Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Wild pigs have one of the widest global distributions of any invasive species, and damage associated with them has been documented for centuries. Previously, a field trial was performed in 2015 to evaluate the use of paraffin bait formulations containing warfarin to control wild pigs. While the results of this study were satisfactory, prior research suggests that a cracked corn-based alternative could successfully deliver warfarin to wild pigs and the authors indicated caveats associated with their study that should be addressed. For the current study, a field trial was conducted (2017), as a continuation of the prior research, to evaluate the use of a 0.005% warfarin cracked corn bait in reducing feral hogs, utilizing an alternative feeder type. Results indicated warfarin bait could reduce wild pig consumption and presence at feeders by 92-96.4%. The results also indicated that the feeder use during the current trial was superior in keeping non-targets from accessing the bait, yet potentially more difficult for wild pigs to utilize than previously used commercial feeders. Results further indicated that wild pig presence at feeders was noticeably greater during the current field trial. The availability of an alternative warfarin bait formulation could provide an additional tool to managers to control wild pigs in North Texas and the remainder of ever-expanding wild pig habitat in the U.S and potentially globally.