When is the best time to trap wild hogs? While it may be easier and more comfortable to bait and trap hogs in the darker days of winter, hog elimination is truly a year-round effort.
Right now animals of all make and model are enjoying the fruits of the Oak tree in abundance. Fields of crops are plentiful with dropped food for the taking. Cooler weather means fewer hours hiding from the sun in wallows. Yet still we find wild animals attracted to the regular provisions of corn and Texas Hog Bait from our feeders. We see the same animals returning for a leisurely meal in front of our cameras.
As rifle hunting season opens animals are pushed from their normal boundaries. Wild hogs are no different. However, the new sounders still seem to find and use the same travel corridors as their predecessors. Once the acorns and natural crops have been consumed, intelligent hogs will recall the regular sources of food they found in their travels.
Many consider this next time of year to be the prime time for wild hog trapping. Wild hogs are conditioned to the bait sites they found in the fall. Some educated hogs will even fall to the draw of easy food in a trap.
Days turn warmer and spring brings forth sweet buds. Farmers begin preparing the fields for planting, and pockets of missed peanuts from the year before are brought to the surface. Food becomes more available. Just as young people think of romance, the more widely available food allows boars to think of finding momentary love. The cycle of life continues.
Landowners see widespread damage to their property, and newly planted crops are destroyed. The search for answers becomes desperate. Research shows using a cellular activated heavy duty corral trap is proven to be the gold standard for wild hog control. The investment is made. Hogs are dropped and the damage is mitigated. Now what?
Hog Cutters highly recommends creating a year-round hog trapping plan. We see many folks investing in Jager pro Hog Trapping Systems, trapping the hogs they see, and packing the trap away for the next sounder or boar to travel through. When we are contracted to provide wild hog control for a farm, we implement a year-round plan. It is often likened to a termite or pest control program.
Gathering intelligence about your property’s wild hog travel corridors and areas where hogs bed down and feed should be done regularly. Once this knowledge is in hand, it is possible to create a semi-permanent trap site. With regular attention and good baiting practices, your semi-permanent site will continue to attract any traveling sounders or boars.
On a family farm in South Georgia, Hog Cutters has been providing this “pest control” version of trapping for several years. In the past 2 weeks, 2 boars that have never been seen on the property have crossed our ICE cameras. Both have found their way into the Jager Pro traps. This morning, the second boar entered the trap. Once we were confident he was staying to eat, the gate was dropped. He will cross the farm no more. The other boar was shared on our page after his removal as well.
So is there really a wild hog trapping season? We believe so. It just happens to last 12 months, 52 weeks or 365 days per year.
