Home Made Deer Lick

Home Made Deer Lick This makes 5 gallons5 Gallon bucket Boil about 3 gallons of water - Boiling water will dissolve more of the ingredients 6 lbs Iodized salt 2 cups Baking Soda 1.5 Cups Baking Powder 18 oz. Molasses ( I have changed this amount see below) Potassium Gluconate (20 - 500mg Tablets) Magnesium (10 - 250mg Tablets) Add more water to fill the bucket (about another 2 gallons) Clear about a 2-4 sq.ft. patch of ground - minor dirt disturbance to aid absorption. In clay I have even drilled into the ground with a hand brace and pit to help it absorb better. Slow Siphon/pour the concoction into the disturbed earth Slow allows deeper penetration and keeps the liquid more concentrated in the desired area. As the liquid cools some of the ingredients may precipitate out of solution - not a problem - pour that stuff right on top of the wet soil. (mixture does not need to be hot to pour the stuff on the ground but will help in certain ingredients staying suspended better in mixture). I have really had good luck with this mixture, it seems to stand weather conditions very well. Have had deer still attacking the ground a month after I did the initial application. The above recipe is the original, I have made some changes to it and mention these below. This is not my mixture and don't know where I first found it at but have been using it now for close to eight years I would say. Only substitutes I use, instead of store bought molasses I get a 5 gallon pail from a feed store, bulk, its meant for cattle lick tanks. I find it has some other ingredients in it and since substituting this a few years back I think it attracts a bit more. And its cheap, I also up the amount in the mixture to 1/2 gallon of molasses, so in turn you need to back off water used to accommodate for using this substitute. Instead of the iodized salt I have purchased the small salt lick blocks intended for rabbit growers, break them up and add one to the mix. I have messed with the formula over the years with changing this and that. The original formula worked very well. I changed some ingredients like I mentioned some mostly to save cost as I usually make about 50 gallons at a time. Some changes because I think it attracted better and added some more good stuff to it. The cow molasses was substitute after I seen mule deer licking a cow lick. I have found it to work good for either white tail or mule deer.