What do you know about hog population?

[CentexRancher]

I understand they have a really short gestation period, but are they really as difficult to get rid of as people make them out to be?

I can see where it may be a challenge on very large tracts of land with few hunters and trappers, but say we talk about an area with a denser human population. If Joe Bob and all his cousins are trapping/hunting them, how can their population continue to grow exponentially in this environment?

They really intrigue me and I have studied them quite a bit both online and in the field. Most every article/video about them goes on about how they are so difficult to get rid of, but I mean everything is finite, its only a matter of time before you knock the population down to a reasonable number. Or is that just not how it works with them??

[theblakester03]

Define “large tracts of land with few hunters and trappers” vs “denser population.

It’s my understanding that aside from eliminating specific sounders, with enough eradication/ hunting and trapping measures, you can run hogs off to other properties temporarily. But therein lies the problem. The hogs will find the land with the least amount of hunting and trapping to reproduce on. Just my $.02.

Also FWIW, I’ve heard of land owners have groups of 100 plus hogs tear through their property over night and destroy several acres of land not to be seen again for weeks, months or years.


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[Ruark]

That's not how it works with them. TPWD data shows that just to maintain a population of hogs in a given area, you have to kill 70% of them per year, which is virtually impossible. That doesn't include new hogs drifting in from adjacent areas. All this spending millions of dollars on helicopters, hog dogs, fancy traps, etc. has no real, lasting effect on most hog populations, except maybe when they're in a limited range surrounded by hog-proof fencing.

[Cajun Blake]

... but I mean everything is finite, its only a matter of time before you knock the population down to a reasonable number. Or is that just not how it works with them??

You haven't studied them long enough. Hogs are multiplying at epidemic levels and they're not enough hunters, trappers, and predators to keep their population levels in check. IIRC, one published study indicated you have to kill 70% of the population each year to keep them in balance. Anything less and the numbers will continue to grow.

10-15 years ago, rice farmers in SW LA never even saw a pig. Now they have become a serious nuisance and destroying rice fields. Trapping isn't even putting a dent in the population

edit: as I was typing, Ruark confirmed the exact fact we both mentioned , good call brother

[ByronB]

A couple of years ago one of the neighbors next to the lease I am on rented a helicopter. They shot 100+ hogs in one day. For the next year we did not see many hogs. It thinned them out considerably. Today I saw a group of 20-25 hogs. They are back and thriving.

[txoutdoorsman24]

I’d say no. It’s not easy. My buddies kill 60-100 a week, every week. Haven’t put a dent in them yet.
Gestation period for swine is 3 months 3 weeks 3 days. And gilts come in first heat around 6-7months. Think of it this way, if a litter is born and can make it 6 months, that pig is pretty much going to survive unless killed. Most litters are 8-12 piglets with about half being being male to female. 4-6 gilts get bred and have first litter at 10-12 months. That means 32-72 new piglets have got the ground running. I’d guess a survival rate of wild piglets is about 75% so in 6 months half is that 75% is ready to bread again. And that’s just from one litter. The number is exponential in a very populated area of hogs. Unless you take 100s out the population each month, I think you’re just messing around.
I’ve personally seen 75 piglets 2-4 month olds, on the ground with about 15 full grown hogs at a feeder. Controlling them is an everyday job in some areas of this great state. But it is hella fun trying

[Jon B]

I don't know you or the research you have done. Please don't take this as me being short or disrespectful. In my experience, trapping and shooting is more likely to cause hogs to change their behavior than to control their numbers. I think in a closed population (high fence) you could keep them in check. In the wild dispersal will prevent it from being effective. That's why we are seeing them sneaking into towns and golf courses.

I have seen hogs pressured to the point where they become nocturnal and will not eat corn from or near a trap. If I remember right gestation is 3m 3w 3d. The first litter of the calendar year will produce offspring at the end of the first year.

It is definitely an uphill battle. I can't hunt as much as I used to but when I was shooting them every night I targeted the large boars first and it seemed like as soon as the old warrior was removed two smaller boars would move in and pick up the territory.

I am by no means a scientist or biologist but have hunted these guys with a lot of drive for the last 15 years and these are my observations. I would be willing to bet that several folks will back up my conclusions.

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[CentexRancher]

I don't know you or the research you have done. Please don't take this as me being short or disrespectful. In my experience, trapping and shooting is more likely to cause hogs to change their behavior than to control their numbers. I think in a closed population (high fence) you could keep them in check. In the wild dispersal will prevent it from being effective. That's why we are seeing them sneaking into towns and golf courses.

I have seen hogs pressured to the point where they become nocturnal and will not eat corn from or near a trap. If I remember right gestation is 3m 3w 3d. The first litter of the calendar year will produce offspring at the end of the first year.

It is definitely an uphill battle. I can't hunt as much as I used to but when I was shooting them every night I targeted the large boars first and it seemed like as soon as the old warrior was removed two smaller boars would move in and pick up the territory.

I am by no means a scientist or biologist but have hunted these guys with a lot of drive for the last 15 years and these are my observations. I would be willing to bet that several folks will back up my conclusions.

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None taken, hogs are far from my field of study. I am not trying to be a professional on the subject. By research/study i just mean casually reading up on them for fun. They are really interesting and definently cause lots of damage.

[Jon B]

I have several pastures that are ruined. Can barely walk through them now. I have one landowner that I send pics of the damage just about every time I kill one on her place. The last time I walked out I was stumbling all over the rooting.

[Thumper]

There's only two ways to control the hog population, just my opinion.

1. Put a bounty on them, $50 each.

2. Place well built push gate 5 acre hog traps with plenty of shade, water, and feed. One trap per 640 acre section.

[tx.biologist]

I am a biologist and I study them, sort of. Its kind of my passion trying different ways of control, always ends in somewhat a stalemate keeping them under control. Frankly, recreational hunting is with the best intentions is what I call feral pig education of he species. Hunters don't kill enough, plain and simple or are killing the wrong ones.

Example Joe Blow traps on his place and sets 1 trap, it does not matter what kind (even the cellgates) and catches a sow and piglets, half grown's, and maybe if you are lucky an adult boar. That does nothing to the overall population, all you have done is catch 1 generation. Educated the rest, very seldom they are just one little group, usually a much larger group is at the trap site, when the gate closes all the others now know to avoid the bait and trap. Fast forward now trapping efforts go to nothing and still damage occurs and numbers increase. This is the 3rd smartest animal in the animal kingdom. They learn very quickly. Does that sound somewhat familiar?

Shooting does not help either, while it may be fun, it serves no purpose unless it is done relentlessly every day. Unless you live on a property and shoot every pig you see, you're just causing them to be educated. How many pass on a pig to not disturb and area that you are hunting? Happens all the time, remember I said relentlessly.

You have to change tactics in capture, use pig behavior, instead of food. Think outside of the box. I have good success in snaring on utility poles to control adults not even thinking about anything under 45lbs(reproductive weight). Removing 70% of adults in a population helps curb the reproductive effort but only temporally. That what I am averaging. The practice need to be continued full time. Soon there will be a market for a full time hog trapper, I'm just waiting.

Perimeter fencing is probably the #1 best determent in keeping them out. Even better is cross fencing. This allows more opportunity to harvest all that are seen.

We have to change how we manage them plain and simple.

[lovemylegacy]

So far no one has addressed their intelligence. Very intelligent animals. Just to put it in perspective, I put alot of hunting time in and didnt see a single pig, even though their sign was evident. So we are not only fighting an enemy that is smart but one that can out produce its mortality rate and can evade its pursurror.

[Radar]

I am a biologist and I study them, sort of. Its kind of my passion trying different ways of control, always ends in somewhat a stalemate keeping them under control. Frankly, recreational hunting is with the best intentions is what I call feral pig education of he species. Hunters don't kill enough, plain and simple or are killing the wrong ones.

Example Joe Blow traps on his place and sets 1 trap, it does not matter what kind (even the cellgates) and catches a sow and piglets, half grown's, and maybe if you are lucky an adult boar. That does nothing to the overall population, all you have done is catch 1 generation. Educated the rest, very seldom they are just one little group, usually a much larger group is at the trap site, when the gate closes all the others now know to avoid the bait and trap. Fast forward now trapping efforts go to nothing and still damage occurs and numbers increase. This is the 3rd smartest animal in the animal kingdom. They learn very quickly. Does that sound somewhat familiar?

Shooting does not help either, while it may be fun, it serves no purpose unless it is done relentlessly every day. Unless you live on a property and shoot every pig you see, you're just causing them to be educated. How many pass on a pig to not disturb and area that you are hunting? Happens all the time, remember I said relentlessly.

You have to change tactics in capture, use pig behavior, instead of food. Think outside of the box. I have good success in snaring on utility poles to control adults not even thinking about anything under 45lbs(reproductive weight). Removing 70% of adults in a population helps curb the reproductive effort but only temporally. That what I am averaging. The practice need to be continued full time. Soon there will be a market for a full time hog trapper, I'm just waiting.

Perimeter fencing is probably the #1 best determent in keeping them out. Even better is cross fencing. This allows more opportunity to harvest all that are seen.

We have to change how we manage them plain and simple.

Good post, unfortunately there will be some come on here and reply that hogs are not a problem and they are a commodity, they will try to discredit you.. I back off these hog threads anymore because it pizzes me off with the folks on here that want to argue about them.
I have a biologist that visits me once a year, we always talk about the hog problems and how they destroy the ecosystem, he has shared a lot of info with me over the years.

[CrookedArrow]

I think it is just timing where the Gov. steps in like it almost did and wipes them out. You can't keep them in check the way we are going about it, imo.

[TX_Hoghunter]

I started catching hogs with dogs in the 80's. Way before the idiots put it on TV. We were all farm raised kind of folks and we respected the land owners. At the height of it all we had roughly 100,000 acres of land to hunt on. We had a good name in the area. Once it got on TV every dumbass with a truck and a dog thought they could hunt anywhere and it really screwed it up for the rest of us. I have not turned a dog loose hunting in roughly 10 years. There are just too many small land owners that have lost patience and I understand why........I digress you need to remember in every area there is always one nutcase that thinks hunting is wrong. They inherited a few hundred acres of family land and no one can hunt. It is a sanctuary for the hogs. Because of folks like that the hogs will always have seed stock. I have found that hammering them with good dogs can make them change their address but after a few months they always seem to return.

-john