Over the past 5 years we have been researching Whitetail Scrapes religiously, and what we have found is that the licking branches are the key to these scrape sites! Whitetails are immediately drown to the branches from a visual as well as a scent perspective.
When deer first visits a scrape site, both does and bucks will rub the nose, face and antlers on the licking branches. The whitetail has many glands on the head including the Preorbital, Nasal and forehead gland. They rub their heads on these licking branches to establish communication with each other. A whitetail deer uses these sites to both leave their own scent and obtain scent left by other deer.
Usually after a site has been established the deer urinate and defecate on them to leave their mark. As the testosterone levels increase during pre-rut, these sites get visited regularly—every 2-3 days. Daytime visits pick up dramatically and the bucks will feverishly rake the ground and urinate over their tarsal glands. A whitetail can actually determine social status, age and approximate time a doe will come into estrous by utilizing these sites.
Finally, there’s a better alternative to liquid scents! Liquid scents are complicated, messy and difficult to apply to the licking branches. Our powder-based scent adheres perfectly to the licking branches and does not overwhelm the site with too much scent. This is why we believe our product works so much better than the traditional scents on the market today.