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For those who have a feral hog somewhere around their home, they are fully aware of the dangers that this animal poses. These are incredibly aggressive animals, which are known to attack human beings as well as any other kind of animal. Because of their size and the fact that they can get a pretty good speed going, they can be very dangerous to any kind of animal. In fact, most of these animals are even able to outrun people, which means they pose an even bigger challenge.



For some, they look for measures to try to keep these animals away from their property. By using such things as fences, commercial repellents, and other measures that are known to be able to assist in keeping the feral hog away, they attempt to try to stop the animal from gaining any traction onto their property. They don't want to see this animal there, and so they take the extraordinary means of trying different things to keep it away.

Some find that these do not work, and turn to such ideas as traps to be able to handle this animal. By capturing it and taking it to a different location, you can get rid of the feral pig by moving it to another place. This can work.

However, there comes a time where you may find that the measures you are taking are simply not working. As mentioned, these are very aggressive animals, and they may use their strength and speed to break their way through your fence or to simply ignore the other measures that you have taken. This may mean that you have to take a more permanent stance on what you want to do here, and some choose to terminate the pig's life as a way of resolving the issue. If this has crossed your mind that here is how to kill feral hogs.

Consider that this is an animal that is the same kind of size as a wolf, hog, deer, or even small bear. There is great size and power in this animal, and so this means that you need to take powerful measures to be able to drop it. This is not like using a trap to kill a gopher or mole; instead, you have to take extreme measures to be able to bring this animal down.

If you are out hunting for deer or for wolves that it is likely that you would choose one of two options. Either you would decide to hunt for this animal with a crossbow or to use some form of rifle. These provide you with maximum firepower to be able to drop an animal like this, and so this is the same kind of measure you need to use in dealing with a feral hog. Because these animals are so quick and powerful, you need a weapon that gives you a great deal of power to get through the tough exterior of this animal while also having enough speed to hit it as it moves away.

How to Kill Feral Hogs

In Houston, Texas, the feral hog population is said to be somewhere in excess of 2.5 million. That might seem like a staggering figure to you, but the thing you must remember is that these pigs can breed almost as fast as other renowned fast-breeding creatures, including rodents. A typical female feral hog will, in the right conditions, provide two litters per year. Each litter will have around three piglets, although it can have as many as six or seven, and as few as one or two. Not all of those youngsters are likely to survive for very long, of course, but all of those piglets will be able to have their own first litters by the time they have reach one year of age.



It was during the 1500s that feral hogs were introduced to North America, and it is believed the Spanish explorers are the ones who set them free in their non-native land. These days, the average wild hog can be worth as much $180 once captured and killed, and there have even been calls for month-long culls of these creatures, using a drug known as warfarin. This is an anticoagulant, and will work in the same kind of way as rat or mouse poison. Sadly, rat and mouse poison is not effective or humane, and there's a good chance that feral hog poison will be equally as horrifying. It is also worth noting that, after a pig has been poisoned, it is basically worthless. The meat is likely to be contaminated with the drug, and no slaughterhouses will accept it.

Sadly, poison seems to have another negative side effect too, this time involving bears. The way that feral hog poison is to be distributed is with a large dispenser that the hog will need to work at with some strength in order to be able to eat it. Bears, particularly black bears, have been seen ripping into the dispensers, meaning that they can also get to the poison and potentially put their own lives in danger by accident. The other thing that you will also need to remember is that pigs are messy by nature, and they are also incredibly messy when eating too. They leave food all over the place and there is a good chance that they will leave some of the poisoned material around the place. This is then left to be eaten by another wild animal, and probably one that you didn't intend to kill. That's a lot to think about before you consider feral hog poison, right? It should be.

In Texas alone, slaughterhouses will accept feral or wild hogs, meaning that you can make some cash out of your trapping efforts if you're smart about it. These creatures don't really have anything that could be considered as a predator, so perhaps humans need to step into that role? They won't pay for the carcass if you kill it with poison, however, or in another method using something chemical or drug induced.

Shooting feral hogs is generally permitted in most areas, although we always recommend that you do the necessary research to ensure you aren't breaking any laws in your area or state.

For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
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How To Guide: do it yourself! - Advice on saving money by doing wildlife removal yourself.
Guide: How much does wildlife removal cost? - Analysis of wildlife control prices.
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Noises in the attic - how to identify critters by their sounds.