trapping wild hogs

In the spirt of know thy feral pig enemy ...

Christopher Columbus first introduced domestic pigs to North America (Caribbean Islands) in 1492. In 1539 Hernando De Soto briefly stopped in the Caribbean, snagged a few of those pigs, & brought 13 of them to the United States to be a food source for his expeditions. In the early 1900s Eurasian wild boar were imported by hunting clubs. Pigs are very smart so naturally some managed to escape. The two types interbred so now they are one of the 2 types or hybrids. There are several million now. Texas has the most with 2.6 M estimated. Annual damage to US crops is 40.2 billion dollars.

I lived in a large private forest in the area where DeSoto did a lot of his exploration. Roughly 30 miles from what is now DeSoto National Forest. Perfect pig habitat. Plenty of shade, creeks, & swampy areas. We also had about 20 deer & turkey food plots. Not to mention many fruit trees. The pigs assumed it was all for them. We had a huge pig problem. Wasn't all bad because they taste very good but they sure did cause some damage. Trapping was a frequent activity. Hunting them will get one or three but trapping them is a far more effective control.

Beware they can be extremely dangerous. Especially if you get between a mother & her young or encounter a big boar who is protecting his harem. Many years ago I shot one with a very powerful crossbow. That would usually take care of the matter but this particular time the beast turned at the exact moment I fired. Hit him in the forehead. He was not pleased. Not even a little. He charged me with the crossbow bolt stuck in his skull. Good thing I had a back up plan ready to rock. That sucker was fast & had a really bad attitude.

It helps to have a general idea where the pigs are. If they haven't been seen try placing small piles of corn in several places throughout the property & observe where they eat it. Once they become accustomed to being fed at a certain location they will come to expect it. They even seemed to learn the sound of the 4 wheeler I used & would be waiting in the treeline for me to leave. If that goes on long enough they will start becoming bolder & approach while you're dumping the corn. Be cautious & aware of your surroundings at all times.  

Trip wire traps are effective but tend to be too small for an entire sounder (family of pigs). They breed fast & often so it's essential to get them all if possible. I did the theoretical math once & it was mind boggling how many one pair can produce in a year or two.

Modern traps can be assembled as large as desired. They have a day & night camera with motion sensing. When the sensor detects movement the system notifies your smart phone. You can watch the activity & then when the time is exactly right push a button that drops the doors.

The video shows one in action & is generally good info but I do have a few suggestions. The first is ferment the corn a few days before baiting. I used a 55 gallon drum filled with deer corn plus 5 lbs of sugar. Add water. Cover & let it sit in the sun a few days. Then, before setting up the trap, daily for several days, spread about 10 gallons where the trap will be located. It is said that the pigs like koolaid. Grape koolaid supposedly is their favorite. Spread a pack or two on top of the corn. I got that hint from the state hog trapping expert but in my experience it never seemed to make much difference. Pigs have an excellent sense of smell & the fermented corn is plenty pungent.

After a few days of the pigs consuming the lure corn set the trap up. With trip wire traps leave the gate blocked open. Spread corn right outside the gate & some inside toward the back. After a few days of that go ahead & set the trip wire. With Hog's Eye traps (or similar brands with sensors & wifi internet connections, etc) set the trap up but leave the gates off for a few days. Then install one gate section each day or every other day until all are in place. Pigs often are trap shy so doing it in stages let's them get comfortable in their surroundings before you trap them. The goal is to get the entire sounder at once. Remember, the original 13 is now many million.

Laws vary state to state but in general it's legal to deal with pigs anytime with any humane method desired. They don't deal with heat very well so make sure to check traps daily before the pigs get baked to death in the sun.

Once they are trapped use a .22 caliber shot right behind the ear. One shot is usually enough even for the big ones. Any larger caliber will just make a mess. Not that pig trapping is especially clean:) For the best flavor meat cut it from ear to ear under the neck making sure the jugular vein is cut. I used a razor sharp Bowie knife but a curved upholstery blade works very well too. Hang them upside down a few minutes to bleed out. Skin & dress them or get them to a game butcher as soon as possible.

Please don't let them go to waste. There are many hungry people in the world. Wild pigs are perfectly edible & very tasty. In my opinion they taste far better than commercial pork. Ours ate a lot of fallen fruit, corn, oats, plus acorns & pecans so they did not have any gamey flavor. One way to get rid of gamey flavor is to marinate them in cheap brandy overnight before cooking.

 

Hi,
I sadly don't have the opportunity to trap pigs like you, I wouln't be buying meat otherwise...
Have you heard of the "pig brig" trap?
I haven't tried it out, but as it works passively, and new pigs can enter even when the others are trapped, it sounded like a good system.

I have heard of it but never used one. Was told that sometimes one or two do figure out how to escape.

Here in Hawaii our pigs do not travel in groups. A mother with her sows…yes, until they get about 3-4 months old. And littermates may stay together until 4-5 months old, sometimes longer. Not that you can’t find a small group hanging around a food source, but they don’t generally herd up.

I trap pigs year around for meat. I use a sturdy trap about 2’ by 4’ with a guillotine door that is tripped by a plate the pig steps upon. I have another trap I can borrow that uses a trip wire in place of a plate. Both work well.

I’ll post a photo later when I have a chance.

I catch about 50 pigs a year. That’s about all that I have the time to butcher out. Almost all go to local families or the local soup kitchen. Occasionally I will get a pig that is gamey, and that goes to the local puppy rescue to feed the dogs. Of course, my own dogs get to enjoy fresh pork (cooked) all the time.

I use a 22 rifle to dispatch a pig while it is trapped. A well placed shot to the forehead drops them instantly. I’ve never tried "behind the ear" shot, though I know of people around here that do that. But such a shot is difficult with a trapped pig. I’ve never missed with one shot (hope I don’t jinx myself by saying that). I’ve never had to make shot #2. I’m careful and take my time.

We skin our pigs here rather than scald them. I simply wash the pig down, dry it with towels, then skin it. The skin, hair and all, goes into the feed cooker to feed my own domestic pigs. I usually raise one pig on the farm to utilize the garden waste, turning it into pork.

Most pigs I’ve caught are under a year old. I’ll get 20 to 25 pounds of deboned meat from most of them. The bones go to make broths, then burnt for soil additives.

It boggles me that people complain about the feral pig population explosion. Why don’t these pigs just get harvested for food? If not for people, then why not for dogs? My dogs have always eaten pork and do just fine. And my chickens adore pork too. Of course, it’s always cooked.

Someone dropped an old trap off at the intersection the Ranch Road and the county road.

It is inviting ....

What would we do if we caught one?  Shoot it and then try to get it out of the trap  ... how?

Did they just discard a trap?  Or did they set one up with the intent of catching one?  

Anyway……. A trapped pig can be dangerous and strong, They are like mini-bulldozer/ramrods combined into one very strong and angry animal. They can instantly switch from flight mode into attack mode. They can ram to sides of a trap with amazing speed and power. And at least the ones in Hawaii, they can jump. I’ve seen them easily leap atop a 3 foot high rock wall. And I’ve had my own pigs jump over 42" high barriers when they desired to. So be careful approaching a trapped pig.

Except for piglets under 20-25 pounds, I always shoot the pig while it is in the trap. Then pull it out to let it die before loading it into the back of my truck. Piglets I will lasso through the bars of the trap and tie them to the bars. When all are thus tied, I’ll open the trap and fish one at a time out and place them into a smaller havahart trap for transport back to my farm. I used to use duct tape to bind them up, but I had one get loose that way, so I now stuff them into a havahart for the short ride home.

I know of some local pig hunters to will remove are large pig from a trap by choking it down with a lasso, then binding their legs. Then take it home to their specially secured pig pen. But that takes muscle, more than I have.

I'm curious - you transport them live rather than killing them on site? It seems like it adds considerable risk to the process, as well as further stressing the animals. What is your arrangement once home? Are they penned and fed for a few days so you can process them at your convenience? I can see an advantage if your traps are catching a lot at once - more than you can immediately process without wastage.

Anne, I don't think there are many wild ones in your area. Search for " wild pig population map" for your state to get a good idea of how many are nearby.

Yes, they can jump as well as climb. I've known a couple of big ones to climb on the backs of the others in the trap & climb out over the top. THAT changes everything!!!

Which reminds me of another incident that happened to a buddy. He shot a very big one. Had it in the back of his truck to get it home for processing. In the middle of town (small town) at the main intersection the pig suddenly jumped out of the truck & started running towards the store. So he had to shoot it again. There was some explaining to do but the sheriff agreed it was the right thing to do. An injured pig running towards people is dangerous.

Jay Wright wrote:The simplest effective pig trap is just a long piece of strong steel mesh six or more feet high, curved into a big cirle with the ends parallel pointing towards the centre and a very narrow gap. The pigs force their way into the gap- the gap not only shows them the way in but also allows the little ones to get in. Bait it with grain- if the pigs are jittery prop the entrance open and feed them a few times- usually not necessary. Pigs are carrion eaters so add a dead critter and the smell will bring them in from a long way. Drive in steel fence posts at an angle around the perimeter and tie the mesh well- big boars are incredibly strong. Most people around here use big dogs with protective armour and kill the pigs with a knife. Some prefer shooting at night- especially now that high quality thermal gear is available- if you're rich. I've killed several hundred with rifles and more than a hundred with a bow- knapped arrowheads exclusively for the last twenty five years or so.

Let's try it again without the typos and spelling mistakes.

Mike Barkley wrote:Anne, I don't think there are many wild ones in your area. Search for " wild pig population map" for your state to get a good idea of how many are nearby.

Ours are all feral hogs. The one that you can still tell that a parent or grand parent, etc was a domestic pig.

I saw a TV show maybe Homestead Rescue for Alto in Cherokee Co, Texas that said wild boars were a problem.  At least they actually featured a clip of wild boars, though not what was actually on the land.

I tried wild boar population map for Texas though I only got a map of wild hog aka feral hogs and they are in all of Texas

Anne Miller wrote:Someone dropped an old trap off at the intersection the Ranch Road and the county road.

It is inviting ....

What would we do if we caught one?  Shoot it and then try to get it out of the trap  ... how?

Anne,

One does not want to kill the pig/s in the trap if possible.  Pigs sense of smell is legendary.  Trappers say once a hog has been killed in a trap it will never catch another.  The hogs are either removed into a larger corral or pulled from the trap to be dispatched.  It is not easy work as one might imagine.  Dogs are often used, but it is not for the feint of heart.  

I had a neighbor who trapped a small herd in a residential area to stop them from destroying everything from lawns to gardens.  He offered them a carrot at the gate, slipped a rope on a leg and pulled them out of the trap, while a second stood ready with a sorting board at the gate to stop others from rushing the gate uncontrolled.  He was able to dispatch about a dozen of various sizes this way without any lost in the trap.  

Good points Jack. However, when you're working with thousands of acres to catch thousands of pigs dogs aren't much help. Hunting dogs are banned from that particular property anyway ... for reasons. Corralling as many pigs as we captured on a regular basis is hard to imagine. It was simply easier to shoot them in the cage & then move the trap. I left about 100lbs in the freezer there. I'm going back for deer soon so I'll probably catch a few more oinkers to restock that freezer and all the neighbor's freezers. Whee.

This thread about controlled burns will give a sense of the scale.

I just want to clarify that we're talking about feral hogs and not wild boar.

Both are problematic but the only way to control wild boar is to capture the entire sounder. This is not a casual endeavour.

I asked Mr Google what to do with a wild hog in a trap and there was all kinds of ways to dispose of the dead hog though no advice on what to do with a live wild hog in a trap other than

Shooting a hog in a trap

I think we will let the trapped stay up at the Ranch Road ....  It seems no one else wants it.

Michael Cox —- a couple of reasons for transporting the pig live : #1 if it is too small, raise it for a few months to grow it larger for your needs. #2 if a sow or a handsome boar, keep it for breeding. #3 hold it until the timing is right, such as wanting fresh meat for a luau or festival. #4 transport it to an area where the pig population has disappeared. A few comments about this last one. In the hills behind a certain town here, Nature Conservancy (and maybe with county or state help) cleared out the feral pig population, much to the dismay of the local families who depended upon the pigs to put food on the table. So the local pig hunters remedied what they saw as a problem by restocking the forest up in the hills with breeding pigs.

Mike Barkley —- I always cut the blood vessels deep in the neck where they exit the chest. While bleeding out makes butchering less messy, my top reason for doing that is to prevent a stunned pig from recovering and taking off. A good head shot has never left me with a stunned pig, but it could happen some day. So bleeding out prevents surprises.

Jack Edmondson —- Perhaps Hawaiian pigs are different from mainland pigs, but I’ve never had a pig hesitate to enter a trap that contained pig blood, even abundant pig blood. I’ll shoot a pig and then drag it out of the trap. But always there is blood in the trap and plenty outside the trap. When I first started trapping, I would carefully clean a bloodied trap and move it to different location. Then once I didn’t have time, and knowing there were several pigs still out in the pasture, I just reset the trap and took my captured one home for butchering. I returned two hours later to find #2 pig in the trap. Since that time, I have always used non-cleaned traps with no problem.  The only thing that keeps a pig from entering a trap here is if it has seen another pig inside a trap. They look, learn, and never enter a trap no matter how enticing the bait. Those pigs have to be either shot from a distance or snared.

Also around here, no way could pigs be sorted with a carrot and rope. Our pigs are highly distrustful when trapped, will bash the trap sides like bulldozers, will grind their teeth, bark, and charge, and will bite the trap bars. Unless we are talking about little piglets, there’s no way to loop a rope over a foot. Just couldn’t be done unless one had the rest of the day to hope for a lucky footstep. Placing a loop over the head is easier but still difficult enough. Much easier to choke it down then quickly tape the pig’s legs together and then to its body.

It’s interesting to see how things are different in different locations.

Considering they will just as happily eat one of their own as anything else, and the point was already made in this thread that a dead carcass was a sure way to help draw them in, it is hard for me to see how pig blood would be a deterrent for them.

I can understand how they might figure out that there's a problem if they actually saw a trapped pig, but the blood on the trap thing doesn't seem like it adds up imo...