Parsons, Kansas —
While they are not native to the United States, feral hogs have made Oklahoma their home, and farmers and ranchers have the damage on their property to prove it.
Much like white-tailed deer, hogs are quite secretive, making population estimates difficult. However, the Noble Foundation initiated a survey in 2007, which was conducted by Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.
The survey estimated the population at approximately 500,000 or less, with a presence in all 77 Oklahoma counties.
There are several indicators that prove the existence of hogs on your property, said Dwayne Elmore, OSU Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist.
“They have tracks that are similar to deer, but more rounded,” he said.
Rooting is the most evident footprint left by hogs, however. In softer soils, the rooted areas can be up to 3 feet deep, leaving large wallows. They root around a lot looking for food, usually in broad areas leaving massive soil disturbances, loss of plant material and erosion problems. The hogs then rub on trees, removing bark and leaving mud plastered to tree trunks a few feet off the ground.
Counties in the southeast portion of the state have bigger population numbers, but feral hogs have been leaving destruction in their paths throughout Oklahoma.
“They are very difficult to control,” said Elmore. “Exclusion is almost never practical, leaving lethal control as the best option.”
Hog hunters enjoy the sport, while farmers cringe at the thought of their crops being ravaged by the intruders.
Picking off a hog or two at a time through hunting may make landowners feel like they are taking care of the problem, however, many times the hogs just stop moving during the day and do their damage at night. Elmore said trapping entire groups at a time is much more effective.
“To catch an entire group, consisting anywhere from five to 20 animals, we want to construct a large, round trap,” Elmore said. “If there are corners, large pigs will pile up and some will escape.”
An effective way of constructing a trap like this is with the use of cattle panels, placed in a circular fashion with T-posts tightly securing them to the ground.
“They will root under the panels, so make sure they are strongly secured,” he said. “You want to pre-bait the trap so the hogs get used to coming in before setting it.”
The Noble Foundation has information available online at noble.org, which includes various traps and methods of trap construction. £
Area Farm & Ranch News
Related Photos
Feral hogs running wild throughout Oklahoma
- Area Farm & Ranch News
-
-
4-H members in SW Mo., fight hunger with program
Statewide, 4-H members are seeking donations from Missouri farmers for the Invest an Acre program as part of a 4-H Revolution of Responsibility campaign to find solutions to hunger through community service.
- April showers bring even more May flowers
-
Anaplasmosis prevention in beef herds
Anaplasmosis can be a costly disease to beef cattle producers. Anaplasmosis is caused by a blood-borne organism that destroys red blood cells and causes severe anemia, weakness, fever, lack of appetite, depression, lower milk production, jaundice, abortion and sometimes death.
-
Cattle management following drought
Cattle eat more when it gets cold. Local ranchers saw that with the recent large snows and are still seeing it with one of the coldest springs in recent memory. Dr. Justin Sexten, a PH.D University of Missouri State Extension Specialist,went over ideas for area cattlemen to use as their herds exit the late 2013 winter at the Andrew and Buchanan County’s Forage Management meeting in St. Joseph.
-
Spring crops field day set for May 22 in SE Kansas
Wheat and corn production will take center stage at the Kansas State University Southeast Agricultural Research Center’s Spring Crops Field Day, Wednesday, May 22 near Parsons.
-
Improving drought damaged forage
Ranchers commonly ask what they can plant in the middle of a drought to give them plenty of forage. This was the first question for University of Missouri Plant Sciences Extension Specialist Robert Kallenbach on March 6 in St. Joseph.
-
Wet spring is good news for forage
Ask Robert Seay, Benton County staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, what a wet spring means for agriculture in the state and he'll turn to one of the newspaper clippings he keeps taped to his file cabinet.
-
Aphids and nitrogen loss remain concern to producers
According to Jill Scheidt, agronomy specialist with University of Missouri Extension in Barton County, most wheat in southwest Missouri has started to joint.
-
R.W. Hampton in Concert April 17
Well known Cowboy and Musician, R.W. Hampton will perform a free concert at Cowboy Capital Fellowship in Lenapah Wednesday April 17 following a free Chuckwagon feed that will begin at 6 p.m.
-
Parsons farmers market moving downtown beginning April 23
The Parsons Farmers Market will have a new home starting Tuesday, April 23. The Market, which has been at the Forest Park location for the past several years, will be moving back to Downtown Parsons at the request of the vendors.
- More Area Farm & Ranch News Headlines
-
4-H members in SW Mo., fight hunger with program
