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Clover is getting ate to the ground

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BigGame

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Nov 16, 2003
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Humphreys,TN
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Hard to beleive but all that clover is now ate down to the dirt.
They are starting on the chickory now.
Food plots are doing there job now I have to do mine.
 
They just started hitting mine this week. I hope they start hitting them hard during the rut. I've got some beginning hunters that have a hard time getting on deer in the woods.
 
They're not hitting mine anywhere near as hard as I thought they would be.

A doe we killed was full of soybean beans. She must be working over the nearby harvested fields at night.
 
Two weekends ago I walked through two of my plots (DER, turnips, BF oats) and although they weren't really tall because of late planting and the dry weather we've had, there was not much evidence of usage. By this past Saturday, one plot was eaten to essentially bare ground, and the other one was not too much better. This is about 1 1/2 acres between the two plots. A third plot that I had let grow up all summer with weeds and such and then just broadcast wheat into is being used some, but not to the extent the others are.

I have never had my plots go from basically no utilization to being bare in a week's time before. I was hoping to use the plots to shoot a few does off of during gun season, but I doubt they will be using them much by next weekend. I may still try throwing down a couple hundred pounds of nitrogen in the next week or two to see if I can coax some growth out of the roots and stems that are left.
 
As of last Friday they were hardly touching our plots. The does we have taken were full of browse. All of our logging roads are full with honeysuckle and greenbriar right now. I read somewhere that from a management standpoint having your plots not worn to the gound is a good thing. That the plots should act as a supplement to natural browse mainly late summer and late winter providing the necessary protein. However it is nice to see all of your hard work pay off when you come back to find your plot looks like a carpet.
 
Plots eaten the ground--especially in early to mid-November--are a very bad thing. It means you don't have enough food resources for the current deer density.
 
That's what I would think too, but there is no evidence of overbrowsing in the understory and field edges. There is still plenty of honeysuckle and other browse available, and there certainly is no evidence of a browse line anywhere I've looked. I haven't had any discernable acorn crop this year either.

The deer really didn't seem to utilize the plots essentially at all, and I didn't even see deer wandering through them (or catch just an occasional picture) until after we had the first real cold snap. Since then it's like the deer have camped out in the food plots and mowed them down to the exclusion of browsing where they have been. There were literally between 3 to 9 does / fawns rotating in and out in the food plots constantly this past Saturday and Sunday from about 8:00 AM until dark.

I hope to do something about the doe density after gun season opens! :grin:
 
Over-population and the beginnings of a browse line are very, very difficult things to see. It takes a very trained and experienced eye. That's isn't to say you have either, just pointing out they are hard things to see.
 
All 20 of our plots are being hammered as well. We've taken 15 does out so far this year, but it's looking like we should have taken at least twice that number by now....

Thinking about giving them all a shot of ammonia nitrate. Anyone know if that will effect the deer on the plots in the near term?
 
BSK said:
Over-population and the beginnings of a browse line are very, very difficult things to see. It takes a very trained and experienced eye. That's isn't to say you have either, just pointing out they are hard things to see.
Click to expand...

Bryan,

My problem (if you want to call it that) is two of the properties that border mine consist of old mature timber with no acorns. Both owners claim to have no deer this year, no sightings nothing on trail cams, and are blaming EHD. Meanwhile my deer population has exploded as I have lots of young select cut with mature timber intermixed, plots, fields. I guess I should shoot all their does also?? :D What would you do? Will the deer move back to their properties?
 
tellico4x4 said:
All 20 of our plots are being hammered as well. We've taken 15 does out so far this year, but it's looking like we should have taken at least twice that number by now....

Thinking about giving them all a shot of ammonia nitrate. Anyone know if that will effect the deer on the plots in the near term?
Click to expand...

I plan on putting out 100 lbs of 34-0-0 per acre here in a couple weeks.
 
I have a brand new clover plot of 2.5 acres that is just coming up. The Plotsaver strip only kept them out for a short time - maybe 2 weeks. Supposed to last 4 weeks. I'm going to spread Milorganite over the plot to try to keep them off enough to let it get good and established. Anyone ever have any luck with this? I also heard from a farmer that he uses Coast deodorant soap in his garden to keep deer out. I thought I might buy a couple dozen bars, cut them up, and spread them around the plot. Anyone ever use soap??
 
tellico4x4 said:
All 20 of our plots are being hammered as well. We've taken 15 does out so far this year, but it's looking like we should have taken at least twice that number by now....

Thinking about giving them all a shot of ammonia nitrate. Anyone know if that will effect the deer on the plots in the near term?
Click to expand...

A shot of ammonium nitrate right now will really make those cereal grain food plots jump.
 
Semibald said:
I have a brand new clover plot of 2.5 acres that is just coming up. The Plotsaver strip only kept them out for a short time - maybe 2 weeks. Supposed to last 4 weeks. I'm going to spread Milorganite over the plot to try to keep them off enough to let it get good and established. Anyone ever have any luck with this? I also heard from a farmer that he uses Coast deodorant soap in his garden to keep deer out. I thought I might buy a couple dozen bars, cut them up, and spread them around the plot. Anyone ever use soap??
Click to expand...

Nothing keeps hungry deer away from the only good food resource around. I've seen everything tried and they all fail if it is the only food in town.
 
TAS said:
BSK said:
Over-population and the beginnings of a browse line are very, very difficult things to see. It takes a very trained and experienced eye. That's isn't to say you have either, just pointing out they are hard things to see.
Click to expand...

Bryan,

My problem (if you want to call it that) is two of the properties that border mine consist of old mature timber with no acorns. Both owners claim to have no deer this year, no sightings nothing on trail cams, and are blaming EHD. Meanwhile my deer population has exploded as I have lots of young select cut with mature timber intermixed, plots, fields. I guess I should shoot all their does also?? :D What would you do? Will the deer move back to their properties?
Click to expand...

Yes, they will return to the neighboring properties once conditions change. But that may not be until next fall, so personally, I would fire away. Those neighboring deer are definitely going to eat your winter food resources this year.
 

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