TRAPPING HOGS - LONG LASTING BAIT
By: Cody Weiser
It seems that almost every hog trap that I see these days is designed with a door that allows multiple hogs to enter the trap once it has been set and initially triggered. Long gone are the days of the common guillotine style doors that only catch one or two pigs. Everyone today wants to fill the cage with as many hogs as it will hold. The trick here is to be able to supply the hogs with enough bait to keep the trap attractive to hogs on the outside. This has to be done knowing that the hogs that have already been caught will continue to consume the bait as well.
Following are a few long-lasting bait techniques that will allow you to maximize the number of hogs that you catch in your traps.
BURIED BAIT BUCKET
You can create a hard-to-get-to attractant by first taking a 5 gallon bucket and souring corn inside. Next, dig a hole in the ground where you want to put your trap, making sure it is deep enough to where the top of the bucket will be flush with the ground. Place the full bait bucket in the hole and tightly pack the dirt back around it. Lastly, set your trap over the bucket making sure it is centered in the right location so your trap functions properly.
This technique can be used with traps that are both open bottomed and paneled. Traps that have panels on the bottom will just protect the bait that much more. Hogs will work for hours trying to dig the bucket out and trying to get to the corn that is just out of their reach.
CARPET BOARD
Scent attractants are the latest craze in hog attraction and for good reason.
There are a couple of products on the market now that have a proven track record when it comes to attracting hogs. Many trappers have turned to these products because they are made specifically to attract hogs and will not bring deer into traps like corn will.
Get a piece of ¾” plywood and cut out a square that is 1 ft. x 1 ft. Go to any carpet store and ask for a scrap piece of their thickest shag carpet the same size. Use contact cement (and use a lot) to glue the carpet to the board. Now, bolt the board on the inside back of your trap with the carpet facing in. Do not skimp on securing the carpet to the board or the board to the trap. This thing is gonna take a beating! To bait the trap, soak the carpet with your favorite attractant. It will hold the scent for a long time and will definitely bring the hogs in.
TRAP UNDER FEEDER
Setting a box trap under a feeder or building a large pen trap around a feeder that is set to feed on a timer is a very popular method for bringing in a large number of hogs. The key here is to set your feeder to go off 3‐4 times during the night for short cycles. Keep the trap tied open until you see the hogs going inside regularly. Once the trap is set, you can increase the spin time (corn release) on your feeder. Another trick is to fix a sleeve around the spinner of the feeder so none of the corn is thrown around the trap but rather all dropped straight down into it.
This method will re-bait the trap 3 or 4 times each night and will have the hogs trained on when and where to expect food.
All of the above mentioned techniques will allow you to pack maximum pork into your traps. They will give you multiple chances to catch pigs with just one setting. It’s like having many traps in one! Go catch some hogs.