feeder will be your best bet. If you dont like that idea, youre going to have to plant something. Ive found the best way to get deer around and keep them around is to make sure theres something to eat every day 365 days a year. Also somewhere theyre not bothered. Theyll come up on your porch at night but theyre only going to visit in the daylight regularly if they feel safe.

Get a big feeder and keep them some feed out 365

Good to know - I didn't like those muscadines anyway.

thanks

Maximize the amount of early successional vegetation.......leave most of it standing during the winter for cover......locate your best soil on the property for planting......crank up the chainsaw and drop any trash trees for added structure.......add feeders but give it some forethought and place them strategically.....create easy entry/exit routes so you can hunt with minimal disturbance......

Have you priced Blueberries and Muscadines by the gallon hand picked? There is a lot of spending money on your tract if they produce. The muscadines produce on new growth so you may not get much of a crop unless they were pruned last year. The Blueberries will be eaten by every critter on your property as they mature. Watch for snakes around both. Birds will hammer the berries daily, so be advised!

The only drawback I see is these sources won't be around once season opens to hunt. At least you can have some extra cash to fill your feeder with..

B

Good info - thanks

It was a commercial operation for years. I'm not going to reopen it because of the liability factor. Will keep it for wife's restaurant, family and friends.

Thanks