Save the Diesel for the Truck, Not the Hogs.

• Diesel is a terrible way to bait feral hog traps.
• The fuel is a contaminant that poisons land and water.
• It makes wild pigs sick, so they avoid your traps.

For years, the most popular way to lure feral hogs into a trap involved diesel-soaked corn. This mix was intended to repel non-target species while attracting the ever-curious and ever-hungry feral hog.

At Pig Brig® Trap Systems we strongly discourage the use of diesel fuel in the management of feral hogs. 

Diesel is a contaminant, plain and simple. Dousing corn with it causes point-source pollution that damages the land and possibly the water we’re all trying to protect. Something about that just doesn’t make sense to us, and it probably doesn’t to you either.

Those aren’t the only problems with using diesel fuel as bait. It also:

• Causes hogs to get sick and avoid your bait
• May make the hog meat less suitable for consumption
• Causes point-source pollution, which is bad for the land and bad for the water.

Many of the trapping locations we recommend are near streams, trees and other important natural resources. When you add diesel to the mix, it can contaminate water sources, livestock watering ponds and creeks — and that puts other plants and animals in danger.

To us, it doesn’t make sense to solve one problem — invasive wild hogs — by creating a new one. 

The problem was the trap, not the bait

The primary reason trappers started using diesel fuel is its ability to attract hogs while deterring non-target species. But we’ve seen it isn’t particularly effective at either. 

For decades, trapping feral hogs involved rudimentary corral traps with manually activated triggers which were frequently tripped by non-target species. It’s frustrating when you come back to your trap to find a deer where you expected to see a wild boar.

It’s a frustration we’ve all had, but we know there are better answers than diesel fuel. Pigs may feed on diesel-soaked corn for a short time before they are themselves repelled. You have many options that won’t appeal to non-target species, including blood meal, emulsified egg solids, fermented rice, etc. See How to Bait a Pig Trap for more ideas.

The solution?

What’s easier (and more effective) than a gated corral trap? A Pig Brig Trap. It’s not only effective, it’s simple. We’ve worked hard to create tactics and strategies that make the Pig Brig even more effective at avoiding trapping non-target species with no diesel, so you don’t have to pollute your land to get rid of your feral hog problem.

So remember — save the diesel for your trucks, not the hogs.