By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

They can destroy, or at least heavily damage, a single field or lawn overnight. And there are millions of them in the state of Texas. For years, feral hogs, or wild pigs, have plagued rural and urban Texans alike.

But what are some things Texans are doing that may unintentionally attract wild pigs?

Dr. John Tomecek, wildlife specialist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, told the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network that Texans moving feral hogs is a problem.

“We did some things years ago that we didn’t know better. People were trapping pigs and moving them to new areas to provide hunting opportunities,” Tomecek said. “Certainly producers, if they’d realized what would happen, they wouldn’t have done it, but we moved pigs and we essentially helped colonize the rest of the state.”

Wild pigs have been reported in every Texas county except one—El Paso County. Tomecek notes that wild pigs have been found in the counties surrounding El Paso County, so it is possible there are wild pigs in the county, and they just haven’t been reported yet.

“If you are moving pigs, just stop. It’s not worth it,” Tomecek said. “It’s illegal now.”

Putting out feed for deer, turkeys and other wildlife can also attract wild pigs.

“If we don’t put up an exclusion fence around those feed sites, pigs come in, and they learn there’s a cheap, easy meal,” Tomecek said. “They keep coming back to that site again and again.”

Landowners feeding wildlife should consider wild pig resistant fencing around feeders, but Tomecek notes keeping the pigs out isn’t easy.

“We have designs that we’ve put out through AgriLife over the years that are just made out of T-posts and portable cattle panels, and they keep pigs out pretty darn well,” Tomecek said. “It’s a cheap solution to help cut down on your feed bill and promoting pigs.”

When wild pigs have a consistent food supply, they will have consistent reproduction.

Wild pigs can have up to three litters a year with an average of five to eight piglets surviving from each litter.

That’s why there’s an estimated five million wild pigs in Texas right now.

Researchers continue to look into new methods to control wild pigs. One such method is contraceptives.

“So far, we haven’t had any luck with a contraceptive that’s pig specific,” Tomecek said. “The problem with that is that we do have chemicals that would work, but you have to catch that pig and hand-inject it, because if you put it out in a medicated feed, it would give birth control contraception to everything. Your cows wouldn’t have calves. Your deer wouldn’t fawn and so forth.”

So right now, the focus is on improved trapping methods.

“I have some small research projects going on to evaluate different trap methods to try to get down to the heart of what makes the difference and where is the cost effectiveness, because everybody has a different budget and a different amount of available time,” Tomecek said.

AgriLife Extension is also developing guidelines for pig-exclusion fencing.

“There’s no such thing as a pig-proof fence. They’re just pig resistant,” Tomecek said. “They’re going to eventually get through, but what we’re doing is evaluating some different fencing methods to see how long does it take the pig to find a way through, how much does it cost to maintain and what is the cost to build and maintain per food, so that folks can look at it and say, ‘is this going to be useful for me or not?’”

For some, putting up pig-exclusion fence may be the answer, but for farmers and ranchers with large swaths of land, it could be a pricey option.

“We’re waiting to see some of the latest work on some of these toxicants so they can move forward to requesting the registration with the (Environmental Protection Agency) EPA and then, hopefully, the (Texas Department of Agriculture) TDA one day,” Tomecek said.

Hunting wild pigs on the ground, via helicopter and now hot air balloon is also an option.

Tomecek said for hunters who eat the pork from the hogs they shoot, there are some things to consider.

“Although we talk about disease issues with wild pigs, just like your regular domestic pork, if properly handled and cooked properly, the meat’s perfectly safe to eat,” Tomecek said. “If it’s well cooked, you’re not going to deal with any pathogens or any diseases in there.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends fresh pork be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit and then letting it rest three minutes after cooking before consuming.

For those who do not plan to consume the wild pigs they harvest, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has issued standards for how to dispose of livestock that have been killed or died of various diseases.

“Put them in a pit, bury and burn them,” Tomecek said. “Those are never bad ideas.”

According to TCEQ, non-diseased animal carcasses must be collected within 24 hours of death and properly disposed of within three days.

If you bury wild pigs, they may not be disposed of in an area with a shallow water table or with permeable soil. TCEQ recommends animals be buried far enough away from standing or flowing water or groundwater to prevent contamination.

Additional information is available online at www.tceq.texas.gov.

Hunters who have captured wild pigs and put them in a trailer may sell them to an approved buying station. The Texas Animal Health Commission licenses buying stations.

“That can be a great way to sell those pigs and make some revenue, but you do need to carry those pigs to sell them live,” Tomecek said. “I encourage people to call the facility first and see if they’re buying, what they’re buying and what they’re offering to make it worth your time to get it there.”

To help landowners dealing with wild pigs, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is revamping its website.

“That’s been our clearinghouse for educational materials for many years now, and so we’ll continue to maintain and update that,” Tomecek said.