Will Hogs Come Back After Being Shot At?

Wild hogs can be a nuisance on properties across the country. If you have hogs frequenting your land, you may consider hunting them or shooting at them to try and get rid of them. But will the hogs come back after being shot at? Let’s take a closer look.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Yes, hogs are likely to come back even after being shot at, unless a large number are killed. They have good memories and will remember being threatened, but don’t easily scare off from good habitat and food sources.

Hogs Have Good Memories and Learn Quickly

Hogs remember negative experiences

Studies have shown that feral hogs have excellent long-term memories. Once they have a negative experience with a location, they tend to avoid returning there. For example, research published in the Journal of Wildlife Management found that wild boars avoided areas where they heard gunshots for over a month afterwards.

Their memory lasts much longer than domestic pigs. This suggests feral hogs can recall threats and will change their movement patterns to stay away from dangerous areas.

They adapt behavior to avoid threats

Feral pigs are very intelligent and observant animals. According to experts from the Feral Hog Community of Practice, hogs can detect subtle environmental cues that allow them to identify and avoid threats.

If they survive an attempt to trap or shoot them, feral hogs will learn to recognize and stay away from traps and hunters. For example, some land managers have found that the same trapping method only works a few times in one area before the hogs become trap-shy.

The hogs’ ability to change habits makes them difficult to manage. An integrated pest control approach is often needed to outsmart these crafty animals.

Killing Hogs Reduces Future Populations

Hunting pressure can discourage hogs

Feral hogs are notoriously difficult to eliminate once established in an area. Their high reproductive rates enable populations to quickly rebound even after intensive hunting efforts. However, consistent hunting pressure can help discourage hogs from settling in a particular location.

According to a USDA report, 70% of feral hogs must be removed annually just to keep populations stable. This highlights the importance of ongoing lethal control methods. If hunting stops, hog numbers will rapidly rise again.

While complete elimination is unlikely, strategic hunting can make the environment less hospitable for hogs. For example, studies show targeting adult females is more effective than random culling. This disproportionately reduces reproductive capacity.

Integrating additional deterrents like fences also enhances control efforts.

Large groups are harder to eliminate

The size of a feral hog group directly impacts hunters’ ability to effectively reduce or eliminate it. Smaller sounders of 20 hogs or less are much easier to hunt than large groups of 50 or more animals.

Larger sounders often split into smaller family groups when pressured by hunting. While hunters may successfully harvest some hogs, the remaining animals regroup and evade control efforts. The survival of breeding-age hogs enables quick repopulation.

In contrast, removing 70% or more of a small sounder in a short time frame can completely eliminate that group from an area. Without sexually mature hogs, reproduction ceases. This highlights the importance of early intervention when new populations establish.

While daunting, studies show sustained hunting pressure on large groups can incrementally reduce their numbers over time. Combining multiple control methods improves success. However, the scattered nature of big sounders makes total removal difficult.

Habitat and Food Bring Hogs Back

Hogs need food and shelter to survive

Feral hogs are resilient animals that can thrive in a variety of habitats as long as their basic needs for food, water, and shelter are met. They are generalist omnivores and will eat just about anything, including crops, small animals, carrion, roots, tubers, fruits, acorns and nuts.

This diverse diet allows them to survive in forests, grasslands, marshes and agricultural areas. As long as there is adequate forage available, hogs will keep returning to an area to feed.

In terms of shelter, hogs seek out thick underbrush and vegetation to bed down and escape the elements. They prefer habitats near water sources and with access to shade. Dense stands of cattail, phragmites and brush along rivers, streams, wetlands and swamps provide ideal cover.

In dry environments, hogs may create wallows in mud to keep cool. They will also seek shelter under fallen logs, in hollow trees, and in burrows dug by other animals. Having access to adequate shelter is a key factor in hogs remaining in an area.

They don’t scare off easily if needs are met

Because feral hogs are intelligent and adaptable animals, they can be difficult to permanently discourage or remove from an area if their habitat needs are being met. Here are some key reasons hogs may return even after being shot at or frightened away:

• They have excellent memories and will remember where reliable food and water sources are located.
• They are prolific breeders, so new hogs may move into vacant territories.
• They become trap shy after being captured but often return over time.
• Education and hunting alone are rarely effective long-term solutions.
• Their food drive is strong enough to overcome temporary fright from shooting or harassment.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, at least 70% of the hog population must be removed annually just to keep the population stable. So even after major eradication efforts, some hogs inevitably remain in the area to repopulate it.

That is why integrated pest management combining multiple control methods is often needed to achieve lasting results.

In the end, feral hogs are resilient, adaptive, and motivated by their drive to eat and survive. This makes returning to an area with adequate food and cover appealing, even if they’ve been frightened or hunted there previously.

An integrated approach provides the best chance of effectively managing populations over the long term.

Effective Long-Term Hog Control

Lethal and nonlethal methods

Controlling feral hog populations requires using both lethal and nonlethal methods persistently over time. Lethal methods like trapping, snaring, shooting, and hunting can quickly reduce hog numbers, while nonlethal techniques like exclusion fencing help keep areas hog-free long-term.

Effective lethal hog control involves:

– Using corral traps, drop nets, or cable restraints to humanely capture multiple hogs at once.

– Coordinating community-wide trapping efforts for larger impact.

– Hunting hogs with dogs, which takes advantage of hogs’ instinct to run when chased.

– Aerial gunning from helicopters, which allows covering more ground to find hogs.

– Poisoning, where legal, using sodium nitrite toxicants that are lethal to hogs.

Nonlethal control methods include:

– Exclusion fencing such as hog panels or electrified wire fencing to keep hogs out of sensitive areas.

– Repellents like capsicum oleoresin sprayed around property perimeters.

– Sterilization techniques like immunocontraceptives to non-surgically reduce fertility rates.

Using multiple techniques together will be more effective than any single method alone. It’s also critical to keep applying control measures over time, as hog populations can quickly rebound.

Persistence is key

Eliminating feral hogs is challenging due to their high reproduction rates and adaptability. Sows can begin breeding as young as 6 months old and produce multiple litters per year of 4-12 piglets on average.

Hogs are also intelligent animals that will learn to avoid traps and hunters. Over time, they may become nocturnal to avoid daytime control activities. An integrated pest management approach is required, using both lethal and nonlethal control persistently over multiple years.

Here are some tips for persistent hog management:

– Monitor the area using game cameras to see where hogs are active.

– Keep traps baited and set – don’t get discouraged if they’re empty at first.

– Use multiple trap types and bait recipes to adapt as hogs change behavior.

– Coordinate with landowners across a wide area and share trap locations and catch numbers.

– Consider more expensive aerial gunning to cover a wider territory.

– Revisit and reinforce exclusion fencing, maintaining at least 40 inches high with 6 inch buried base.

With continued diligence over 2-5 years or more, hog populations can be substantially reduced and sensitive areas protected. But don’t declare victory too soon, as remaining survivors will need ongoing control.

Conclusion

In summary, hogs are likely to return even after being shot at, since they have good memories, adapt easily, and won’t give up good habitat and food sources. To effectively control hogs long-term, a combination of lethal and nonlethal methods should be used persistently over time to reduce populations and make the area less attractive.

With a comprehensive control plan, landowners can work to get hog problems under control.