To Pee or Not to Pee? …That is the Question

Hold that Yellow Water Bottle for a Moment, as We Explore the Topic of Where to Pee While Deer Hunting

by Richard Baimbridge

There are two distinct camps when it comes to the question of whether or not you should relieve yourself anywhere in the vicinity of your blind or treestand while hunting. In one corner are those who say it spooks the deer, and thus carry empty water bottles for those moments when nature calls. While in the opposite corner (giving a quick shake and casually zipping up their flies) are those who think that trying to hide your pee is…well, pissing in the wind.

In fact, they’re happy to relieve themselves right over the side of a blind any time -- deer be damned. And they pee on fresh scrapes for good measure, like a dog going out for a walk, marking its territory.

So, the questions here are – who’s right? What does the science say? And do the deer even give a piss about this issue?

First, let’s look at the origins of the water bottle theory. For the most part, the idea that human urine spooks deer is more common amongst older generation hunters who passed it down anecdotally over generations, without scientific testing to determine its veracity.

While on the surface it would seem to make sense (hunters are, after all, always trying to hide their scent, and pee certainly smells), other hunters anecdotally observed that, on the contrary, deer seemed either unaffected by the smell of human urine -- or, in some cases, were even attracted to it.

So, let’s stop for a moment to consider what pee consists of. Whether it’s deer or people, urine is over 95 percent water. Human and deer urine both also contain things like ammonia, urea, sodium chloride, potassium and creatinine, along with other inorganic and organic compounds. But commercial deer sprays boast that they contain estrus hormones and other scents designed to elicit territorial and mating reactions from bucks during the rut.

The question is, do they work? And if so, does human pee have the same effects – especially if it’s coming from a hunter who presumably isn’t in estrus?

With the advent of trail cams, curious hunters and wildlife biologists both began putting these ideas to the test and observing how deer react to the presence of human urine. The results are both interesting and surprising…

One of the most famous studies comes from Dr. James Kroll, a wildlife biologist from Texas known as “Dr. Deer.” Kroll conducted experiments in the late 1990s to assess how deer respond to various scents, including that of human urine. He used mock scrapes treated with:

• Commercial buck urine

• Doe-in-estrus urine

• Human urine

• A placebo scent

Findings:

• Deer visited all treatment sites, with no statistical difference in visitation rates between the types of urine.

• Most visits were nocturnal.

• Bucks, does, and fawns showed similar curiosity across all scents.

• Human urine and buck urine slightly outperformed doe-in-estrus urine, although the differences were not statistically significant.

This suggests that deer are curious about new odors in their environment, including human urine, but that it’s neither a consistent attractant nor a deterrent.​

Further significant research comes from Bowhunter and nature writer Jay Strangis.

Jay Strangis's Observations:

Strangis likewise noted that deer may show curiosity toward urine scents. His anecdotal observations, combined with existing studies, support the idea that deer interpret urine as a natural part of their environment rather than as an immediate threat. He points out that, from a deer’s perspective, the scent of urine only tells you where a possible predator was, not where it is – and with the woods filled with so many urine scents, deer couldn’t possibly be constantly worried by all those different smells.

Yet Strangis also makes an important distinction between the behavior of mature bucks and younger bucks. He quotes longtime bowhunter John Eberhart, co-author of "Bowhunting the Eberhart Way":

“I believe human urine could possibly attract a deer,” Eberhart says. “But mature bucks don’t behave like subordinate bucks when it comes to anything out of the ordinary concerning odors. If they experience or witness anything out of the ordinary, they’re gone.”

One last study to pay attention to is that of Brian Murphy, biologist and former executive director of the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), who believes that deer are not genetically programmed to recognize human urine as a danger.

Instead, he says, deer assess scents in context. If no other human-associated indicators (like body odor or movement) are present, the scent of human urine alone is unlikely to spook them, and may just present itself as nothing more than a curiosity. That moment of curiosity, “pro-urine” hunters argue, is an opportunity to take a shot they might not otherwise have. Thus, they piss freely in their hunting areas, especially places like scrapes.

If you want to see this research in action, there are some great YouTube videos showing deer reactions to human urine, such as this one from a Wisconsin-based hunter.

​Long story short, leave the water bottle for drinking water. And when mother nature calls, be natural about it, like all the other animals out in the woods. If you don’t want to pee too close to your blind or treestand, then take a short stroll. But either way, it’s highly unlikely to affect your odds of success, and may in fact give you a few extra seconds to bring home the backstrap.

The jury remains deadlocked on this issue. But if you’re looking for more testimony from the “pro-piss” crowd, consider bowhunter and rock legend Ted Nugent: “My most consistent buck-getter has been my own pee from a treestand,” Nugent says. “During the rut I give a grunt call after urinating from the tree.”

While I wouldn’t want to hunt anywhere below Mr. “Cat Scratch Fever”, he has downed more bucks than Keith Richards has downed whiskey shots. So, his advice is (dare I say) “golden.” Take it with a grain of salt, if you like – just don’t piss it away. 

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