Where To Put A Hog Trap

How To Identify The Right Location 

Good feral hog trap placement is an important first step toward catching the whole sounder. The Pig Brig Trap System is simple, durable and with a little preplanning – far more effective than expensive, heavy, remotely triggered-gate traps. This makes identifying the right location to set up your trap much easier, making even the most densely overgrown location accessible.

Thankfully feral pigs make finding the right location easier for us than you might expect. They are, like most humans, creatures of habit. They like to find comfortable places where they feel safe, and regularly travel to and from those locations until they get spooked. 

This can work in your favor, or against you.

Step 1: Identify Feeding and Bedding Locations

The two locations wild pigs frequent the most are where they feed and where they bed. Wild pigs, like most animals, want to conserve energy so they like to have their food and shelter pretty close to each other to limit the distance they have to travel. This is particularly true in hot climates like Texas, Florida and all those southern states in between.

Once you identify where your wild pigs are feeding and bedding, you can use this to your advantage.

First and foremost, you do not want to disrupt their comfort zones. When setting your trap don’t get too close to either of these locations because that will scare the feral pigs away, scattering the sounder and limiting your capture opportunities.

You can think of these feeding and bedding zones like your own bedroom and kitchen.

If someone placed a photograph of a Pig Brig Trap System in the middle of your bed or on the floor in front of your refrigerator, you’d notice it right away, and wonder how it got there. 

However, if someone hung a photo on the wall in the hallway between the bedroom and kitchen — a place where you’re used to seeing pictures — you might not even notice. Can you even think about the last time you really stopped on your way to your morning coffee and paid attention to the photographs in your hallway? 

(If you do have a picture of your Pig Brig Trap System in your hallway though, we certainly wouldn’t judge you. In fact, we think that sounds like a pretty good way to decorate a home!)

For a wild hog, you can imagine their hallway as the route between their feeding and bedding locations. High traffic, but forgettable. That’s where you want to be.

Step 2: Use The Land To Your Advantage

As farmers, hunters, and landowners, you’re no stranger to utilizing the natural features of your property to your advantage. When identifying a location for your trap system, you want to do the same.

Natural pinch points allow you to better attract pigs to your Pig Brig Trap System. Wooded areas and similar land types can offer natural features that funnel wild pigs into smaller, more trappable locations.

Pigs are cautious so they like the safety and shade that a tree line or high brush offers. You may even find their “hallway” in a more densely forested area – a place where big gated traps just can’t go. No worries, with the Pig Brig Trap. In fact, we also offer instructions on how to set up your Pig Brig Trap System using trees instead of T-posts.

General Location Considerations

When identifying your trap location it’s also important to consider how you’ll be setting up the trap itself. The ground around your trap can impact set-up and trapping success.

Ground considerations:

• Soil type: is it hard or soft?
• Activity: Has the site been shredded or rooted previously?
• Landscape: Is there foliage and tree coverage?

All of these play an important part in how you treat the site prior to setting up your trap system. For typical firm ground we suggest 6.5’ T-posts, but with softer soil, we recommend longer T-posts (approximately 7’) to ensure the stability and strength of your trap.

If you find that your trap is still having stability issues, we recommend adding an additional ground anchor or even a second T-post. 

This is especially helpful in locations with sugar sand.

Natural foliage can be used to create shade for wild pigs after they have been caught. This will prevent them from suffering from heat exhaustion. But it’s also important to consider this overhang further when considering safety.

If you’re trapping in a location that freezes during winter, or gets enough snowfall where broken limbs are a concern you need to take note of these limbs when setting up your trap. They can pose a risk to your safety and your trap.

You’ll also need to consider what we call widow makers when setting up your trap. These are rotten or dead branches that could be hanging above your trap. These pose a significant risk to your safety, and you want to always avoid them. Getting the perfect trap location is not worth losing your life.

Once you find your desired spot, it is time to set up your Pig Brig trap. Place the center post and then scan the circular perimeter about ten feet out from center. Look for large rocks or other obstacles that could land where you want to drive a post. Remove them if you can or reposition the circle a bit to avoid them.

This is when previous site activity becomes important. Wild hog’s natural rooting behavior may have left small wood from stumps in the ground. These will have to be removed before setting up your trap. 

These can prevent the netting from moving properly during use.

Other Considerations When Trapping

It’s important to remember that your traps and pigs don’t [exist in a vacuum], and you need to consider other animals and people who are on your property when deciding on a trapping location.

If you’re working with an active livestock rotation, we recommend trapping behind them. Tasty nuggets of undigested feed, and lower grass make these locations perfect for setting up your trap and attracting wild pigs.

It’s important to remember that feral hogs are aggressive and will attack humans when provoked so you want to keep the location of your traps on a need-to-know basis.

It’s dangerous for any person lacking experience to attempt to release the wild pigs once they’re trapped. These are wild animals and they will attack if they feel threatened — notice the warning sign present on every Pig Brig Trap System. Always be aware, cautious, and with a partner or group when dealing with trapped wild hogs.

Impacts on your trapping effectiveness aren’t necessarily due to your site selection. Seasonal differences can have significant impacts on the effectiveness of your trap and how plentiful alternative nutritious food sources could be available.

Trap Maintenance and Storage

The Pig Brig Trap System is made from a durable, double layer of netting that is designed to survive an entire sounder going full force against it. But, proper storage can extend the life of your trap even further.

If you don’t plan to use your trap for longer than sixty days, we recommend taking the net down and storing in a dry area. 

While it’s designed to fit in a tote sack, we don’t recommend storing your trap in one long-term. A 30 to 50-gallon lidded plastic container ensures protection from the elements and rodents when stored for long periods of time.

Before storage, and periodically while storing, you should open the container with your trap system and allow it to breathe.

You want to ensure that you replace any ground anchors that have become kinked as these can be a weakness over time.

Let’s work together to find the ideal trap placement

Your Pig Brig trap system is here to work with you, so don’t forget to take care of it, and trap the whole sounder. As always, if you have any questions about trap placement or storing your Pig Brig send your questions our way at hello@pigbrig.com, or via chat or phone. 

Don’t forget to stay safe, and happy trapping!