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Natural Resources Branch Fort Rucker, AL Feral Pig Trapping Guide GET INVOLVED! **Trapping Tips** 1. KNOW THE LAW!! Read Fort Rucker 215-1 for the most up to date rules and regu- lations on Fort Rucker for hunting/trapping. Alabama State law also applies to all hunting/trapping on Fort Rucker. 2. TRAPPING IS HUNTING On a regular basis we have volunteer trappers aggravated be- cause the pig wont just walk into the trap to be caught. You have to understand that there are traps all over the installation which have tried to catch the same pig previously. You have to be patient. Never set the trigger until you know that all pigs are going into the trap, otherwise you have just caught 2-3 pigs but the other 8 are now wary of the trap and will take much more effort to trap. 3. MY BAIT IS ALWAYS GONE! When your bait is always being eaten by a non targeted animal, place your corn in a small bucket filled about 2-3 inches over the corn with water or the liquid of your choosing. This will keep raccoon, deer and other non targeted animals, getting your corn, down to a minimum. 4. ODORS Keep strange odors out of the area as much as possible. A hogs sense of smell is exceptional. Any foul human like odors may keep the pigs from never coming back. 5. TRIGGER Make sure the trigger is easy to trip and the door can fall with- out obstruction with the frame. Having a trap door that doesn't fall is like having a weapon with no ammo. 6. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Always place your traps in the shade or provide shade. Trapped hogs CAN NOT take the heat. Many trapped hogs die of expo- sure in this situation. This is why in the summer months they stay in the low lying bottoms next to water sources. Go to them, but keep the trap in an area with easy access. Dragging a 100+ pig through the brush is not fun. Feral Pig Damage Trap Feral Pigs!!! 11 Training/Management Land Damage Feral Pig Gestation Facts: A female pig will have her first litter of piglets when she is about one year old. The sow is pregnant for about 4 months, and usu- ally a sow will give birth to around 8 to 12 pigs at a time. A sow can have 2-3 litters each year. That means that a mother pig can give birth to over 24 piglets each year! Lets do the math! 1 Sow in 16 months can give birth to 8-12 pigs. In an- other 4 months she gives birth to another 8-12 pigs, imagine if these litters of pigs are half female pigs! Lets say 1 sow has 6 female piglets twice per year… within 6 years how many piglets do you have? With humans being the most privative opposition to the population of Feral Pigs, we would never be able to fully-eradicate an entire population on an entire parcel of land with only volunteer support, but we can manage the population WITH YOUR SUPPORT. For More Information Contact (NRB Chief) Doug Watkins………………………..255-9363 (Fish and Wildlife Biologist) Daniel Spillers……....255-2416 Volunteer Trapper Kyle Campbell Bringing home the Bacon!!! Photo by Chris Hunter Photo by Brian Mooney Photo by Burt Bruner
