Before you head out to hunt for deer with your weapons of choice, make sure you stock up on deer attractants that will draw the deer closer to you.
When used over several days, deer attractants make deer feel more comfortable to be in your hunting zone so these products ensure you can increase your hunting success.
What, exactly, are deer attractants? Deer attractants can be defined as substances that deer find appealing. These can be edible or scent-based substances that hunters use when hunting deer to increase their chances of making a kill.
While there are many deer attractants on the market, not all of them are effective. Here’s our guide to the best deer attractants in 2022 that will work well during the hunting season.
In this review, we’ll start with the best deer attractant on the market and then feature other products that are worth your money. We also have some alternative products so that there’s something for everyone!
Best Deer Attractants – Reviews & Recommendations for 2023
Editor’s Choice: Wildgame Innovations Apple
Features
- Size: 5 lbs
- Ingredients: Plant protein, Processed grain by-products, Molasses, and more
- Target Species: Deer, Hog
This product includes real apples that have been crushed and blended. They release the strong and sweet smell of apples, which will attract more deer to you during the hunting season.
To achieve this effect, this attractant makes use of Airborne Extreme Scent Dispersion that distributes 600 percent more scent molecules as compared to regular animal feed.
Since it’s been crushed, this apple product is easy to spread over the ground. You can use it directly from the pack without having to mix it with other ingredients, so it’s useful to have in your hunting backpack.
Not only will this product attract deer but deer have been known to enjoy its juicy taste. This is because the apples have been blended with fats and proteins to further enhance their delicious flavor.
Some people who have purchased this product have said that they achieved even more success by putting the crushed apple on a pile of corn for deer to sniff out and enjoy.
This Wildgame Innovations Apple deer attractant can attract deer for weeks, so a little will go a long way.
Runner Up: Swagger Big & J BB2
Features
- Size: 20 lbs
- Ingredients: Hybrid sweet corn
- Target Species: Deer
This is much more than simply a deer attractant.
Since it contains a total digestible nutrition (TDN) level that’s higher than what you’ll find in premium feeds, as well as a large quantity of protein, this product is sure to not only attract deer to you but also ensure that they come back for more!
It’s therefore the perfect type of attractant to have in your hunting bag when you want to hunt deer in an area over several days.
You can use this deer attractant in various ways. During pre-season hunts, for example, you can make use of it to understand deer traveling patterns.
By comparison, in the summer it can be used to attract deer to camera sites so that you achieve better hunting data to make the big kills.
This best buck attractant is filled with protein that’s good for deer. It’s moisture-resistant so you won’t have to worry about wet conditions causing the product quality to degrade.
It has a strong odor that works well to attract deer because it’s undergone a refining process to ensure that it smells as natural as possible. This means that deer won’t be able to sense that they’re in danger when they get closer to you.
Best Value For Money: Evolved Habitats
Features
- Size: 1 gal
- Ingredients: Pure molasses
- Target Species: Deer, Bears, and Hogs
This deer attractant contains pure molasses which has a sweet fragrance and long-lasting flavor, so it’s ideal for attracting deer to your hunting site.
Unlike some other attractants on the market that you should only use at certain times of the hunting season, this one can be used all year round, which makes it versatile for beginner and experienced hunters alike.
It’s not just an attractant but a deer nutritional supplement, so deer will especially be drawn to it during the cold months. This is worth bearing in mind when you want to hunt deer later in the season.
During this time, deer are craving foods and nutrients, so they’ll be drawn to this product.
This attractant comes in liquid form so it’s easy to pour. It’s ready to use straight out of the container. Once you’ve poured it on the ground, deer will start eating it immediately because the molasses will become a hard block of food for them to eat.
You can pour it over decaying logs or stumps, or add it to salt licks, fruit piles, and grain.
Not just suitable for attracting deer, this Evolved Habitats premium product will also attract hogs and bears.
Alternative: Wildgame Innovations Sugar Beet Crush
Features
- Size: 5 lbs
- Ingredients: Crushed sugar beets, Beans, Proteins, Fats
- Target Species: Deer
Wildgame Innovations Sugar Beet Crush contains real sugar beets that have been blended with beans to produce a powerful deer attractant. This causes deer to stop, sniff it out, and investigate further.
It’s formulated to release up to 600 percent more scent than regular attractants on the market. To achieve this, it makes use of Airborne Technology to produce long-range scent trails so that deer will be able to pick up on the scent from further away.
This sugar beet product is enhanced with proteins and fats, which will further attract deer because of its delicious taste.
It’s a great attractant to have handy when hunting. As you might already know if you’ve ever tried to source them, sugar beets grow seasonally and they’re not available in all regions.
This can make them difficult to find, which is a shame because sugar beets are incredibly effective at attracting deer. By buying this product, you’ll ensure that you always have a source of sugar beets when you want to lure deer to your hunting site.
The bag of this deer attractant has an easy-open mechanism so that you don’t have to waste time when you want to use it. The product is also easy to use immediately once you’ve opened it, as you don’t have to mix it with anything.
Alternative: Tink’s Estrous Gel Stream
Features
- Size: 5 fl oz
- Ingredients: Estrus doe urine
- Target Species: Deer
While we’ve featured deer feed in our reviews so far, this product is great to reach for if you’re looking for something a little different. It’s basically urine from a doe that’s in heat and ready to breed.
It should be used during pre-rut and rut seasons to attract deer more effectively. It’s been designed to increase efficiency as it doesn’t get easily washed away in the rain or dry out on a windy day.
Tink’s Estrous Gel Stream Deer Attractant can spray distances of up to 10 feet, and it’s in a gel formula. What’s great about it is that the product’s pressurizing agent is kept separate from the actual product, so there’s no risk of contamination.
This is further what makes this best deer lure so effective.
Its formula works well and doesn’t result in any liquid spills that can get on your clothing or gear.
However, one potential drawback of this Amazon product is that when temperatures are really low, like around -25 degrees, it can end up hardening in the can. This is why you have to keep it in moderate conditions before use so it won’t let you down.
Alternative: TROPHY ROCK Redmond
Features
- Size: 7-11 lbs
- Ingredients: Calcium, Phosphorus, Sodium, Salt, Potassium, and more
- Target Species: Deer
These mineral licks are attractive to deer, who will want to eat it. Although some other attractants on the market are filled with chemicals, Trophy Rock doesn’t contain any harsh ingredients because it contains natural ingredients.
It provides deer with the nutrients they need, so it’s good for them. This is crucial to ensuring that they return to the site where the product has been placed. This Trophy Rock deer attractant contains more than 60 essential minerals and electrolytes.
To use this product, all you need to do is put it on a flat rock or stump so that it’s easy for deer to lick off the ground.
It’s easy to use and you don’t require extra ingredients or tools before using it. Just make sure that you avoid applying it to puddles as it will dissolve very quickly.
The size of this rock is listed as being between seven and 11 pounds, but some people have reported sizing issues, such as receiving rocks that were very small.
Alternative: Outdoor Hunting Lab
Features
- Size: 5 lbs
- Ingredients: Chelated minerals, Proprietary flavors
- Target Species: Deer (whitetail)
This Outdoor Hunting Lab food supplement is specifically designed to attract whitetail deer. The bag contains a powder blend of flavors that attract deer but it’s essentially deer salt licks.
Designed by a team that has over 30 years of deer husbandry, you’ll be assured that this food supplement will work effectively to lure more deer to where you want them to go.
Interestingly, this product is designed to ensure deer will produce more milk so they can reproduce faster and survive the harsh winters.
When deer sniff out this attractant, they will keep returning to eat it and this will help them to stay healthy and grow bigger, so it’s definitely worth considering if you want to increase your hunting success.
You should place the licks in areas where deer feel safe, so they shouldn’t be visible. One mineral lick for every 20 or so acres is enough to work well, so a small quantity of this product will go a long way.
Some people who have purchased this deer attractant have said that it smells like apples, which is what attracts deer to it and why it’s so effective.
Alternative: Outdoor Hunting Lab Doe Estrus
Features
- Size: 2 oz per bottle
- Ingredients: Pure doe estrus
- Target Species: Deer (whitetail)
This doe estrous product is filled with compounds and pheromones that are highly appealing to deer. Its deer urine scent has been collected from deer in heat.
Made by a company that has a farm of 500 whitetail deer in Pennsylvania and collects urine from them, it ensures that you’re getting a fresh, effective product.
It contains 30 picograms of estrogen per milliliter, so it provides you with the most powerful estrus doe urine.
This product follows the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and ATA (Archery Trade Association) Deer Protection guidelines. It’s also tested by an independent lab.
What’s great about this attractant is that it’s a spray-on product you can spray on your hunting gear so that you mask your human scent. This will ensure you don’t scare deer away when hunting them in the field.
You should use this doe estrus product throughout the rut season. Simply make scent drags and scrapes on which to apply it. It’s versatile and user-friendly.
For increased value for money, this best liquid deer attractant comes in a two-bottle pack. It also comes with an atomizer spray so that you can use it conveniently around your hunting sites.
Some people have said it works well with other types of deer besides whitetail, such as blacktail.
Alternative: Nationwide Scents Peak Estrus
Features
- Size: 4 oz
- Ingredients: Pure deer urine
- Target Species: Deer (whitetail)
This is another doe estrus product that works quickly and effectively to attract deer. It contains peak estrus levels that mimic a doe in heat.
You can use it in a variety of ways, such as by spraying it around your hunting location so that you hide your human scent, or applying it to mock scrapes and scent drags when hunting, whether early or late in the season.
This fresh deer urine comes from 500 live whitetail deer so you will get the freshest urine to make its scent more powerful.
Just like with the previous product, this Nationwide Scents attractant comes with an atomizer spray which makes it more convenient for you to spray the scent when you’re hunting in the field.
This peak estrus is collected from doe that are in heat and you’ll get a lot of estrogen in the bottle. This increases your success when attracting deer through the rut.
People who have purchased this urine attractant from Amazon have said that it lasts for a long time after spraying it, so it’s value for money.
Alterative: REDMOND Hunt
Features
- Size: 6 lbs
- Ingredients: Protein, Fat, Fiber, Calcium, Phosphorus, and more
- Target Species: Deer
This is a versatile, easy-to-use deer attractant that smells like apples. It contains ingredients that deer find delicious, such as protein and vitamins.
It not only attracts deer because it’s tasty, but it provides them with the nutrition they need to grow healthy and develop healthy antlers.
It’s a great trail cam companion, but you can use it in a variety of ways when hunting deer. You can spread it over the ground so that it won’t get affected by rain, or you can mix it with corn during field trips.
People who have purchased this deer attractant have said that it works well to attract mature deer to the hunting site, so that’s something to bear in mind.
This Redmond Hunt deer attractant comes in apple or cherry flavors, plus you can purchase it as a spray instead of feed, so you can choose the product that’s the most effective.
Deer Attractants FAQ
Now that we’ve looked at 10 of the best deer attractants in 2022, you might still have some questions about how to effectively attract more deer during the hunt. Here are some useful tips.
How do you attract deer quickly?
As we’ve seen from our review of the best attractants, there are quite a few scents and flavors that deer like. One of the most effective ways of attracting deer to your hunting area is to set down food that they love.
Plants that usually attract deer include orchard grass and red clover, while crops that are rich in protein are also good. These include turnip, soybean, kale, and corn.
Deer are drawn to foods such as apples and sugar beets, so both of these are worth adding to your hunting gear.
Deer are also attracted to non-food products, such as doe estrus, when they’re preparing to enter their breeding season.
This urine is most effective when used approximately 10 weeks before the peak of the breeding season. You can apply the deer urine around your property or hunting ground as this works well.
Another effective way of attracting deer is to use mineral blocks. Although not technically food, mineral blocks contain essential nutrients that attract deer, such as calcium and phosphorus.
Deer will seek out these minerals in the wild so purchasing salt licks and placing them on the ground will attract them effectively.
Just make sure you stay informed about the state hunting rules when it comes to using salt licks as they’re not allowed across the board.
What is irresistible to deer?
There are some flavors and scents that drive deer crazy, so knowing about these will help you to better tailor your efforts so that you can attract more deer.
One of the most powerful scents that attract deer is doe urine. This not only makes deer feel curious to explore an area outdoors, but it’s a common smell so it doesn’t have the effect of scaring deer away.
This combination works well when you’re trying to hunt deer successfully because it makes deer feel comfortable entering an area. If they can smell other deer urine, then this gives them the idea that deer have been around it so it’s safe.
Scents aside, some foods that are irresistible to deer include corn. This is usually used as bait for whitetail deer in particular.
Deer love eating corn, so it’s always useful to have some with you on the hunt. You can also add edible deer attractants to corn to enhance its effects.
Another interesting type of food that attracts deer is something you might not necessarily associate with deer food. It’s conveniently something you’ll find in your kitchen: peanut butter!
Deer love the taste of peanut butter, so it’s always a good idea to pack a jar in your hunting backpack just in case you need it. You can use it on its own or mix it with other foods to attract more deer to your hunting area.
Conclusion
If you’re trying hard to bag deer during the hunting season but you’re not succeeding, you should invest in a deer attractant product (or two). There are a variety of deer attractants on the market that will increase your deer hunting success.
In this article, we’ve provided you with 10 of the best ones to try, giving you a variety of products so you can choose the deer attractant that’s the most effective for you.
For increased convenience, we’ve included food-based as well as other products. We’ve also answered some questions you might have about deer attractants, such as what attracts deer the fastest and most effectively.
Resources:
