Summary of Massachusetts Deer Baiting Regulations
It is illegal to hunt deer using bait during the hunting season.
Off-season baiting is not specifically called out by state regulations and is permissible as far as we are aware.
Detailed Regulations
Scents & Attractants
Scent attractants are commercially available and are meant to either imitate food like corn or apples or another deer using deer urine. Caution: In Massachusetts it is illegal to bait deer during the hunting season. Bait is defined as anything the deer can ingest, so if you spray an apple scent on something deer would eat, it is considered baiting and is illegal.
Deer urine is the most often used during the rut. These scents can be effective but can also alert a deer of an “intruder” they’ve never smelled before causing them to be alert and wary. The most common scent used is a “doe in heat” scent used during the rut. Due to the risk of introducing Chronic Wasting Disease to Massachusetts, MassWildlife recommends using only synthetic deer urine.