Nimrod2 wrote:
Flint:
IIRC, you have made remarks about how the presence of hogs has been detrimental to your deer hunting.
Yes, in a number of ways.
I am hunting in an area with dense 2nd growth which provides ideal cover for hogs and deer. I use feeders and food plots to draw the deer out of cover but I am wondering what effect the hog population has on deer movement.
This is a difficult question to answer definitively except to say, IF you have a significant population of hogs for a period of time exceeding a few days, deer “movement” will be affected.
The question then becomes to what degree.
It is up the person hunting/managing the land to analyze the potential effect hogs can have on ALL native species, not just deer.
In order to do this…we need to know in what ways Feral Hogs disturb, displace or compete with the more desirable animals.
As concerns deer:
1. Behaviorally, deer and Feral Hogs are incompatible; deer do NOT like to be in close proximity to hogs. It is the central theme to remember… and in large part the reason deer are temporarily displaced.
2. Where broadcast feeders are used, Feral Hogs will often find them and consume the feed intended for the deer. To make matters worse, (unless disturbed)…the hogs will eat ALL of the available feed… leaving none for the deer.
3. The same holds true in areas where hard mast is available (acorns primarily). Hogs will move into an area and literally clean up all viable mast, then move on to the next source. In many areas…deer rely heavily on the mast crop to put on fat deposits for the winter.
4. Feral Hogs will compete with deer for other food sources as well. Much of what is planted in food plots for deer is also palatable to hogs.
5. Water sources (if small) can be severely degraded because of hogs wallowing in them. This can cause deer to seek water elsewhere.
6. Hogs may compete with deer for prime bedding areas. This could be a significant problem during the fawning season if a Doe is forced to hide her fawn(s) in an area less safe.
There are many other ways that Feral Hogs impact deer (and other wildlife), the list above touches only on some of the more intrusive.
My game cameras have caught very little deer movement around the plots/feeders that are used by the hogs.
Ample evidence they are being impacted by the hogs. An exception being… a more favorable food source became available to the deer (usually seasonal).
I know that I can't totally eliminate the hogs but I will be trying to thin them out and/or send them elsewhere.
In your experience, have hog control efforts been noticeably helpful to your deer hunting?
No question about it.
If I get on the hogs early in the season I can force them into a strictly nocturnal pattern, which doesn’t eliminate their presence…but allows the deer undisturbed daytime movement (except for hunting pressure).
Of course, reducing the number of hogs will pay the most dividends (and is a year ‘round chore where I am located), but anything you do to pressure the hogs can help.
I know that it can't be helpful to have the hogs vacuuming up the acorn crop every fall. I'm just wondering how much their mere presence displaces the local deer population?
In large numbers…they can have a decided effect. Also, if the property you hunt/manage is naturally attractive to hogs…then chances are you will always have a problem.
Hogs are transient by nature and you will not have the same group of hogs forever….(even if you did nothing), but new hogs will replace them, especially if your neighbors are not trying to control them too.
Sometimes…. you can accomplish nothing more than running them off for a while, but
the goal should ALWAYS be to kill as many as possible, since “swapping hogs” with your neighbor(s) does little good in the long run.
Best of luck to you,
Flint.
