Creating Bedding Areas
Filed under: Ask Grant, Deer Management, Habitat Management
I am having a lot of the old pine trees cut off my property and plan on putting a larger food plot in the center of the property. How do I build bedding areas with hinge cutting (height and direction of cut)? Is there a difference between buck and doe bedding areas? Thanks, I’m looking forward to your answer. Craig
Craig,
Deer like to bed and/or rest in areas where the cover at 0-3’ above ground level is very thick. Anything above 3’ only serves to provide shade when it’s hot. Such cover can be created by hinge cutting. However, trees, even when they are hinged-cut, grow up rapidly. Without additional cuts every few years, the cover will rapidly grow taller and shade out the critical 0-3’ zone that’s important to deer. That’s why deer prefer to bed in thick grasses or other types of cover that doesn’t grow up as fast as trees.
With that said, deer will readily use the best cover within their range. If the area where you planned the hinge cutting is primarily forest or open pasture land, then deer will most likely use any cover created! Deer tend to select the best food and cover in their range. By creating the best food and cover available in the neighborhood on your property, deer will use it disproportionately more than the surrounding areas.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
