East Texas property owners react to ongoing feral hogs ongoing problem
Harrison County, Texas (KLTV) - It’s no secret that feral hogs are a problem not just in East Texas, but all over the state.
Texas A&M Agrilife estimates there are 2 million feral hogs in Texas, about half of the amount in the U.S. And recently Texas A&M held their East Texas Forage Conference in Hallsville giving tips on eradication.
Several Dozen Harrison County property owners attended the conference. James Long with the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute said a metal trap takes prepping.
“You need to really look at your property and find an area where the pigs are already using it,” Long said.
He said the best bet is to first get the hogs used to a free meal in the area.
“Driving out there every day to drop a bag of corn, putting a deer feeder up and setting it to go off,” Long said.
Ken Haynes has a ranch in Harrison County and said feral hogs are a continuous problem.
“You can put some pressure on them, or trap some, and depending on the weather they will come and go. In my particular case they were gone for probably six months. Because apparently it was dry, very, very dry this summer,” Haynes said.
But he said they are back. He said a “sounder”, or group of hogs, has visited his property before.
“This sounder is about the same size. Don’t see any small ones in there. But they just do a tremendous amount of damage in a short period of time,” Haynes said.
Long said sometimes the best way to build the trap is a little each day so the pigs are comfortable with the structure. Then it’s time to set the trap. Once caught, hogs can be sold or shot.
“We’re going to start with the biggest one in the trap and work your way down,” Long said.
Long advises using a .22 caliber.
“Anything bigger than that, you run the risk of causing more anxiety in the trap with the other pigs,” Long said.
Haynes said he’s heard some of the information before, but he wants to:
“Try to learn the best methods to get rid of them,” Haynes said.
He said he’s taken out a few sounders of 15 to 20 in the past, and had to bury them, but the hogs just come back.
“We just have a big problem,” Haynes said.
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