Not again.......! Feral Hog Control in East Texas

Readyrod wrote:

Do you need to change the location of the trap every time that you use it?
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No, in fact...where I have it now is a semi-permanent spot because of the amount of hog traffic there. Terrain features, wooded areas and water combine to "funnel" them through this area.

Can you rotate spots?
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To some degree. It is possible to move (encourage) hogs to change their route over small distances. Generally, I am comfortable feeding hogs to another location...as far as 200-300 yds. but it can take time. As long as hogs are coming to one area there is no requirement to change it, if that is your question.

I saw that you were using snares also, are there other techniques/tricks you can use in an integrated approach?
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I will use snares on occassion...but only if I can not shoot or trap a particular animal. Obviously...snares are "non-selective" and you really need to know what you are doing to avoid catching animals other than the target.

"Techniques": Basically means Trapping, Shooting, Snaring and Hunting with dogs. (Well....there is the helicopter approach also, but since I do not own a helicopter we will not be discussing that technique).;)

"Tricks": Are numerous and varied. Some are area specific... some can be broadly applied. If you have specific questions I will try my best to answer them.

I imagine that you will never be able to completely solve the problem as they keep on coming back so I guess it's a pest control rather than eradication thing.
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That is correct. Anywhere there is good habitat and hogs are firmly established....you will never be rid of them.

The words "hogs" and "eradication" should not be used in the same sentence IMO. It is wishful thinking...at best.

Flint.
 
Flintknapper you must have one heck of a work load on your hands now a days! Man, I can't even imagine the trouble these knuckle heads are causing for you...Good luck with the pest control, and always remember: Even if you can't rid the problem, you can always at least alleviate the losses they are causing. If you weren't doing everything that you are, who knows what kind of damage could have been done up to this point? Keep us updated! Nice pictures too, BTW!
 
Thanks for the replies, I mucho appreciate it. It's nice that you don't have to move the trap. It's gotta save a lot of work. And I didn't think about the non selective thing with snares. You wouldn't want to hurt your dogs or the neighbors dogs.
If you don't mind the questions can I ask you what your baiting strategy is. Do you bait only in the trap or do you try to attract them by baiting outside as well? What are you using for bait? ( that arrow with the corn is hilarious btw ) Are you trying to channel them, say with strategically placed logs, or fencing?
I got more questions but I'll save them for later. Again, great thread.
 
since the hawgs are on your land, have you considered a supressor? we got three off a friends property the other day and I forgot my hearing protection. I am going the supressor route because of it. the neighbors can't complain about noise and I will not have the phone in my head ringing as loud.
 
Corn arrow! :D Good luck, how about shooting them with something less lethal? and see if they leave? So we can stand on the next property and shoot them!
 
Yes, the "corn arrow" is just for fun....but it is hard to argue it's effectiveness when I consistently get results like this:

Trail_cam_6_12_09001.jpg

Trail_cam_6_12_09003.jpg

Yeah, I know......I could make "werewolves" with the corn and they would still eat it. :D
 
kanook wrote:

Since the hawgs are on your land, have you considered a suppressor?
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It is something I have considered. To date, I have never shot (or been around) a suppressed firearm, but from what I have read....a suppressor can be used to significantly reduce muzzle blast (especially with subsonic loads).

I am still waiting on a custom .458 SOCOM upper from Mary ter Weeme that will be used as a dedicated hog gun. I did order it with a threaded barrel to accommodate a suppressor if I choose to go that route in the future.
 
Readyrod wrote:

If you don't mind the questions can I ask you what your baiting strategy is. Do you bait only in the trap or do you try to attract them by baiting outside as well?
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Hi RR,

I will start by baiting any area that shows good hog sign. This can be a trail, an area they are rooting in, a water source, a wallow, etc. Basically any area that shows evidence of repeated visitation.

Any number of baits could be used but...shelled corn is probably the easiest . Most folks will set up an automatic feeder to dispense the corn....but it can be hand broadcast (assuming you can visit the property daily).

Are you trying to channel them, say with strategically placed logs, or fencing?
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No. At least not for the purpose of luring them to the trap area. Generally, the bait alone is all you need.

Hogs will come to the sound of an automatic feeder if that is being used, but I prefer to hand-broadcast the corn because I don't have to move feeders around and I can dribble out corn down trails to manipulate their direction of travel (to some extent).

A typical scenario will go something like this:

1. I will discover hog sign at some location on the ranch, or I will have pics on the game cam at a bait site I keep going year round.

2. I will bait the area with corn. I put it out over an area approximately 50' in diameter so that the hogs will have to hunt it.

3. If the hogs return to the bait site a second day/night then I will install a game-camera (indispensable tool) to determine how many there are, what size, make up of the group, and at what time they are visiting.

4. If there is a mature boar present...I will immediately set up a stand nearby and attempt to shoot him out.

Mature boars are solitary animals....difficult to find and difficult to pattern. They do not stay around long.

Their sole purpose for being around a sounder is to breed the sows. Once the sow(s) have been covered the boar is gone, so you want to move on a boar right away.

5. If no mature boars are present but the sounder is comprised of mostly mature sows...I will continue to bait them at the site for about a week to see if a boar will show up. If not...then the decision to trap the group or shoot the group is made.

6. If the decision is to trap, then depending upon location...I might be able to slowly "move" the group to where I already have the trap set up, or I will have to move the trap.

I can usually entice hogs to move 200-300 yds. from a bait site, but I can't get them to go from one side of the ranch (400 acres) to the other.

7. Sometimes a group is fairly small and made up of mostly mature animals. When this occurs...I will just shoot them out. It takes time (a few weeks) because you are not going to shoot them everyday without first running them off.

Usually, we will shoot the Alpha sow (lead sow) first, wait a few days until things settle down. Then take the next sow that displays leadership, and so on. The result is a constant "dumbing down" of the herd...and eventually a "broken sounder" that will split up and normally move off.

But, things don't always go as planned...and you must be willing to adapt to their movement and feeding habits.

Hogs with little pressure are creatures of habit..and can be patterned pretty well. However, once they recognize they are being pursued, they go into "stealth mode" and can be nearly impossible to take.

An old "Alpha Sow" that has led a sounder for several years is probably:

Trap shy.
Camera shy (yes they can recognize them).
Dog savvy.
Will spot a stand.
Will circle an area before coming in.
Will lead the group to an area, but let them go in first.
And the list goes on.

So, always take the "brains" out the group where possible.


Flint.
 
Trap shy.
Camera shy (yes they can recognize them).
Dog savvy.
Will spot a stand.
Will circle an area before coming in.
Will lead the group to an area, but let them go in first.
And the list goes on.
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Wow. I knew they were supposed to be smart, but that's pretty amazing.
 
Flint, your thread continues to impress. Sorry about your hog problems, but thanks for the education you're giving a lot of us.
 
Hey Flintknapper
Thanks again for the answers.
I've worked a little with hogs but only on farms and I have no idea how they act in the wilds. Are they territorial or do they just move around? If territorial do you know their range? What's a sounder? It seems that the boars are solitary opportunistic breeders, do they ever join the groups of sows? Do the boars fight? You said that the young boars hang together, is that for protection from the older boars?
Sorry if it's too many questions but just let me squeeze in a few more.
What's a good hog caliber? Hog gun?
I was wondering why you wanted to get the boars so bad as they can be easily replaced by younger ones. Then you mentioned about getting the experienced ones first, which makes a lot of sense. I guess that at the same time you are getting the biggest/strongest/smartest ones also, kind of reverse genetic selection, let the weak/small/stupid ones breed.
Happy hunting/trapping.
 
For hog, I'd go .25 on up.

I've got a 45-70 that I will test on them this year to see how it works, but my 30.06 put a wallop on them in the past.

If your going to be hunting in the brush, a shotgun with slugs would be another good alternative.
 
flintknapper said:
Because of the confined area these hogs are in….I will not be able to “shoot out” this bunch.
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How confined is it? Why can't you shoot them with a shotgun? How much acreage are we talking?

Bow hunting? Hell, we hunt them with spears and knives around these parts...

edit: Just read the rest of the thread instead of just the first page.

What do you do with them once you trap them?
 
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Glad to see your getting some of them. I wish you luck getting the rest.
 
Checked my feeder today. Hogs had dumped it and kicked the crap out of the timer to get the corn out. It still works, but no corn. I'll have to go back Friday and put corn in it I guess. I only put it out there a couple of weeks ago. It's really dry down here, guess they're desperate for food.
 
I have a really dumb question. Feral pigs and domestic pigs are obviously the exact same species. So why are feral ones hairy, while farm pigs are nearly bald?
 
Tres Mas.....

Well…..got three of the five, not too bad….as I was not expecting to catch the entire Bachelor group the first “go round”.

trapped_5.jpg

Hogs taking a dirt nap:

3_little_pigs.jpg

Father-in-Law hauling them off to be “recycled”:

Feris_Hogs.jpg

The reddish/brown hog nearly cleared the 5’ panels on a couple of attempts. He was a very athletic boar.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you hogs can’t jump. Its “white men” who can’t jump, not hogs.
 
pork problem?

Flintknapper,
I'm sure after the Xth time you're tired of cleaning, butchering, and even eating pork... But are there any creative ways you've found of getting rid of these pigs? Do you sell them to a local butcher? Donate the meat? Food is food...

I'd hate to think that they just end up being waste, but at the same time after seeing how many you're dealing with I wouldn't drop any blame on you for not being frugal, per se. Also, like mentioned above by you and many others- this isn't exactly an endangered species :)

Thanks for maintaining this post!!!
 
~z wrote:

Another nice catch, did you "hand activate" the trap again or let them do it themself?
~z
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I just let these catch themselves. The game-cam pics that last few nights showed them coming in anywhere from 2-4 a.m.

However, last night...these came in and trapped themselves by 9:30 p.m., you just never know. :confused:
 
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