# Mecosta County Pig Update - (5 Hogs Down)



## Walleye Dog

I have been slowly constructing a pig trap piece by piece over the last few weeks making sure the pigs are still coming in to the area. Well finally, I got some results today. 5 pigs were in the trap and we not going anywhere. The biggest one was taken out with a .270 and the remaining ones were dispatched with a .22 cal between the eyes. What a sense of satisfaction after all the time and effort went into this plan to get rid of the pigs on our 40 acre hunting property. 

The USDA and DNR have been a big help and came out today to take samples and pictures. Two wonderful organizations since we got our first pig on a trail cam in July. The biggest one was 275# and the rest averaged 80-100#. This looks to be the entire family group that has been rototilling our food plots and destroying our small creek bed. These animals are a complete nuisance and is feels great to take them out. 

I am a huge believer in trapping and not full scale hunting them. If you have pigs on your property, think traps first. It is the only way to eradicate the problem. Hunting them will move them somewhere else and make them your neighbors problem. These are smart, and mainly nocturnal animals. While a full scale hunting assault sounds fun, it will not solve the problem. 

As of last year, I was a feral pig doubter. These animals are here, and will continue to be here unless we as sportsman, landowners, and neighbors can get together and use a plan that works. As a former doubter, the proof will be table fare for me now.


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## anon12162011

Thanks for being dligent and getting these out of nature! My hats off to you, the DNRE, and USDA...


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## Wildwood_Deckers

This looks to be the entire family group that has been rototilling our food plots and destroying our small creek bed.

That is a great start.... however, in your statement above, I don't believe this is the "entire family group" for a few reasons...

1. the smallest pig would have probably still been nursing and that sow doesn't appear to have been nursing a litter...

2. that sow doesn't appear to have ever nursed a litter

3. you don't have a boar of breeding age

At any rate, you deserve a congratulation on a job well done.... keep that trap set, and keep up the good work...

Clyde


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## PiercedOne

That's awesome WD!!!! Kristi would be very proud. So I take it your going to have a little extra bacon this year? 

Keep up the good work.


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## malainse

Looks like your work paid off. Great Job !!!!


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## Elk5012

I know of a few ranches that have pig hunts..... but yours is on the small side.:lol:


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## Swamp Monster

As a Mecosta property owner, Thank You! Do you plan to keep the trap up for now? Curious how the pigs reacted to being trapped and how they reacted when you guys arrived on scene?
Congrats on the success!


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## MERGANZER

As a Newaygo Cty property owner I say let em go since there are not deer up there anymore. Might as well have something to hunt. 


Nice job on the pigs hope you butchered them and look forward to enjoying the meat.

Ganzer


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## griffondog

Wildwood_Deckers said:


> This looks to be the entire family group that has been rototilling our food plots and destroying our small creek bed.
> 
> That is a great start.... however, in your statement above, I don't believe this is the "entire family group" for a few reasons...
> 
> 1. the smallest pig would have probably still been nursing and that sow doesn't appear to have been nursing a litter...
> 
> 2. that sow doesn't appear to have ever nursed a litter
> 
> 3. you don't have a boar of breeding age
> 
> At any rate, you deserve a congratulation on a job well done.... keep that trap set, and keep up the good work...
> 
> Clyde


I agree doesn't look like you got the sow and boar. What did you end up using for bait?

Griff


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## BigSteve

Way to go. Where did you come up with trap design? might be usefull to others here.


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## ForestvilleJack

How close are you to a hunting ranch or game farm that has wild pigs? Thanks Jack


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## Jet08

Care to share which part of the county this was?? I live in Mecosta and haven't seen any yet, but I beleive they are here.


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## Walleye Dog

There was definitrly sign that this sow had nursed all of the smaller ones. They were all nearly a year old. The smallest one was a runt and was malnourished. It had a problem with its jaw. 

There is a game ranch about 5 miles away and that is most likely the culprit. The hogs got really pissed off as I approached the trap and the big one took two shots to the chest from the .270 and it didn't appear to have any effect until 90 seconds later. The breeding boar of the group was most likely run off by the others some time ago. The boar that breeds them is typically run out of that group. 

I am not convinced that all are gone from this area, but these are definitely the pigs that we have been getting on the trail cam.


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## Ed Bergeron

Congratulations on getting the pigs! And thanks too for complimenting the USDA and DNR. In an age when so many people complain about our government agencies and the people who work for them, it's great to see positive comments.


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## Walleye Dog

Walleye Dog said:


> The USDA and DNR have been a big help and came out today to take samples and pictures. Two wonderful organizations since we got our first pig on a trail cam in July. .


My mistake on this one. The DNR was not involved in this. The credit belongs to the Michigan Wildlife Conservacy. They, along with the USDA Wildlife Services branch have a great hog removal program underway to bring awareness and volunteers to detect and trap these feral hogs. They were the key in providing this opprotunity to trap the hogs before they moved on. Their program is aimed at developing a network of trained volunteers who can work with biologists and technicians in a widespread hog elimination program. 

http://www.miwildlife.org/hog-removal-program.asp 

If anybody has wild hog sign and or sightings on their property please give the USDA Wildlife services a call @ 517-336-1928. 

Many thanks go out to Dr. Patrick Rusz of the MWC and Tim Wilson from the USDA WS.


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## shop tom

Do you have any pictures you can post of the damage they have caused on your property? Might help convince fence-sitters as to the extent of damage these creatures can cause.


tom


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## Walleye Dog

shop tom said:


> Do you have any pictures you can post of the damage they have caused on your property? Might help convince fence-sitters as to the extent of damage these creatures can cause.
> 
> 
> tom


A once healthy food plot...

Since some people still contend there are no wild pigs in this state, does that mean I won't have to count any calories when I eat this pork? Uncle Ted would be proud...


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## Talntedmrgreen

Hmmm...last year we didn't have any trouble, but 2 years ago we did. We're near 19 mile and 230th...

We see more bear and bobcat than pigs, but they are there!


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## decoydog

We lease down in southern part of Mecosta and haven't as yet seen any sign on the farm but we will watch very close. Great job resisting the temtation to blast them till they were in the trap. Are you going to keep the trap baited for a few weeks yet?


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## Wendy

Could you post information on the trap? How it's made etc...


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## Pharmacyguy

MERGANZER said:


> As a Newaygo Cty property owner I say let em go since there are not deer up there anymore. Might as well have something to hunt.
> 
> 
> Nice job on the pigs hope you butchered them and look forward to enjoying the meat.
> 
> Ganzer


With an attitude like that you never will have any deer. 4 litters a year...there won't be a single acorn on the forest floor, any food plots you try to plant will be gone. Oh and that little trout stream with the native brookies it now is 2 mile long wallow where nothing lives but the e.coli from the piggy poop. Personally I like to see all these feral pigs genetically finger printed and then checked against against stock from these "game farms". You get a positive match you shut them down.


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## cabledad

I like the corral type trap,but chances are the ones in the sounder that you missed won't come near a trap again.I have seen a you tube video that shows a sow chasing pigglets from a trap,they are smart.Everbody in the area needs a trap.Thats the problem we have in Texas too many small places,too many hogs and too many people that won't trap hogs.Keep up the good work.Chuck


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## Walleye Dog

We have successfully trapped 7 pigs, one group of 5 and then two singles. We have also killed two in the food plot within 50 yards of the trap. Since the snow has been on the ground, we have not seen any sign of pigs. The trap is still set and being checked on a regular basis.


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## Nat006

Hello,

I'm new to this place and I was brought here when I googled Feral Hog hunting in Mecosta County. Can any of you tell me where in Mecosta County is best to hunt these Hogs? State Land that is best? Thanks.


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## Walleye Dog

Look for a game ranch that sells russian boar hunts, find a weak spot in the fence, and get permission from the adjacent landowner. :evil:


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## Perferator

Walleye Dog said:


> Look for a game ranch that sells russian boar hunts, find a weak spot in the fence, and get permission from the adjacent landowner. :evil:


There it is :lol:


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## Perferator

Hoggie said:


> It is my understanding that in order to eradicate an animal species 70 percent or more of the animals must be consistently killed over a period of several years. Can anyone else speak on this? Also, is it true that killing females simply increases breeding pressure on other hogs and results in increasing the hog population? For example, if you are only killing a small percentage of the total hog population then the end result is more hogs. Can anyone clarify this?


Here is a little tidbit from the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy:

Annual removal of 50-75% of the hog population is needed to stabilize or begin reducing wild hog numbers. No single methodeg, shooting, trapping, use of dogscan accomplish this. So, a combiniation of methods and intense effort is needed. Bounty systems have been employed in other states with varying success. Bounties have usually been used to lower populations, rather than as a preemptive measure to eradicate small numbers of hogs. Sport hunting alone has not controlled hog populations in any state.


So you weren't too far off on that 70% figure....but that level of eradication is needed annually to even think about stabilizing the numbers.

Kind of gives you an idea of the seriousness of this situation we are sitting on.


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## MuddyPaws1

MERGANZER said:


> As a Newaygo Cty property owner I say let em go since there are not deer up there anymore. Might as well have something to hunt.


As a Newaygo and Mecosta land owner I have to say I question the above statement. We don't have any trouble finding deer.

I have not seen any sign of pigs on our land so far. Good job killing the pigs.


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## P&Ychaser

People that are welcoming the pigs in MI, have to really think hard about what that will do to the State/Country in general. Can you imagine the amount of crop damage that will occur if they get their population out of control like in the southern states? The billions of dollars they do in Texas annually, then we want to welcome them in MI for hunting opportunities??? If they get a foot hold in MI, then they will creep into Indiana,Ohio and the rest of the corn belt...
What that will do to Farmers? In turn, what that will do to the economy? We are a heavily loaded agriculture state, and country, not worth the risk just to have a few more "targets" for hunting.


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## aquatic-archer

P&Ychaser said:


> People that are welcoming the pigs in MI, have to really think hard about what that will do to the State/Country in general. Can you imagine the amount of crop damage that will occur if they get their population out of control like in the southern states? The billions of dollars they do in Texas annually, then we want to welcome them in MI for hunting opportunities??? If they get a foot hold in MI, then they will creep into Indiana,Ohio and the rest of the corn belt...
> What that will do to Farmers? In turn, what that will do to the economy? We are a heavily loaded agriculture state, and country, not worth the risk just to have a few more "targets" for hunting.


They have been in Indian and Ohio for years. Further north you go the slower the population seems to increase. Good job on getting rid of them. Any more sitings?


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## Walleye Dog

We have started to see tracks again and seeing some more sign. No luck on the trap yet this spring, but I am confident we will get some more. Just put upthe trail cam last week.


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## DaGuy

Well done Walleye Dog, well done!


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## Ralph Smith

Just caught this thread, I'm usually mainly in fishing forums. Great job on eradicting the porkies! Only question I have is.....why haven't I saw the MS pulled pork BBQ outing planned yet:lol::lol:


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## Frantz

Where the hell is that LIKE button


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## roger carv

P&Ychaser said:


> People that are welcoming the pigs in MI, have to really think hard about what that will do to the State/Country in general. Can you imagine the amount of crop damage that will occur if they get their population out of control like in the southern states? The billions of dollars they do in Texas annually, then we want to welcome them in MI for hunting opportunities??? If they get a foot hold in MI, then they will creep into Indiana,Ohio and the rest of the corn belt...
> What that will do to Farmers? In turn, what that will do to the economy? We are a heavily loaded agriculture state, and country, not worth the risk just to have a few more "targets" for hunting.


 Just some food for thought here, I mentioned this on here once a bout a year ago but never see anyone bring this in consideration. The famous line of " Look what hogs have done in TX, we dont want that here" I agree we do not want hogs here but I dont think we would ever be TX. Not even talking climate here, but look at average land owner acerage size. MI must have 150-200 percent more hunters per acre than TX. A guy with 80 acres in MI is considered a good size land owner.... TX I dont even think you can call your self a land owner if you have under 1000 acres...LOL Just something to think about.


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## cabledad

I just read this article posted on Texas boars website.Its from Tennessee.Chuck http://www.theleafchronicle.com/art...11/108140323/Status-wild-hogs-changed-by-TWRA-


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## gooseboy

new pig sighting in Mecosta County, the area is 130th Avenue and 3 Mile Road, 6 pigs roaming, this would be northeast of Morley by approx 4 miles and and 2.5 miles southeast of the Super G game ranch(pigs, elk, buff, rams)....i belive this may be the area where the initial trapping and dispatched pigs were originally....this is second hand knowledge however have 100% belief on who the observer was(actual home/land/farmer in the area...


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## Walleye Dog

That makes geographical sense...Our hogs were killed within the same vicinity of Super G.


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## Frantz

Now I know the area you are talking about. I have not seen anything on the east side of M66 and 4 mile, but will keep an eye out.

Walleye, I hope to be a bit better in a few weeks, if you ever need a hand, give me a shout and I will do what I can. I do not have much to ofer, but offer what I can.

Keep up the solid work!


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