I am a fan of the small water holes and so was this guy until this happened.
Waterholes and how deer use them
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Re: Waterholes and how deer use them
AaronMW wrote:JoeRE wrote:dan wrote:mheichelbech wrote:Is it worthwhile to set up a water source (thinking kiddie pool) even if there are other water sources around? I'm talking about putting it in a more secure location I.e., area that would be preferred by the bucks due to surrounding thickness.
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Well, Im not a big fan of kiddie pool water holes cause they need to be filled and maintained. If your going to make a water hole I would suggest doing it right... As far as your question about wether its worth putting in a water hole in areas that have water, it can be well worth it... If you put the water nearest there bed in the direction they want to go... I have seen water holes work real good only a few hundred yards from a river.
To avoid that issue I have seen kiddie pools dug into natural dry waterways, ditches or swales, that fill up nicely after a modest rain. You can do the same by just digging a depression and putting down a sheet of plastic, dig in the edges and some rocks or gravel to weight it down in the center. The trade-off is you probably will have to clean out mud/silt from it every now and then...if once a year that is no big deal, if you have to clean it out after every rain that maintenance becomes self defeating.
The major issue I have with most man-made water holes right now is EHD. A stagnant isolated water source, strategically located near where bucks bed...sounds like a terrible combination to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong here Joe but can't they only get EHD from midges in the mud around the drying waterhole? If that's the case the plastic kiddy pool shouldn't produce the disease. Although stagnant water may be less desirable to a deer. Not totally sure on this just looking for clarity.
I don't think the Iowa DNR will let me actually dig and place a waterhole but they may be open to the kiddy pool idea since I'm not actually altering habitat. Got a good public spot for one but it may not work. It's right next to the road so the intrusion would be minimal as they are used to traffic in that spot. There is a small wash that connects flowing water from the hills above to the road ditch. Might work.....
EHD is something I had thought about but the streams/drainages pretty stagnant already and as far as I can tell, in my area at least, EHD is be an issue. Not saying it couldn't become one but I have yet to find any deer dead like that, nor have I heard of it going on...and we may have had outbreaks and I didn't know but hadn't seen the evidence where I hunt. I think a pool or plastic would mainly just keep water in place longer...also, you read my mind when talking about putting the pool into the stream so that it could self fill. Based on rain patterns around here the last couple years I think it would not go dry.
Appreciate the observations!
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