As a landscaper I always have to deal with deer. Yesterday I signed a new client that is building a house on the lake between Corsicana and Palastine.

During the client interview I find out that I will have to design for potential wild hogs.

I used to be a pig farmer, and as far as I can tell a pig does pig wants to do. After this job dealing with deer may not be such a big deal.

Any of you guys had to deal with then in close to your homes and in your landscaoe?

I've been paid a couple of times to go get rid of some, but other than population control and lacing the neighbors property with soiled corn, I've got nothing.

Richland Chambers

Hogs tend to wander. Deer are sort of territorial and have more consistent movement patterns. Nothing you can do aside from a good fence or a brave dog is going to deter a bunch of hogs.

clay pidgeons crushed and mixed with corn and molasses or diesel. takes care of the piggies

clay pidgeons crushed and mixed with corn and molasses or diesel. takes care of the piggies

clay pidgeons crushed and mixed with corn and molasses or diesel. takes care of the piggies

clay pidgeons crushed and mixed with corn and molasses or diesel. takes care of the piggies

got1forya-

I am a landscape contractor in Austin & had a problem with hogs a few years back in Steiner Ranch on Lake Austin. They got into some freshly laid St. Augustine & rooted up about 20 pallets. I brought out a few traps & we caught them over the next week... about 15. (The homeowner's wife was a little dismayed when my crews field dressed & quartered them in her back yard by the pool - the husband was happy to see them go)

Afterwards, I went & bought the strongest hotwire fence that I could & put it up around the perimeter of the main house out of site as best I could. We had a couple of instances where hogs hit the fence & went through it rather than away from it, but by & large it has worked. Hogs are pretty smart & it doesn't take them long to learn wire=pain.
(Our numbers & density weren't that high... you may have your work cut out for you!)

On a design note, I wouldn't use any fruit or nut bearing tree that might attract hogs. I'd also be sure to stay on top of your grub & pest treatments to reduce the food available further.

Be sure put in your contract that you will do everything possible to minimize potential hog damage, but that you cannot guarantee what a hog might eat; and they eat everything.

Good luck!

Clay Pigeons and Wild Swine
SCWDS Briefs, July 1995, 11.2
Printed on every carton of targets used for skeet and trap shooting is a warning that "clay pigeons" are
toxic to swine. This notice has prompted several calls to SCWDS from persons who were having
problems with wild swine. They were considering using broken clay targets mixed with bait such as
corn to control wild swine. We do not recommend this approach! The toxic materials in clay pigeons
are coal tar derivatives, such as cresols and phenols, which are protoplasmic poisons. Any wild or
domestic animal that ate the clay pigeon/bait mixture would be affected.
Poisoning of domestic swine by ingestion of clay targets is a classic malady identified by severe
hemorrhagic necrosis of the liver. Roofing tar and tar paper also have the same toxic ingredients and
can cause the same toxicosis. Poisonings of this type have been associated with domestic hogs in
confinement or on pastures, but we are not aware of any cases diagnosed in wild swine. Use of clay
pigeons on skeet and trap ranges has never been linked with problems in wildlife.
The distinctive liver lesions associated with clay pigeon toxicosis are readily recognized upon
examination by a diagnostician. Because of this fact, we suspect that the lack of reported cases in
wildlife is evidence that if clay pigeon poisoning occurs, it is extremely rare.