For many deer hunters, hanging scent wicks near a hunting stand or dragging a strip of cloth soaked in a doe’s urine compound was a proven strategy for focusing roaming bucks’ attention just before and during the whitetail breeding season known as “the rut.”

Effective July 1, it is illegal in Virginia “to possess or use deer scents/lures that contain natural deer urine or other bodily fluids while taking, attempting to take, attracting, or scouting wildlife.”