I made some of the "Magic Dust" Deer Attractant with Rice Bran, Koolaid, and Brown Sugar. The deer are nuts for it!!! However the ranch owner is telling me that Brown Sugar is bad for deer digestion and that offering them a pile of attractant to eat could be killing them?? I am extremely skeptical as I know corn in high volumes will kill deer but for the most part as a browser a deer won't eat enough corn to kill them unless there is no other food sources around. I feel like the same would go for Brown Sugar if it is bad for them or they would have to eat a huge amount for it to effect them. What are yall's thoughts?? I'm trying to make a convincing argument to still be able to use my new found attractant.

Google it. Not good for them.

Good to know 👍

A guy that I hunted with used to make hard candy in the size of deer small blocks. He added peanut butter, whole kernel corn to a sugar candy recipe. He used 1 gallon paint buckets as the molds. You could watch the deer literally pawing and stomping on the blocks to try to break them. Find a recipe that uses Karo syrup.

He also went to the local cookie factory and bought the 55 gallon drums that peanut butter came in and day old bread. He would sit there in camp and make peanut butter sandwiches just throwing them in to a trash sack. On his way to the blind he would "sandwich" the road to his blind. It is hilarious to watch a deer get peanut butter stuck in the rook of their mouth.

Well after consulting a few veterinarians I am being told that in small doses it does not pose much threat but if I am concerned about it I can add an equal amount of salt to the mixture and it will counteract the sugar. So that is a very good tip! Hopefully the deer won't mind a little salt in their candy!

haha I can picture that. I have heard about them liking peanut butter. Do you know if there is a preference over creamy or crunchy??

I read years ago of just pouring out the clear Karo Syrup over your corn pile.
I tried it, but I couldn't tell the difference if it was the Karo Syrup or the corn, but it didn't stay on the ground long.
Anything will work as long as the deer like it, and it could make a difference if you are willing to spend the money, but I chose to just buy more corn with the money I would have spent on the Karo.
If you have hogs, and who doesn't, it will also attract them.

I use a mix of
3 Lbs. salt
3 boxes baking soda
2 tubs of cherry Kool-Aid with sugar (green apple is said to work)
1 box cherry Jell-O


I didn't notice much activity around it last year, but this years batch.....Where 1 pile was laid down has vegetation cleared out in a 6 ft diameter and a depression a good 6+ inches down.

Put some rice bran with it.