New Feral Hog Reporting Tool for Texas

Feral hogs contribute to watershed pollution through wallowing and defecating in and around streams.  This can increase E.coli bacteria, nutrients, and sedimentation in the water bodies. Feral hogs not only pose a problem for water quality in the state, they also compete with wildlife and livestock for habitat, harbor endemic and exotic diseases, and transmit parasites to domestic livestock and humans.  Rooting, wallowing, and other behaviors of feral hogs also causes damage to agricultural and wildlife habitats. 

(Feral hog rooting damage along the Brazos River)

Because of this, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has developed an online system to report feral hog activity which can be found at http://feralhogreports.tamu.edu/ . This new online reporting tool was developed with two types of reporting methods.

One reporting method is the public report, which allows members of the public along with drivers passing by to report feral hog sightings and activity.

                                                            (Public feral hog reporting tool)

The other reporting method is the landowner report which will allow landowners to input information feral hog damage and financial loss, as well as provide data on the feral hog abatement efforts conducted on their property.

 (Landowner feral hog reporting tool)

The new reporting system will be used to support the outreach efforts of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and those of various the watershed partnerships across the state. These watershed partnerships consist of landowners and citizens, city and county officials, and state and federal agencies working together to protect water quality.

Both public and landowner reporting of feral hog sightings and/or signs of damage will help locate areas of high activity and guide both management and educational efforts to reduce their impact to watersheds.  Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is requesting the assistance of members of the public, drivers and landowners across the state to help manage feral hogs by making use of the new reporting system. Individuals observing feral hogs or signs of possible damage by them are asked to make a report through the new website.

(Assisting a landowner in creating a feral hog trapping plan)

In addition to this new reporting tool, Dan Gaskins and Mark Tyson have been hired as Extension Associates to help address the statewide feral hog problem. Both Gaskins and Tyson will provide free technical assistance to landowners by conducting site visits to assist them in creating a feral hog management strategy specific to their property. They will also provide free watershed-based educational trainings to the public in order to increase their knowledge on feral hog biology, behavior and management options.

For free educational programming or technical assistance with feral hogs please contact us:

Mark Tyson, South and Southeast Texas, 979-845-4698, mark.tyson@ag.tamu.edu

Dan Gaskins, Central and North Central Texas, 254-248-0532, dan.gaskins@tamu.edu

Our services are provided free of charge through a Clean Water Act 319(h) non-point sources grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

For more information regarding feral hog management efforts, go to: http://plumcreek.tamu.edu/feralhogs/ , http://feralhogs.tamu.edu/ , or http://www.extension.org/feral_hogs . Or visit the Texas A&M AgriLife Bookstore at https://agrilifebookstore.org/.