Another Step Closer To Feral Hog Control?

The Louisiana Soybean, Grain Research and Promotion Board provided funding to Dr. Glen Gentry at the Idlewild Research Station to Find ways of controlling feral hogs. One bait method studied was encapsulation.

“We went down that road. It was very, very time consuming and can be expensive,” says Gentry.

“Basically you’re trying to encapsulate these particles, that look like salt particles, to protect them from the atmosphere. But at the same time have them released in the digestive tract of the pig.”

But about a year or so ago, “we changed the Ph of the bait matrix to where it’s slightly alkaline,” says Gentry. “Above 7 to 7 1/2 on up, the sodium nitrate doesn’t decompose or change form. So it doesn’t’ need to be encapsulated, which makes the bait processing and bait manufacture , much, much easier and it still kills pigs.”