Any way to keep buzzards off my bait piles?

gunslinger81

New member
I've been using baitsickles for a while, but after a few hours the buzzards come around.
Now that it's almost summer in south carolina, the baitsickle won't last long at all.
So I'm wondering if anyone has a tip to keep bait around longer. Mostly looking to preserve the bait for the coyotes.


Is there any way to deter buzzards?
Would hanging a meat/chicken carcass from a tree by rope keep them from getting to it?
 
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Buzzards are always a problem at a bait site, hawks too. I don’t know if hanging it from a tree would help with buzzards, but it won’t with hawks. Hawks will get on it regardless.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr. PoppadopalisKill the Buzzards!


lol. Would make sense, but since it's federal time and $15,000.
No thanks
 
Maybe put mesh wire over the bait. At least it will slow them down. Might keep them around to make more noise and attract more coyotes. Or keep the bait in the bucket and pop holes in it. Like a chum bucket.
 
You can use non iodize salt to preserve it. Also if you use fryer grease or cooking oil on it. Any animal including skunks will track the scent all over. Cover your bait with brush or hay from the birds. Coyotes will still smell it.
 
I only have to deal with Ravens and eagles but I'm sure it's roughly the same concept. The birds are as much or more of an atractant than the bait itself. Coyotes watch for birds feeding and come to investigate. As much as its a pain to have to feed them I find it's worth it in the long run
 
Appears you are in South Carolina so I'm assuming you are night hunting the bait piles. In which case the buzzards and hawks won't do anything for you except clean out your bait supply. Plus as hot weather comes on large amounts of bait will become maggot infested pretty quickly.

The best way I have found is to use smaller amounts of bait and smaller pieces and scatter it around. Ideally the night animals will eat up almost all of what you put out and leave little to nothing for the birds during the day. This requires a fair amount of effort and requires putting out new bait every day just before dark. It also puts more of your scent at the bait site, but unless you are baiting in some remote places, the coyotes aren't so spooked by human scent unless it is really fresh.
 

Good advice from DoubleUp. I do the same by scattering small pieces of bait around the baitsite in late evening, increasing the chance that night animals will get it. Baiting often / daily is the best way to get coyotes. I have been doing that for 7 or 8 years now, but this year I didn’t bait as often due to work, rain, family needs etc. and my success rate went to zero.

As DoubleUp mentioned, this requires quite a bit of effort. Bait hunting is not as easy as some people think. I learned this first hand when I first began years ago.
 
I'm out in very open hill country. The coyotes can see the birds from miles away. I wire the carcasses of trapped animals to a feed site and feed scrapes both mornings and dusk in various locations.


My style of baiting is to get them into the area then call when the sign increases. The word of a free meal brings plenty into my "hood"!
 
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Good advice fells. I appreciate it. I've got one golf course really close that I can currently bait up and I'll try that scatter method and see if it keeps them just a little closer. All of my hunting is at night and with SC heat it's only gonna get hotter.

I'll keep doing my night calling and wait until it gets cold again to do my bait. It worked pretty well earlier this year.

Thanks for the advice
 
Just chiming in gunslinger

Kind of new at this compared to many here but have been baiting since June of last year behind my place when I got NV for my rifle. Have used quite a lot of different baits like dry dog food, canned sardines, canned cat food, bacon grease, table scraps, old frozen gone bad hamburger/steaks, skunk scent, old peanut oil, and probably other things I cant even remember.

Have 4 trail cams set up to monitor what comes and goes nightly from various angles/distances. Anyway, I've certainly helped out the coons, possums, fox as they come in every single night and wipe out whatever I put out. Lately the crows are showing up as well during the daytime hours to clean up anything left over. I usually get about 800-1200 pictures each night so there's much to learn about what comes in and at what times.

Never really see any coyote "response" from one bait type to the other as far as I can tell. Dry dog food works just as good as anything else for me and is much cheaper at Walmert (thanks Ol' Roy). When a yote starts showing up, I add a smelly can of sardines or bacon grease soaked paper towels which seems to bring them in pretty good probably due to the smell I'm guessing. I probably spent $20 bucks every couple of months for dry dog food for bait. 50 pound bags of Ol' Roy.

Some might think baiting is a lot of work but I enjoy it and it gives me the opportunity to take the dog for a walk in the morning to check the trail cam pics. I learn a lot by seeing what and how the animals act. Put the bait out in the evenings and repeat. I use the scatter method like DU mentioned and works well.

We had a fairly serious yote infestation when I started and after wacking 8 of them we dont have a problem anymore but I stay on it daily because I know they'll start showing up again someday. I have one that shows up every 8-10 days but doesnt come in every night yet. While waiting for that one to come in more often, I started hunting over at my sisters property a couple months ago using the same methods and wacked 7 so far, and their yote problem has subsided considerably.

Anyway, maybe try dry dog food instead of the baitstick and see what happens? Good luck and keep us posted.
 
I have a dead pile in trees that the vultures don't seem comfortable visiting. I'm thinking they don't have enough visibility or room to escape quickly if danger suddenly appears. Don't know your setup Gunslinger, but maybe cutting a shooting lane into the trees would discourage them. If ya have no trees, I have nothing for you...
 
I used to work at a restaurant that had outdoor seating. Yellow Jackets would plague the patrons that sat outside. One day one of them set a small piece of hamburger on the edge of his table and let the bastards feast on it, while he ate in peace. Maybe sort out a bait pile for the buzzards that's is "undisturbed" and they will leave your target pile alone.....
 
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