Help Wild Pigs!

[dab]

Hello all, new to the board. I have been meaning to log on, but am driven to by a new pest to our property.

We live in Ellis County and are being over run with wild pigs. Only living on five acres, we value the property that we have, and were hoping to seed the property with native grasses for the coming year. We had a beautiful crop of bluebonnets this year - now all destroyed for next thanks to the pigs.

It seems they do not come into the mowed part of proprty and do damage - only in those areas we have let grow up a bit (not too much of course). But they are have done in the first 1/3 of our property to date.

Outside of shooting the things are there any repellents, deterrents, or other options to rid ourselves, and our neighbors I might add, of this incredible problem. Some trapping is occuring in our area, but clearly not enough to put a dent in the population.

Any suggestions?

[Tony M]

Since pigs have very sensitive noses, a strong hot pepper spray or dusting might deter them. I don't know how you effectively treat 5 acres. Maybe you can try some on the perimeter of the area they are working.
A fence would work but I know it's expensive. Have you thought about a livestock guardian dog? We have a great pyrenees mix that has kept all coyotes and bobcats away from our chickens and dairy goats for over a year.
Tony M

[pridgeon]

Wild hogs will make mincemeat out of a dog. Literally. People around here hunt them year round, and the vet stays busy patching up ripped up dogs - the ones that can be patched up. They breed about like rabbits, so if you've got a few, you will soon have a lot. They are a menace to the landscape that's for sure. On the bright side, the smaller ones are excellent to eat.

[dab]

Well not too encouraging thus far. Will try some different tactics to see if I can't get rid of the beasts.

Keep the advice coming and I will report back after the next full moon (which is when they seem to come calling!)

:?

[Mr. Clean]

If it is legal to discharge firearms on your property, and if you are not inclined to hunt and kill them; perhaps you have a friend or friends who hunt and would be happy to reduce the population for you. As pridgeon mentioned the wild hogs are quite tasty and it would be a win-win situation for you and your friends.

[dab]

Thanks for the suggestion. We have contacted someone to set some traps and they are coming out to assess the damage thus far. Apparently some kind of hog expert.

More to come.

[Robert D Bard]

There are two things to help. As mentioned,
shooting them is excellant if there is no way
to hurt you neighbors.
I know of one persons experience in east Tx
where hogs totally reduced a hay meadow.
It looked like it had been plowed.
Now for the easy solution and not to expensive.
For some reason people on this sight have the
thoughts that building fence is expensive and it is
not. I have hard electric fence for 25 years and
it keeps bulls and stallions withno problems
As it turns out, pigs are even easier than any other
animal. The biggest cost is a charger. You
don't have to buy the most expensive but you
need to spend more than the cheapest one on
the shelf. You can then buy wire - thin wire on
a spool - very cheap. Maybe two or three rolls,
but you will know after you walk the area off.
Next you need some post - wood is ok but plastic
is better. They need to be 1 1/2 to two feet
in length. If you have rolling land you will need
to put them closer together than on the flat land.
Pigs walk with there noses to the ground hunting
for food. When they find it they did with their
noses. Put the wire about 6 to 8 inches above
land and they will wonder into it. Their noses
are very sensitive and shocking them will do
the trick. Your neighbors will not be happy as
the pigs will avoid you and get them. This will
not stop them if they are running but they are
grazing and you should have no more pig
problems.
Trapping doesn't work well because
pigs are not stupid. Some people think they are
amarter than dogs.
Robert D Bard

[pridgeon]

By a strange coincidence there was an article on Yahoo News last week about the hog problem in the U.S. They said there are over 1.5 million, but that number increases as we speak - they have two litters a year of a dozen or more babies, and in six months those babies can breed. Yikes!

[Robert D Bard]

I live in N TX close to OK. The pigs along
the Red River are so bad that a ranch hired
a copter and a maksman and he shot pigs
from the air and let them rot. Pasture and
hay medows are being destroyed to the
point that there is little grass and hay.
Pigs can be is such large numbers that
they can go over a 100 acres in one
night and amke it look like it has been
plowed. They also don't respect barb wire,
but they will respect electric.
Robert D Bard

[dab]

Many thanks all. It sounds like an electric fence may be the way to go. Trapping is going to start next full moon so we will see if we can't make a dent in the problem. I have also purchased a boat horn, so if we see them maybe we can scare them away and not shoot any of our neighbors in the process. :lol:

Promise to report back. As for the damage, we finally mowed the area, nothing except the weeds that were going is left. Trust me, these are things are a menace and are creating quite a problem everywhere.

There is a lot of research out there. A&M has good stuff, and there is an excellent wildlife biologist at the Heard Museum. Everyone has been incredibly responsive thus far, and I do truely appreciate everyone's comments.

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

My new dog failed to believe that we wanted to keep here inside the fence for about 3 months. She was crawling over the 4 foot high chain link fence where ever and when ever she wanted. She could beat me to the front yard easily. So I got a Gallagher electric fence and hung a piece of hot dog on it. That first 40,000 volts in the mouth really changed her mind :shock: . It took her a full day to recover but she is very respectful of the fence now.

I had my daughters put on tennis shoes and touch the fence to see what it felt like. The next day my oldest (almost 10) touched it barefoot. She came running in to me to tell me what it felt like. She said her back still hurt from the jolt. Boy was THAT dumb!

The point being that you could put up the fence and train the hogs with something tempting to hogs. Corn comes to mind but I'm not sure how you get the little kernels on the wire :lol:

[Robert D Bard]

Dave: I have had Gallagher fence since the first ones were impoted in this country by Art Snell in SA. I have never had more than 5,000 volts, and you don't need to put anything on the wire. Either dogs, hogs, or anything else has to do is just wander into it and they will learn. We had a male dog that wanted to visit the neighbors in heat *****, but on time of putting urine on the wire cured his wondering.
Robert D Bard

[greenacres]

I thought someone had dropped explosives on our land the first time I saw hog diggings! It is unbelievable. We have trapped them and yes, there are people that love to have the meat. One man came by to get one from the trap and literally grabbed it by the ear! Said he raises them. My husband and son jumped up on the back of the truck they were so scared :D They are maddening at best. The portion of our land that is "hog-proof" has hog fence around it. Not electric, just the type that they can't get through and all the gates are always closed. I'm sure the electric fence works too, but just wanted you to know the regular "hog-type" fence seems to work at our farm. They make fire ants such a more desirable challenge. - Susan

[Robert D Bard]

The nice thing about electric wire that is
6 to 8 inches above the ground is that
you can step over it with out going
around or unplugging. I use electric for
cows - bulls don't touch it, and horses -
stallions will stay in with a single strand
of 1/2 inch tape (with stainless steel
woven in the tape). I do this because it
works and is cheap. They also never
lean over the fence. Cable fence is one
of the most dangerous fence for horses
and cows will push it over if they like the
grass on the outside.
Robert D Bard