Module 5 of 10 Core
Trapping: The Primary Control Tool
Trap feral hogs as a full sub-discipline — choosing trap and trigger type and executing whole-sounder removal humanely and effectively.
Best after: Baiting and Pre-Conditioning
Lessons
6 lessons in this module · 35 across the path
- Why Trapping Beats Shooting Explain why trapping is the most effective hog-control method and how a single bad shot or partial capture educates a sounder and makes the rest far harder to remove.
- Corral Traps vs. Box Traps Compare corral traps (large, multi-hog, far lower cost-per-pig) with box traps (cheap, catch young hogs, but partial-capture prone) and choose the right tool for the job.
- Triggers and Gates Compare root-stick, trip-wire, drop-gate, and remote camera-triggered systems and explain why remote whole-sounder triggers prevent partial captures.
- Whole-Sounder Removal Execute the whole-sounder strategy — waiting until every hog is inside before triggering — and explain why catching part of a group is worse than catching none.
- Trap-Shy Hogs and the Education Effect Explain how hogs learn from each other to avoid traps and humans, and how to avoid creating trap-shy survivors that rebuild the population.
- Trapping Ethics and Humane Dispatch Cover the responsibility to check traps promptly, dispatch trapped hogs humanely and safely, and handle non-target captures, treating welfare as non-negotiable.