Feral Hog Damage

[stravis]

I've got a huge pig problem on my place. I can't stand pigs, but my land is theirs as well and I don't mind a few being around. Particularly if they stay in the woods and don't tear up the pastures, I will leave them alone. I know they run off the deer and turkeys, but if it is a smaller population, I'm ok with it. Problem is, they have absolutely BOOMED in population. They did some damage last year to my middle pasture, but it was mostly in one area. This year, the entire middle pasture looks like a strip mine. Now they are moving to my front pasture. I've had it. I've started a very aggressive campaign to rid them or at least get them to a manageable population. I've started trapping and am going to get my control permit from the Georgia DNR.

My question to you all is about the damage already done. The middle pasture is literally so full of 12"-18" deep 5' - 20' diameter wallows that I can't run the tractor across it to mow. I'm going to have to remediate the field in some way. What is the best way to do this? I can run the box blade across it and do my best, but I'm sure there it won't be as smooth as I like it. I could harrow the bad areas and grade with the box blade, but it still won't be smooth and I will kill a lot of the grass I have. Worst case scenario and the one that I think I'm going to have to go with is to plow the whole thing over, disc harrow it and grade it smooth then re-seed. Just start over from scratch. I hate to do it, but I can't think of another effective option.

I know some others have dealt with damage from these critters before. What did you do?

 

[Stimw]

I don't get it???? I've worked with dozens of hunter wanna-bee's. One guy EVEN took his new wife hunting for their honeymoon!!! These guys dream of Killin' and Grillin'. Why is it so hard to find someone to harvest these animals?
Couldn't there be harvest and have church social/cook outs. Or club harvest and cook outs??? Who would turn down a pig roast with a free pig??

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I don't get it???? I've worked with dozens of hunter wanna-bee's. One guy EVEN took his new wife hunting for their honeymoon!!! These guys dream of Killin' and Grillin'. Why is it so hard to find someone to harvest these animals?
Couldn't there be harvest and have church social/cook outs. Or club harvest and cook outs??? Who would turn down a pig roast with a free pig??

It's not hard at all to find hunters that want to harvest the critters. It's just a fact that the harvestors aren't nearly as efficient as the harvestees. They are very proficient reproducers.

 

[EddieWalker]

According to the State of Texas Biologist that I spoke with last year, the most effective method that they recomend to land owner to get rid of hogs is trapping. You have to make the trap really big, and bait it for a few days so they you get most of them into the trap when it closes on them.

Off the top of my head, it needs to be somewhere around 30ft wide by 60 ft long. He had two trap doors that he said work good. One closed from the top and the other from the side. Bot will allow more hogs to get in if they want, but none will get out.

He said that a trap like that will get most of a group in it, with 20 or more not being uncommon.

There are two basic groups of hogs. A family group of two adult sows, two or three generationsof piglets and a boar. I've personally seen groups just like this many times and counted over 30 in the biggest group, but 20 is more common.

The other group is a bachalor group of males. I've never seen more then four with two or three being more common. The bigger boars are either with the sows or on their own.

To control the numbers, you really need to be trapping those family groups year round.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[stravis]

By the way, Eddie, I think I used to play Tyler in football when I lived in College Station in 7th and 8th grade.

Not really pertinent to the conversation, just a side note.

 

[CDsdad]

CDsdad: After the initial nausea from your avatar I was able to read your post.....

Sorry to strike your orange vein of inferiority. When you're the best all the wannabes hate you. Others tend to hate you when you're on top (maybe you'll know the feeling one day). Good luck getting rid of the hogs. Roll Tide!!

 

[stravis]

Sorry to strike your orange vein of inferiority. When you're the best all the wannabes hate you. Others tend to hate you when you're on top (maybe you'll know the feeling one day). Good luck getting rid of the hogs. Roll Tide!!

:laughing: I've never met anyone that I admire that had to first tell me I ought to admire them.

What year did you graduate uat? 1999 AU grad here.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

:laughing: I've never met anyone that I admire that had to first tell me I ought to admire them.

What year did you graduate uat? 1999 AU grad here.

Here we go! I know which direction this thread is going, but I just can't help jumping in. SEC fans have no self control when it comes to this stuff. We just have to put our $.02 in.

I graduated from a school to the north of you two Bama boys. We tend to wear a lot of orange stuff. I know just where you are coming from AU guy. They won that NC and the bandwagon just isn't big enough to hold all of them.

 

[beenthere]

Back to the hogs.
Being gentle with them is one reason they do so well, and the herd grows in size, to the point they are a nuisance.

They are smart, and learn very quickly how to get along well in the wild (and it includes eating well and multiplying fast).
Hopefully an ambitious trapping program will work. Likely won't be able to stay ahead of the population. They do very well at night in the dark.

 

[CDsdad]

:laughing: I've never met anyone that I admire that had to first tell me I ought to admire them.

What year did you graduate uat? 1999 AU grad here.

1994 from the UA. You could probably donate those hogs to your alumni association when you catch them.