Beginnings of a southern land tour...

[Double Creek]

Not much to update on my farm. The plots are disked and harrowed. Just waiting on some rain to plant. Very little moisture in the 10 day. We have a long season though, so trying to be patient.


Nothing spectacular on the cameras, but there are a couple worthy of chasing with my longbow.

 

[Double Creek]

Water oaks are starting to drop and are getting some attention.

 

[bigbendmarine]

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The rain brought the rooters out of hiding. I’ll survey the damage this weekend. They are slick, they won’t come to my feeder and I rarely get a daytime pic.

Just my .02, but I'd HIGHLY recommend putting as big of hurting on the hogs as possible. They reproduce so darn quickly you can get quickly overrun with them, their rooting can make working your plots and land a much tougher challenge, and they'll spook deer off a field almost as quickly as predators.

Coming from someone who speaks from experience -- got so bad in 2022 that I trapped 75 off 100 acres in just the first half of the year. Can also share that trapping whole sounders is way more effective than sniping efforts.

 

[Double Creek]

Just my .02, but I'd HIGHLY recommend putting as big of hurting on the hogs as possible. They reproduce so darn quickly you can get quickly overrun with them, their rooting can make working your plots and land a much tougher challenge, and they'll spook deer off a field almost as quickly as predators.

Coming from someone who speaks from experience -- got so bad in 2022 that I trapped 75 off 100 acres in just the first half of the year. Can also share that trapping whole sounders is way more effective than sniping efforts.

It’s definitely on my to do list. Traps are pricey, so trying to get there! In particular trap recommendations?

 

[SwampCat]

It’s definitely on my to do list. Traps are pricey, so trying to get there! In particular trap recommendations?

Our state g&f agency offered a 75% cost share on hog traps for one year. We also have USDA trappers that come to your land and trap. I cant remember if you live on your land - but night time thermal hunting can keep them at bay - and provide a lot of sporting activity - but as said above - trapping is more effective at really cleaning them out. We have killed as many as 150 in a year. I havent got a hog picture in six months.

 

[Telemark]

It’s definitely on my to do list. Traps are pricey, so trying to get there! In particular trap recommendations?

That's a whole new rabbit hole. The coolest ones have camera overwatch and a remote switch to drop the door.

The ones that seem more reasonable have a one-way door that you prop open until they get used to feeding in the pen. Then you drop the door, and they enter all night to eat the bait but can't get out again.

You have to build them strong ans be a bit clever. Pigs are smart and powerful animals.

All my info comes from the internet. I've never personally trapped hogs.

 

[omicron1792]

That's a whole new rabbit hole. The coolest ones have camera overwatch and a remote switch to drop the door.

The ones that seem more reasonable have a one-way door that you prop open until they get used to feeding in the pen. Then you drop the door, and they enter all night to eat the bait but can't get out again.

You have to build them strong ans be a bit clever. Pigs are smart and powerful animals.

All my info comes from the internet. I've never personally trapped hogs.

All good info.

Worst part is disposing of the carcasses after shooting 20-30 pigs. What a pain.

 

[Telemark]

All good info.

Worst part is disposing of the carcasses after shooting 20-30 pigs. What a pain.

Yeah, you should have a digger, or pre-dig the holes. Bury carcasses near trees so they become natural fertilizer.

Otherwise just take them really far away and dump them. Gonna stink something awful.

 

[Double Creek]

Trust me, I've gone down the rabbit hole and researched all the traps. I'm a little over an hour away and really need the remote control traps so that I can drop it on a day that I actually have time to deal with 20 dead hogs. Those traps are all around $6k, which is a little pricey. My state is no longer doing the cost share program, it was maxed out immediately. I have not gone down the USDA trapper rabbit hole yet, but I'm not opposed to it.

Right now, they aren't doing a lot of damage, granted its so dry they can't really root. I wanted to see how they responded this fall to hunting pressure before I spent the money. I don't feed corn during hunting season, so I'm hoping they will move to the neighbors.

The other issue I have is that between two of my neighbors, they own 5,000 of pure pine plantation with creek bottoms throughout. Basically hog heaven. I'm not sure my trapping efforts on 125 acres would ever really make a dent.