Texas is losing the war on feral hogs



Despite years of intense hunting and trapping, Texas is losing the war on feral hogs.

Since the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) first began removing feral hogs in 1982, the hog population in the Lone Star State has dramatically increased and there are now more than ten times as many hogs in the state as there were then. Unfortunately, the evidence is clear: Texas is losing the war on feral hogs.

Texas has very permissive regulations regarding hog hunting and hunters may pursue hogs all year long with no bag limit. They may be hunted over bait, trapped, hunted at night and from aircraft. As a result, it is estimated that over three quarters of a million hogs are taken by hunters, trappers, and TPWD each year in Texas.

Unfortunately, it is not enough. Even though hunters and trappers are killing approximately 30 percent of the hog population in Texas annually, hog numbers are still growing by about 20 percent each year. Biologists estimate that 70 percent of the hogs in the state will have to be killed each year just to maintain the population and even more must be killed to actually start reducing their numbers.

Yes, you read that right: 7 out of every 10 hogs in the state must be killed just to keep their numbers where they are now.

So why are hog populations experiencing such explosive growth?

The main reason is that hogs breed almost as quickly as rabbits. They become sexually mature before they are a year old and can produce as many as three litters of 6-8 piglets every year.

Another reason they are difficult to control is because feral hogs are very intelligent and resilient animals. They quickly respond to hunting and trapping pressure by changing their habits or just leaving the area for greener pastures when things get too hot. Since they are known to roam over extremely long distances in search of food, this makes long term hog control measures difficult and complicated.

Landowners and biologists have been relatively successful in controlling feral hog populations in small areas. However, these are usually short term successes that only last until a new hog sounder moves in and the cycle starts over again.

While hogs are fun to hunt and provide some very tasty table fare, they cause all sorts of problems. Their diet normally consists of things like roots, acorns, tubers, and other plants, they will eat literally anything they can find or catch. Crops, snakes, insects, ground-nesting birds, and even deer fawns are not safe from a hungry hog.

Hogs are a textbook example of an invasive species and are causing significant damage to native Texas wildlife and ecosystems. In addition to competing directly with deer for food, they damage vegetation that quail and turkey need to thrive. They also are carriers of a number of nasty diseases and there have even been cases of drinking water sources being contaminated by droppings from feral hogs.

So, we’ve established that Texas is losing the war on feral hogs and that’s clearly a bad thing. However, what can be done about it?

Hog hunting and trapping are already going full bore in Texas. Right now, these operations are taking less than half the number of hogs necessary to stop their explosive population growth and it is doubtful this can be achieved by hunting and trapping alone.

Poison is one potential way to turn things around in the war on feral hogs. Australia has successfully used sodium nitrate to control hog numbers with great success and biologists have been trying it out at the Kerr Wildlife area in Texas for the last couple of years.

One of the big concerns with using sodium nitrate or any other poison to control hog numbers is finding a poison that doesn’t harm other animals. The last thing we want is to kill a bunch of hogs with poison then start having all the vultures and other scavengers die from eating poisoned hog carcasses.

Fortunately, preliminary research indicates that scavengers are not at great risk by eating dead hogs poisoned by sodium nitrate. Is this the solution that will end the war on feral hogs? I’m not sure, but it sure seems like a good idea at first glance.

Until a permanent and lasting solution is developed, we’ll have to deal with hogs the old fashioned way: by hunting and trapping them. So, hit the woods and start doing your part in the war on feral hogs.

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In contrast Nebraska is winning the war on feral hogs. Our Game and Parks division outlawed feral hog hunting years ago and has taken a zero tolerance policy on feral hogs. If you see one you can shoot it, but you can't harvest it. This action took the financial incentive out of the feral hog hunting business Nebraska. So long as Texas landowners can charge people to hunt hogs you will have finacial incentives in place for hunting hogs that won't likely adress the problem of controling feral hog populations, it is only going to get worse.

Shorty I am not sure the Nebraska plan would really have much effect on the much more massive feral hog population in Texas, but heck what do I know? I read that an estimated 750,000-plus feral hogs have been killed each of the past few years in Texas. There are an estimated 2.6 million of them spread across at least 240 of Texas'254 counties.

Shorty, that's thinking like an economist: Incentives matter. Texas would do well to adopt the same policy, along with the sodium nitrate.

I heard that in Texas a dead hog cannot be donated for human consumption. Is that correct? If so, then changing that may help.

Hogs are smart, and breed like rabbits on an up cycle.....

Scott...not sure how the law reads, but the guys I've dealt with told me the near-by meat processor and the alligator farm will only accept live hogs.

We have been lucky @ my 175 acre place. There was one boar on the place when I bought it (based on game cameras) and he did not last a week after purchase. The 9,000 acre National wildlife Refuge near me did a burn year before last and that put some hogs on my place and we trapped and shot several, good eating for sure. We learned not to bait with corn on the ground in deer season, and that helped along with hunting pressure. We have not had a hog picture on the 11 game cameras since. It is suggested, one wear protective gloves (surgeons type) when cleaning them because of possible disease transmission to humans. I will say the young ones are great eating, much better than store bought pork.

Tracy

I have teens that night hunt my place at every opportunity. We see tracks and pics on game cams but that's all. I know they are there but never see them. They rooted along the face of my dam last year.

They are almost 100% nocturnal. I'm not but the teens are. Their results? Zero.

I have a hog trap with corn and other baits that they ignore. I can even leave the door open with a corn trail leading from the outside to the inside. they ignore it and eat the corn under the deer feeder 100 yards away.

A couple of years ago I knew there was a huge hog along my creek. A Pro trapper put out a trap with "sure thing" bait. The hog pushed the trap about 5 ft and ate the bait. The trapper left.

They can climb the sides of a trap. So, a neighbor used one with a top on it. He caught a spike buck that broke it's neck trying to get out. He's not entirely sure that he didn't break the law.

I thought about poison but that stuff can kill scavengers. If dead buzzards start showing up, I could do Federal time.

The pic in the article above shows hogs out feeding in the daylight. I've only seen that once in the last 20 years that we've had hogs. I doubt that I see a hog, even while driving backroads, over once every couple of years.

My Grandson killed a huge sow a couple of years ago while deer hunting. I think that's about 7 that we've successfully eliminated. I've killed 2 small ones. The first was about 10 years ago. If one is shot, they leave but always return later.

Obviously, TPWD has no answer but spends most of their time regulating deer hunting and fishing.

Eliminate or even control hogs? Good luck.

Yeah they are not stupid. I have them on my deer cams from August till End of September almost every year and then once more guys start to get in the woods getting ready for deer hunting all of a sudden they are gone. My dad was lucky enough to get one this last deer season in Muzzle Loader I'm sure it got spooked up on him from somewhere else and we just got lucky. They are not as dumb as people think that's for sure!!

RC

Dave they guy we bought our property from left 5 hog cage/traps. During the first year we baited one and to our surprise there were about 5 in there the next day. I hear hogs are smart so I was surprised others would keep following the others into the trap. We haven't baited the traps the last couple of years.


I have surprised hogs 3 times during daylight on an ATV. I would think most of the time they hear the ATV and scatter before I see them. One time I surprised at least 20 of them as they slept on the side of a hill in the shade. Most of them were small...a few larger ones, but it was eerie suddenly being in the middle of that many hogs and I didn't have a gun with me. They stared a moment then trotted off.

The Nebraska plan was implemented here when just a few small pockets of feral hogs were known to be in the state, the plan squashed financial incentives for people releasing them into other areas of Nebraska for profit. Professional hunters were then hired to go after the existing small pockets of feral hogs we had. It might help if Texas simply outlawed landowners charging to hunt feral hogs and outlawed guided feral hog hunts. Something to think about.

Loaded shotguns in vehicles are against the law here, loaded rifles in vehicles on the other hand are quite legal. The exemption for loaded rifles in vehicles was written to allow ranchers go after coyotes and protect their cattle. Does Texas have similar law?

Shorty, not that I know of. With the Castle Law I have the right to carry a pistol in my vehicle.

I think I have only one bunch running around on my place and adjoining ones. But, there is a lot of property(heavily wooded) owned by out of State people. Others, like me, don't live there but weekend on our places. Across the road from me is a 1,000 acre place owned by a guy in Dallas who I have never even seen, He's an investor.

The real point is that the darn things are almost completely nocturnal. And smart, really smart.

As far as charging to hunt, that's about the only source of income for a lot of landowners who had to sell their cattle during the drought.

Personally I want no part of letting armed strangers roam my land. Or anybody that I don't know very well. I have a house, ponds, lots of equipment, etc. And, I no longer believe that every one is honest.

Dave:

These green lights for the feeders are supposed to work well, and not spook hogs/deer. So, shooting can be done at night without any other extra lights being turned on.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Moultrie-...4544&rid=20

Instead of allowing landowners to charge people to hunt them how about "hog drives" that round them up and ship them off to slaughterhouses where they are marketed as "organically grown"? In other words, change the financial incentives in dealing with feral hogs.

I guess it is different in Texas with regard to the $ issue. Most all land is private(98+%) and when hunting rights are leased it normally includes all game animals and varmints(yotes, pigs, etc). While there are a few hog hunts operations, most of those are hogs released in high fence areas. So there is VERY little financial benefit to most hogs hunts. Some try to recover some of there hunting lease money by offering hog hunts after deer season, but without a financial incentive they wouldn't be offered at all.

I have killed 100s of pigs and I don't see a solution to this problem, other than a disease once they get over populated. Most hunters take so few #s it really doesn't help, trapping works to a point, but it is VERY labor intensive and needs to be done year round to be effective. Most people don't live close enough to the land to do this. Helicopter hunts work well, but at $1000/hr they are not cost effective and have to be used on large tracks of land, several thousand acres.

I wonder if there would be any more incentive if the hog meat from freshly killed wild hogs was able to be used to feed people?

Dave some guy called me a few weeks ago saying he hunts hogs with dogs on adjacent properties and was wondering if he is chasing hogs could he come over the fence into our property if he needed to?

I said "look I appreciate you calling to ask, but nobody is getting my gate-codes". He had an answer for that.
He said "oh I mean just when I am chasing a hog I would hop your fence, I'm not asking for and don't need your gate-code".

Then I said..."I really don't want people with guns shooting on my property and I have no idea who and when they are there". He had an answer for that too. He said "we don't use guns...we chase the hogs with dogs, then release a pit bull on to the hog to pin it down then I go in and tie it up because I need to take it alive".

The guy was nice and said all the right things...claimed to be a retired fireman, but I said I just was not comfortable giving anyone a green light to come on my property basically whenever they choose...and it just opens too big of a can of worms as far as liability and other issues.

I said if he had an emergency situation with his dogs he could always call me and ask for permission on a rare occasion. He was polite and said ok.

Hey sometimes we just have to draw the line...I hate to be non-welcoming to people, but sometimes ya almost feel like saying "hey go work your own ass off for years at the same job and buy your own damn land"...lol.

Some copter hunts the meat is donated to charities but most isn't. That is an issue that I would like to see remedied . But most folks don't know a good hog from a stinkin one

You can donate to hunter's for the hungry or a few others, but some you have to pay/donate for processing. Most I shoot are at least a 1/2 day+ for gutting, loading, transporting to processor, then maybe paying to process. 95% of what i shoot feed the coyotes and buzzards. If they are the right size and close and easy to get loaded I may keep myself.

When I first started trapping most of the meat I ate for a long time was wild pig, and kinda burned myself out on the taste. Then didn't take long till neighbors stop wanting to come get them and clean them, so now they go back to nature.

We tried trapping them but the fellows won't hardly go in the traps around here. I have found that folks love to get hog meat if I clean them and call them.... Lol.... Which I do.. Cause it just ain't right to waste this free meat. I give the edible ones to anyone that wants them

Brian I know it must vary, but how long does it usually take for the hog carcass to be devoured? A buddy told me "just shoot one and leave it because it will be completely gone in 48 hours". Does it really happen that fast?


That's what I have found. Friends, co-workers, neighbors all say "yeah just let me know if you trap one and I'll come right over to get it". Then when you call them it's "well little Sally has a soccer game today" or "I'd love to but the wife has me doing a bunch of stuff"...blah blah.

Pretty rare for anything but a few bones to last a night. I put out four 120-150 pound pigs from a trap, and we try to use the same dump spot each time. I take my knife and cut down the side. We put them out mid day, and by lunch the next day there was nothing but a big red circle and one spine. I couldn't find ANYTHING for about 50 yard circle.

Yes if I gut, clean, quarter, and have in a cooler, I can usually find someone that will come get it. Sometimes I will cut down the back and get a back strap. It is quick and easy and allows easier access for the wildlife. But nothing really goes to waste when you leave it. From the worm to the coyote and everything in between consumes every bite. And everything getting to eat is supposed to be there, the pigs aren't. To me it is no different than cutting the fins on the BG to feed to the bass. Everything has to eat.

We don't have the hogs here, but any excess deer can be donated to many different processors. Hunters and Farmers Feeding the Hungry is the program here, and they pay for all processing fees.

Brian I agree that nothing is wasted... But I just have a problem with wasting stuff like pig meat or any other critter but I agree with you

Scott, I talked to some guys about the green lights. They said that the bigger hogs stay out of the light.

Dave do those green lights come in a solar variety?

Dave I use elusive technology hog light and some pigs avoid it and some come right in. The new lights come on real slow to not alarm them..... Some it scares and some it doesn't

You can plug in to 12v battery on feeder. Elusive Technology makes a good one. They are in Conroe

A lot of the newer deer feeder motors are now hard wired with a plug that you can plug your hog light straight in to the feeder motor circuitry...if your deer feeder is solar, so would the light be...there are several knock-off brands, but Elusive Wildlife Technologies makes the best one for the money.

Ok thanks guys

Dave, I think that the hogs might stay out of the light at first, but if they are coming to the feeder for a month without getting shot, then they will get used to coming to the feeder, light or no light. At least that's my belief.

I've got a green light under my feeder that's plugged into an external solar panel that works pretty good. It comes on slow and gets brighter but not that bright. Just enough so I can see them from the backporch that's about 140 yards away. Once you put a scope on them, they light right up! I think it's a Killzlight.

Think FLIR, no light needed. It is a game changer. They are not cheep, but they do great work.

OMG Brian you ain't a kiddin!

As Charlie Brown said; good grief!

I did shoot one last weekend about 150 lbs. using a $500 Sightmark Photon XT scope. It's not a Flir but for a digital scope, it's good to about 300 yrds with an external light. The .243 did a good job @ 140 yds.

Good Brian,

Nice work. Are you able to see more than one at a time at your place?

Yea HF, I actually had 4 smaller ones with a few piglets under the feeder but as I was getting lined up, My chair moved and made noise and they scattered, the boar walked out right behind them. I'll usually see 5 or 6 at a time. I'm shooting off my back porch. If you look under/behind the big live oak on the left of this picture, you'll see the TH feeder I'm talking about.

Cisco, are you threading the verticals with the bullet or going over the top rail?

I have a "mount" that the rifle sits on where I can move it a little. A pc of plywood C clamped to the top rail and a sandbag! I'm working on an actual mount. I have a small window in the barn right there so I can be inside and noiseless(is that a word) A small LCD screen plugs into the scope so I don't have to be behind it constantly. If I see movement on the screen, I get on the scope to see exactly what it is. I'll get some pics on the rig next weekend when I'm out there. It's a lazy way to hunt but it works well on the pigs.

I don't think that is a lazy way to hunt, and I also don't consider doing that kind of shooting hunting, I think it's animal control.

I hunt from the bed, look out to the feeder and if the lite is on and pigs there then I get up and go out on the porch and set down and prop the rifle on a pillow on a chair and the rest is BBQ

Pat, I remember when hunting from bed might have been the last thing I wanted to do in bed. Remember Wine, Women and Song Growing old kinda of sucks, but it is better than the alternative.

Tracy

So do I Tracy, so do I , lol

I remember when I would hunt in the rain, snow and wind. You could not get me to come in until I could no longer safely hunt. I still love to hunt, but I must confess, I am building a blind down by little pond for hog shooting purposes.

Tracy, it's all attitude. Rearranging your priorities is essential to survival. I had given up hunting till last fall when a friend provided a good place with ladder stand in place. I hadn't realized how great it was to be setting in a tree and watch the sun rise. I was handcuffed twice so went out and bought a crossbow. I shot it enough that I was confident with it. I shot my compound instinctive and had for so long that compensating for an elevated shot was ingrained. Not so with the crossbow with scope. Bambi lives. So do I (thanks to the grocery store).

Bob, this is what I have on my x-bow. It has sighting points for 10-50 yards, in 10 yard increments. It works really, really well.

http://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-Varizone-2-4X32mm-Croswbow-Scope/dp/B000PWBBTW

Scott, thanks for the info.

Bob, PM sent.