Feral swine are becoming a significant threat to agriculture and water quality throughout the state. These wild pigs have been reported in 86 of the 100 North Carolina counties. Other states, such as Texas, have an out of control problem where feral swine have been blamed for over $52 million dollars in urban, suburban, and agricultural damage every year.
How Did This Happen?
“Russian” bloodlines have been introduced in this country for sport over the past century. These bloodlines have crossed with a natural domestic wild hog to create a larger, hardier breed of wild hog that is spreading rapidly to 40 of our 50 states.
Behavior of a Feral Swine Herd:
Feral swine live in families called “sounders”. These families reproduce rapidly, with 4-8 piglets in a litter and 2-3 litters per year. The most noticeable sign of feral hog activity is damage caused by rooting behavior as they look for food. Other signs of activity include wallows, rubs, tracks, trails, droppings, and beds. Hogs enjoy creating wallows in muddy areas in order to stay cool. They also rub on trees and telephone poles to keep their skin free of parasites. Their tracks are similar to the tracks of a whitetail deer, only more round in shape. Hogs are very mobile and will sometimes travel miles away from their bedding area in order to find food. They have a highly developed sense of smell and generally like to eat at night, going in search of food when the air temperature has dropped to a comfortable level. During the daylight hours, the will usually bed down in heavily forested areas, near any body of water- large or small. Because of the “wild” nature of this species, they will naturally avoid humans unless they feel threatened. Aggressive behavior may be seen in rare cases when an animal is cornered- as with hunting dogs- or getting between a sow and her piglets.
Damage caused by Feral Swine:
The most notable damage is to lawns, landscape, and agricultural lands including field crops and pastures. Hogs are omnivores- eating plants and animals- and can adjust their diet based on what is readily available. Some of their favorites include acorns, grubs, worms, corn, potatoes, produce, fruits, pecans, grapevines, grass, and soybeans. They will eat just about anything they can find. Hunters who prepare their property to feed deer are also attracting feral swine. The hogs enjoy many of the same favorites as the deer- such as shelled corn and clover. Because of their ability to root, they can cause extensive damage to pastures, hayfields, and cropland as their go in search of grubs and worms. Repairing pasture and hayfield damage caused by feral swine can cost an average of $261 per acre. Nationwide damage caused by feral swine has been estimate at $800 million to $1.5 billion annually.
Why Should this Concern NC Residents and Landowners?
Feral swine carry diseases that can be detrimental to the nations food supply. Swine Pseudorabies is a herpes virus that can be shed through the nose and mouth. The virus can also be spread to other livestock and dogs. If commercial swine contract the pseudorabies virus, they are not able to continue into the human food supply.
Another disease of concern is Brucellosis, which is caused by a bacterium. This bacterium can cause sows to abort and cause infertility in boars. It can easily be spread to domestic swine and cattle. Humans can also contact the disease if they come into contact with blood from an infected animal. Brucellosis is an incurable disease. Only the symptoms can be managed during the life of an infected animal or human.
In addition to diseases, feral swine can cause extensive property damage. Their wallowing habits can have a significant detrimental impact on waterways, as they directly pollute natural areas with fecal material.
How Can This Problem be Controlled?
Currently, in most NC counties, it is perfectly legal to shoot feral swine on your own property, at any time of the year. Experienced hunters should shoot hogs because placing the shot is critical to killing the animal. A 25 caliber bullet or larger is required to take down this species. Trapping is also effective, but hogs are very smart and easily adapt to new situations, so setting a trap requires special planning and baiting.
It is important to note that pasture raised swine are very common in North Carolina as a food animal. Pasture raised hogs are usually quite tame and should be fully enclosed in their pasture. Only wild animals that are not contained are legal to shoot.
Landowners should be on the lookout for evidence of feral swine activity. Working with your neighbors to control this species is critical to managing the growing problem.
Additional Information provided by - Billy Higginbotham, Professor and Wildlife & Fisheries Specialist, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Eve Honeycutt is an Extension Agent with Lenoir and Greene Counties Cooperative Extension and can be contacted at eve_honeycutt@ncsu.edu or 252-527-2191 or 252-747-5831.
