Do I need watering holes?

[EarthySpirit]

Hi Gang,

I hope I posted this in the right place. I keep hearing people say to put a watering hole in food plots, but I'm not sure if I need it or not. On my 51 acres there is a creek which runs all year around bordering the west side of the property, plus a seasonal creek that runs down the middle of the property which typically flows from November till July.

Clearly deer can get water on my property, so it must come down to logistics and strategy. The way I understand it is that people say deer are even more likely to visit the food source and even hang out longer and perhaps even make more frequent visits if there is a water hole in it as well irrespective of the fact that there is water a couple hundred yards away. Do you all agree with this sentiment? Based on this, do you all think I should put watering holes in my main two food plots (each about 1/3 acre in size on ridges). Thanks for the input!

Patrick

 

[Catscratch]

I have some water holes and the deer love them. I keep a camera on one of them year round and it's the most reliable buck picture taker on the place. With that said be aware that the midge that transmits EHD tends to live in such places. If I had known of that before I made the holes I would have probably not done it... but the deer do love them!

 

[Bill]

I don't know why but deer seem to prefer green nasty water

I had a small blue kiddie pool burried that the rain kept pretty full. They seemed to hit it quite often. Then I hit the edge of it with the mower and mangled it :(. I will be replacing it. No midges in a kiddie pool, they need some mud to reproduce.

I won't say it will be the best improvement you can make but it sure doesn't hurt. I'd like to eventually have one at each stand.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

In my opinion, "Do you need" one? No, it isnt a need. But if you can swing it, it may just keep that big buck on your property another 2 minutes, which is 2 minutes less it will be on your neighbors land.

 

[Livesintrees]

In my opinion, "Do you need" one? No, it isnt a need. But if you can swing it, it may just keep that big buck on your property another 2 minutes, which is 2 minutes less it will be on your neighbors land.

Best and yet he most simple explanation. This is my goal with everything I do. Bedding areas set up on the fringes. Anyone who enters a stand bumps the deer into the property.

 

[j-bird]

I agree..."NEED"....no. They can however add some value to your property from a deer perspective, but there is some risk as well (mentioned above regarding EHD).

 

[williams111]

With a kiddie pool wont mud and dirt still accumulate at the bottom of it from things stepping in and around it? Or do they need a substantial amount of mud? Did you bury it at all? Are there any additives like mosquito dunks that can be added to the water to kill EHD but not harm deer and other critters drinking from the pool? I have been considering doing this at my place, but I have been apprehensive since reading about possibly encouraging EHD.

 

[scott44]

With a kiddie pool wont mud and dirt still accumulate at the bottom of it from things stepping in and around it? Or do they need a substantial amount of mud? Did you bury it at all? Are there any additives like mosquito dunks that can be added to the water to kill EHD but not harm deer and other critters drinking from the pool? I have been considering doing this at my place, but I have been apprehensive since reading about possibly encouraging EHD.

Mine has accumulated mud over the years but they seem to like it better, I originally put it in so it was flush with the ground but over the years it has heaved some.

 

[willy]

I knew the deer used my water tanks(5) I dug into the ground but I didn't realize they used them so much. They have been keeping them open this winter(I've never checked them in years prior) They got a hole open about a basketball wide with at least two inches of solid ice covering the rest of the tank. They are the 100 gallon blank tanks one can get at Tractor supply stores. Rain and snow melt is what fills them. I have them dug into small drainages that keeps them supplied as long as precip falls.

There is a spring on the farm(80 acres) and I know they use it where it has pooled up but they use the tanks heavily during the summer and fall and I guess during the winter too.

 

[Catscratch]

They've kept mine open fairly well too. You can see where it was the last to freeze up, and the chunks of ice that had been broken. I constantly get pics of deer standing in the water. Its not like they walk to the edge to get a drink... they wade right through it.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[H20fwler]

I think water holes are a really good benefit to any property and help out all kinds of wildlife from bees to deer and everything in between.
The small stock tanks/drums/kiddie pools/koi ponds are a huge draw to deer even with other natural water sources not that far away.

There are a bunch of really good threads on them in the “Everything Ponds” section.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Mine has accumulated mud over the years but they seem to like it better, I originally put it in so it was flush with the ground but over the years it has heaved some.

I have a pool that looks about the same. I buried mine a little further. Its got lots of mud, debris and junk in it. My theory is that the pool is accumulating nutrients that the deer crave. Really no other reason to drink that skunky shit with all the other fresh water in the area.

 

[BuckSutherland]

 

[JFK52]

I have a 5K square foot pond that is only about 3 to 4 feet deep. I pump fresh well water to it every evening when the three tier electric rate system I subscribe to is the cheapest. It is all computer controlled. As there is no water within at least one mile or more of my land it gets a lot of use by critters of all sorts. I also keep four different spots near the corners of my land which have several 55 gallon food grade plastic drums cut in half to collect water. I dump them out every spring and let Mother Nature fill them for the year. Surprisingly, these also get a lot of use especially by the deer. I put a small piece of chicken fencing bent over one end as a critter escape route. It serves the same purpose as the two branches in your kiddie pond. I put some field stones in each piece to prevent them from blowing away when freshly dumped.
Water holes or drinking spots are relatively cheap improvements that will keep the deer happy on your land. You do not NEED them. They certainly are an essential part of the "food, cover, water" trinity of deer management.

 

[weekender21]

I'm going to put several in over the next few years but they won't be at my food plots. The deer are already attracted to the plots. I'm strategically placing them between bedding and food in spots I can easily access. Plan is to catch them at the water holes on the way to or from the food plots.

 

[bigbendmarine]

I've seen mixed results with mine.

The northern half of my property (behind my house, so though north I think of it as my back yard) gently slopes downward to my 20+ acre pond. All of the back half leading to the pond is wooded but also boggy and muddy with any rain at all. The southern (front yard) areas of my place are fields and higher and drier. One water hole I put in my favorite plot that borders the boggy woods sees more limited use. The one farthest south in the drier area sees quite a bit more use.

One thing I'd add is that when temps get warmer and we have enough of a dry spell to dry out standing water in the boggy woods, BOTH spots get used signifantly more (not surprisingly). Glad I put them in if for no other reason than helping the local wildlife in dry times.

 

[Big Snow Man]

JFK why do you dump your tanks out ? I never have and the deer are always drinking out of them. The worse the water looks the more they drink !

 

[EarthySpirit]

I think I've heard enough to realize at worse it will certainly benefit, and as one of you said, we're looking for any reason for them to hang out more on my property especially in areas around my plots. So to my mock scraps and licking branches, I can add watering holes and fruit trees, both of which are projects I'm working on this spring. Thanks to all for the feedback!!!

 

[JFK52]

I dump my water tanks out because they get a significant amount of leaves in them each fall, mostly oak leaves. These leaves seem to turn the water tannic to the point where they will not be used by the deer and other critters. I start fresh each spring and am good with the tanks until they fill with leaves. All the tanks are adjacent to food plots but not right in them.
One of the strangest things I have seen in my water tanks is tadpoles. This was in an area of my land that is no where near any other water source. The nearest source would be my pond and that is almost 1/2 mile away. I have no idea how they were deposited in those tanks. My pond is just chuck full of frogs and tadpoles in their season.

 

[Kooch]

Small water holes fill be large ice cubes at my place during the firearms season we hunt.