Mould in Your Deer Feeder: How We Cleaned Our Moultrie 200 lb Standard
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
We recently ran into moisture issues with our new deer feeder. The Moultrie 200 lb Standard is a really good unit, but even a good feeder is at the mercy of physics.
Even with something as simple as corn, a lot is happening inside the barrel: temperature swings, moisture already in the feed, rain, intruders, you name it.
For us, with fall around the corner, the culprit was the big gap between warm days and cold nights. Under the hot sun, the corn released some of its moisture into the air inside the barrel, and more humid air was likely drawn in through the feeding port. Warm air holds more water vapour than cold air. At night, the barrel walls cooled below the dew point and that vapour condensed into droplets on the inside. Given a few days, those droplets became the start of mould.
In this article, we cover how we removed the mould, disinfected the feeder and got it ready to redeploy.
Spotting mould early
Mould is worth monitoring closely and catching early. Mouldy corn can carry aflatoxins, which are harmful to deer, turkeys and other wildlife. Not every mould produces them, but you can't tell by looking.
We caught ours early: a patch about the size of two quarters on the top portion of the feed. We stopped the feeding schedule right away and gathered what we needed to deal with it.
Safety first
When it comes to fungus, it's better to be safe than sorry. Wear a mask and gloves, and work in open air.
We transferred the full contents of the feeder into a double plastic bag, so it wouldn't tear on something and make a mess. Then we moved the feeder away from the feeding site before cleaning it.
Why we threw out all the corn
Mould is a fungus, and what you see is only part of it. Millions of spores are invisible to the naked eye and can settle into corn that looks perfectly fine. That's why we took no chances and threw out all the feed. It's unfortunate, but saving a few minutes and a few dollars isn't worth risking the health of the herd.
Important: The bagged corn goes in the household garbage. Never dump it in the woods, where animals will find it and eat it.
Cleaning step by step
Before any water touched the unit, we removed the motor and battery housing (or you can cover it well). Then we rinsed the barrel thoroughly, sprayed it generously with vinegar, and scrubbed every inside surface with a soft sponge soaked in vinegar. Don't forget the funnel and spin plate, where mould likes to hide.
Sun and UV are no friends of fungus, so the outside of the feeder is usually fine. It was in our case, and a gentle wash was all it needed.
Recap:
- Empty the feeder completely. Don't try to save feed that looks untouched.
- Throw the feed out in the garbage, not in the woods.
- Work away from your feeding site.
- Remove or protect the motor and battery housing.
- Rinse the unit thoroughly to settle dust and spores.
- Spray the inside with vinegar (or an equivalent disinfectant).
- Scrub every inside surface with a vinegar-soaked sponge, including the funnel and spin plate.
- Do a final rinse with clean water.
- Repeat steps 6 to 8 if needed, depending on how bad it was.
- Let it dry completely in the sun, where UV rays act as a natural disinfectant. Never refill a damp feeder.
Before you redeploy
From here, you can either modify your unit like we did or put it back in the field as is. If you redeploy it, here are a few ways to reduce the chances of the problem coming back:
- Keep it in the shade to limit the temperature swings between day and night.
- Fill it with less feed so it turns over faster and doesn't sit for long.
- Only use dry, fresh corn. Moisture often comes in with the feed.
- Check that the lid is sealed after every refill.
- Add silica gel in a sealed pouch, secured so it can't end up in the feed.
What's next
We weren't satisfied with the solutions we found online or on the market, so we built our own. Read our next article to see how.
KØLTR is not affiliated with or endorsed by Moultrie. Brand and model names are used for identification only.
