Keeping Deer Out of Your Hog Trap: What Works (and What Doesn't)

Deer will absolutely work your bait pile like they paid for it. And when they do, they’re not just eating corn — they’re wrecking your conditioning, burning time, and making your trap nights less efficient.

So here’s what we tested to keep deer out without pushing pigs away — and what we’d skip.

What We Tested

We ran trials with a range of deterrents — dried and fermented options, commercial repellents, and a few creative mixes. The lineup included:

• • Dried and fermented blood meal, bone meal, and rice bran

  • Dog food

  • Sardines mixed with corn

  • Liquid Fence (putrefied egg solids)

  • Sour (fermented) corn and sour rice
    

What We Learned - Ranked by Effectiveness)

Level One: Sour Corn

Fermenting (or “souring”) corn has long been a go-to tactic for deterring deer while still drawing wild pigs. It’s cheap and attracts hogs, but deer usually avoid it. If natural food is abundant and the number of deer is low, souring corn may be sufficient to keep the deer at bay.

Level Two: Sour Corn with Sour Rice

If deer pressure is higher, sour corn alone might not cut it. That’s when we add rice bran.Mix rice bran with your corn during the fermenting process. It takes about one pound of rice bran to every five gallons of corn. When fermented right (strong smell but not fully rotten), it’s far more effective than just soured corn at keeping deer out while still attracting feral hogs. We would recommend this option when natural food is less abundant and there is a moderate amount of deer.

Results: Wild pigs fed 26 out of 39 times, while deer only fed 8 out of 39 times.

Level Three: Liquid Fence®

The clear winner in our tests was Liquid Fence, a deer and rabbit repellent. We used the concentrate at twice the label rate (20%) and sprayed it over dry corn. It’s simple, effective, and long-lasting. Costs more, saves trips.

Results: Feral pigs fed 26 out of 30 times, while deer only fed 4 out of 30.

What We’d Use Carefully (or Skip)

• Capsaicin: Works well for deer under normal conditions, but it loses effectiveness when natural food is scarce. For this reason, it is best used in the spring and fall.

• Sardines mixed with corn: Keeps deer away but attracts raccoons.

• Dried blood meal: Works well (deterring deer and raccoons, but not wild pigs) unless it stays wet too long, then the decay smell can repel pigs too.

• Dog food: Attracts feral hogs moderately but breaks down fast, attracts raccoons, and was costly.

• Dry rice: Attracts deer more than wild pigs. We don’t recommend trying this approach.

• Fermented blood/bone meal: Drove everything away — wild boars included.

• Electric fencing: Showed promise during our cattle exclusion trial but this may not work for all properties.

Keeping Deer Safe Around Your Trap

During fall and winter, bucks with hardened antlers may be drawn to your bait. Deer deterrents work well at keeping deer at bay, but it is not 100% effective. To further reduce your chances of catching deer, especially antlered ones, here are a few trapping habits to add to your routine: 

When: As we previously mentioned, put bait out near dark so pigs get to it first. If you’re consistent with your baiting routine, pigs will learn it and they’ll start to show up quickly. This leaves less time for deer to interfere.

Where: Keep bait at least three feet inside your Pig Brig net trap and out of the skirt. That encourages boars to fully commit and keeps deer from nosing in halfway.

How: When you’re ready to set the trap, lower it all at once. If you drop it gradually, deer might try to get under it, which can tangle up their antlers.

Takeaways

• Start with sour corn. It’s the best low-cost way to cut deer interference while keeping pigs interested.

• Need the strongest deterrent? Liquid Fence performed best in our trials — just budget for it.

• Timing matters. Bait near twilight so pigs get first shot and deer have less time to work it.

• Reduce non-target risk. Keep bait well inside the trap and lower the net in one smooth drop.