Author: Jason Kneib at Trophy Properties and Auction
With hunting season approaching, you have the power to choose the spot where deer are most
likely to settle down for the night and sleep. Below, you’ll find 10 tips to help create the perfect
deer bedding area.
1. Pick a spot – Bucks like to bed higher up to see approaching danger and escape, look for
benches.
2. Clear a spot – Clear the area of rocks, sticks, or other debris.
3. Create a barrier – Hinge cutting trees but don’t overdo it.
4. Let the sun in – During cooler months’ deer like grassy beds.
5. Control burn – A control burn will kill off old dead growth and allow for new growth.
6. Screening Cover – Plant native grass around the perimeter will help provide a buffer.
7. Improving Entrances and Exits – Create corridors and openings where you want deer to
travel.
8. Position near food and water –Placing everything a deer needs in a small area will
greatly increase the usage of that area in daylight.
9. Managing for Predators – Managing predators will increase how comfortable deer are
inhabiting the area
10. Restrict Access – Establish a sanctuary, an area no human ever goes except for shed
hunting and post season scouting.
A good amount of thought should go into where you choose to setup your bedding area. There are things you can do to make a specific part of your hunting property more appealing to use as a bedding area. Take into consideration how you will get to and from you stand, and how you will hunt the area around the food source, water, and newly created beds. It doesn’t take a big tract of land to create a bedding area. Try to make two or three areas and let the bucks choose which one is best for them. After creating the beds, make that area a sanctuary and stay out. This whole process of creating an optimal bedding area for deer doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take spending the time to pick a spot, create a barrier, bring in the sun, control burns, and do some hinge cutting. After that, you’ll have created an area deer want to bed.