# Sugar beets as bait?



## Mr. 16 gauge (Jan 26, 2000)

Has anyone used sugar beets as a bait food for bears? If so, do you think it was effective, or just so-so..............asking for a friend who lives out of state. Thanks in advance.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

With all the deer baiting threads there have been on this site I don’t ever recall reading about anyone having issues with bears raiding their sugar beet piles of goodies.


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## stickbow shooter (Dec 19, 2010)

I've never heard of anyone using them.


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## kstout (Dec 26, 2005)

When baiting was legal I had a friend have bears come and eat his sugar beets several times. He said he put out 1/2 a bag of beets, and hung the rest of the bag on a limb under his stand. The bear ate the ones on the ground, then came and got the bag and dragged it off. I think if you could get beet pulp from the sugar plants, and put molasses on it, it would be great bait. When I was baiting I mashed apples and put molasses on them. The bears loved that applesauce.


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## Mr. 16 gauge (Jan 26, 2000)

kstout said:


> When baiting was legal I had a friend have bears come and eat his sugar beets several times. He said he put out 1/2 a bag of beets, and hung the rest of the bag on a limb under his stand. The bear ate the ones on the ground, then came and got the bag and dragged it off. I think if you could get beet pulp from the sugar plants, and put molasses on it, it would be great bait. When I was baiting I mashed apples and put molasses on them. The bears loved that applesauce.


Unfortunately, the state he is in (N.C.) requires that bait be only agricultural products that are "unprocessed", i.e. no pulp, juice, mash, etc. It has to be as it fell off the tree, or pulled up from the ground. Thank you for the info, though.........we hunted deer up in the U.P. back in 2001 and put out some apples; they disappeared overnight and the bear that ate them left a big pile of bear poo in it's place! I was just curious if they had a "sweet tooth" for sugar beets.


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## sourdough44 (Mar 2, 2008)

I say no to sugar beets, they’re for deer. A bear may eat them, after ALL the other good food is gone.

If limited to ‘natural foods’, I’d look for sweet apples. As posted above, sprinkle a little sweetener on them, as able.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

No beets...


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Things that have worked well for me.

Meat trimmings from the butcher. I quit using them now that wolf numbers have increased.
Day old donuts
Out of date Hostess products
Corn
Apples and pears
Dry dog food
Popcorn
Fryer grease
Pie filling, buy it by the 55 gallon barrel


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

I used meat once. Once. It stunk and the vulture/raven/crow were insane!!!


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## Spartan88 (Nov 14, 2008)

Things that I have tried for bear bait that didn't work; corn, pears, apples, salmon, oats. Bear like sweet stuff, cut vanilla frosting with water and dump it over bread, popcorn or granola. Even before the chocolate ban I used vanilla frosting or jelly with good results. Good luck!


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## Martin Looker (Jul 16, 2015)

My nephew quit putting out beets for deer because the bears camped out next to his bait pile. They also ate his corn and oats but not the cabbage and potatoes. I didn't know deer ate potatoes but they do in the UP.


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