How bad is the Feral Pig problem in the Southwest?

[VERN in IL]

I've read that Texas is getting hit hard, some people like Ted Nugent are publicizing the problem. How bad is this, and how far does it spread into other states?

[whiterock]

Ever watched American Hogger, or Pigman? A friend put up a feeder and game cam on my place, nothing to see 20 or so in one pic, all ages mixed together. I can go in the pasture and find 3 or 4 thousand sq ft rooted up from the night before.

[Explorer]

None here in AZ that I have heard about.

[Belfrybat]

It's bad. When I lived out in the country, it was nothing to see evidence of wild hog rooting. And deer feeders had to be set inside fences so the deer could get to them. Hogs still sometime knocked the fences down. But they are really good eating, especially if you keep them for a few weeks and finish them out. Unfortunately not enough folks trap them.

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by Explorer

None here in AZ that I have heard about.

All though not a pig they sure have Javelina around, and I sure would not want to meet one of those at night in the wild.

[Explorer]

Javelina live mainly in the southern Sonoran desert below 2000 feet.. They are small, generally under 80 lbs, but fierce if cornered.

[sisterpine]

I know here in Tucson the game and fish folks were called out to cull a herd of pigs that were attacking joggers in the country club area. Many folks there feed them and the herd has grown very large.

Further east of here...towards Wilcox AZ....where I have been looking at property I have seen wild pigs every single time I have gone to look at a parcel...that is a lot of pigs.

[NamasteMama]

Originally Posted by arabian knight

All though not a pig they sure have Javelina around, and I sure would not want to meet one of those at night in the wild.

We live in the city on the edge of the desert and we regularly see 10 of them at a time. They are kind of funny last time I saw them they were waiting to cross the street and crossed when the light turned. They are not a really a problem here at all, but you certainly dont want to tick one off.

[andyd2023]

We have lots here in North East Texas. I have seen some on My place. Guy just down the road put up a really big hog pen/trap and caught 23 in a month. They were all sizes I think he got most or all of the pack because we haven't seen them in large numbers since, but still see one's and two's all the time.
Andrew

[TenBusyBees]

North Central Texas...they are pretty abundant this year. Usually we just find their tracks and rootings but this year we see them along the road quite a bit going into town and just yesterday I saw three in the neighbor's pasture.

[haunted]

They are bad here in NE TX. Not uncommon to see them dead on the side of the road. They eat up gardens, root up pastures. There are a lot of them here. They often squeal and scream at night across the road from us. I guess they are fighting. They have little fear of humans. I've had them approach within 20 feet while I was feeding livestock. They come up into my cousin's yard in full daylight. Deer hunters have had herds of hogs try to get their deer before they can when they make a kill. The smaller ones are an annoyance, but there have been some killed here that weigh 600 pounds or more. There are huge numbers of them here and since they reproduce twice a year and raise anywhere from 6 to 10 babies each litter the problem will likely get worse.

[Molly Mckee]

My DD's college friends live about 30 miles SE of Austin. They have a real problem with feral pigs. They can shoot them from their deck.

[TedH71]

We have 'em in Kansas and Oklahoma. Been hunting them with my catahoula dogs for a while now. Fun! I'm willing to travel to problem areas and help out with my dogs. Just send me an email. Thank you.

[FarmboyBill]

People in my church say they have seen them. I havnt. Okla. NE. Creek Co.

[TedH71]

I travel to Oklahoma often enough that I'm more than happy to provide my help if needed. Try trapping first. That will only get the babies/mommas who charge in the trap to help their babies get out. The dogs will be getting the smart aggressive boars.

[brosil]

I always wanted to hunt hogs. The way they're proliferating, I should be able to hunt them on my farm in Ohio before long.

[MichaelK!]

I've owned my land for 9 years now and in all that time have yet to see a single wild pig.

[chuckhole]

Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates that there are about 4 million feral hogs here in Texas. We call them the Piney Woods Rooters. The damage they do is amazing. Pasture mowing is like a rough roller coaster ride.
The hogs and coyotes are the only two on the menace list. No time or day restrictions for removal.
They tend to be territorial but if you kill one out of bunch, they change their patterns. They are pretty smart for avoiding trouble and they can be aggressive when it comes to protecting their young. And they will eat anything including their own. The mothers will cull their own if they know they can not feed them all.
I have a couple of feeders on my country place that I bow hunt. Each leg is secured with a rebar stake so that the hogs will not knock them over. They will destroy a feeder to get to the corn.

[Seeria]

Geeze, had no idea. I haven't been in Texas or AZ in ages, but I have started looking at secondary land to purchase in either state. Can you freely capture or kill them in Texas? What about Arizona?

[paradox]

Well a pessimist would tell you that it is pretty bad. Lots of crop damage, feeder damage, not to mention the vehicles that hit them on the highway. Those buggers are hard to see at night and they come out of nowhere - it is like hitting a brick wall too.

An optimist would tell you that they are our statewide doomsday food preps. :-)