The number of feral hogs in North Texas may be about to explode.
“They’re having a lot of babies because there’s a lot more food for them to eat,” said Don Gresham, whose company, Goin Fencing, sells advanced hog traps all across the country.
In just one night this week, Gresham caught 54 feral hogs in a single trap placed on his family’s property in Montague County.
“Out of 16 hogs, we had 38 little hogs with them that was under four weeks old,” said Gresham.
According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas is already home to nearly 2.6 million feral hogs, which cause an estimated $52 million in agricultural damage each year.
Gresham said last year’s wet weather led to an abundance of acorns and grubs, food that the hogs need to grow and reproduce.
In May, the Texas Department of Agriculture will team up with counties across the state to identify ways to control the feral hog population.
