# rough soil surface



## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

I do not know if this is the correct place for this topic but here goes. I have a major feral hog problem that I am working on as I type. The problem I need help with is my sandy loam soil looks like it has been carpet-bombed with small charges. My land is in a bottom and always has high moisture in the soil and the feral hogs love rooting in it. What is the best implement to level it back out hopefully in one pass? I have a heavy I beam drag that did a half-ass job, 8' blade was a joke. Had a local farmer suggest a disc plow with a heavy drag but that concerns me about losing the coastal that I turn under. Any suggestions?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Have you tried a chisel plow? That would allow your coastal to remain near the surface. Maybe try it out on a small section.

Regards, Mike


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

seventyfourci said:


> I do not know if this is the correct place for this topic but here goes. I have a major feral hog problem that I am working on as I type. The problem I need help with is my sandy loam soil looks like it has been carpet-bombed with small charges. My land is in a bottom and always has high moisture in the soil and the feral hogs love rooting in it. What is the best implement to level it back out hopefully in one pass? I have a heavy I beam drag that did a half-ass job, 8' blade was a joke. Had a local farmer suggest a disc plow with a heavy drag but that concerns me about losing the coastal that I turn under. Any suggestions?


How about a heavy chain drag? Maybe 10 lengths of heavy chain spaced a foot or 2 apart with cross chains at 90 degrees. Like a web of chain.

It would drag the dirt clumps above grade back into the holes below grade without excessively ripping your crop out of the ground?

Ive seen one used to even out top soil top dressing really effectively here on fields with small bumps


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

Mike I usually rip these fields this time of year pulled ripper a little but with the damage, it seems to just turn big clumps of the grass over 18" to 24" clumps. The ripper is similar to a chisel.

JD3430 Most of the holes are 10" to 24" deep I thought about anchor chain like we used to chain land we were clearing but I have not seen any around in a long time. It would take some big chain. The I beam drag and blade are 3 point and the ground is so rough the 3 point could not float.


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## siscofarms (Nov 23, 2010)

land roller full of water ??????? not sure what exactly your dealing with but I rented one a few years ago and it saved a field that I thought was destined for full tillage .


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

sisco I am dealing with feral hog damage in a sandy loam soil with holes 10" to 24" deep over 25 plus acres. I have a 5600 ford down there and 2nd gear will tear the front end up or jar you out of the seat. Last summer I cut it at about 4 mph baled at right at 6mph and you can barely walk across it without breaking an ankle. The roller may be a good idea if I can get it half-ass leveled off first


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

Sounds like you need a road grader or something that can move as much dirt. 
Dualed up tractor with a land plane or pull type grader like an ICON or Garfield. At least then the grader wheels will be going over leveled dirt, not dropping in potholes.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Crazy thought, but do you ever get snow in north Texas? 
I use my truck and snowplow to return earth into ground hog holes or spread out mounds of compost that didn't get spread properly. 
Works great! And since I plow snow as part of my business, I already have the equipment.


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

Farmineer The road grader may be the hot setup but I would have to borrow, buy, or rent the equipment.

Not enough snow here to even have a small walk-behind snowblower. It is a idea though that is why I am on the site lots of people that are not only problem solvers but also people who think outside the box.


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

Guess I'd try a chisel plow, offset discs, then a chain harrow all working in a 90 degree grid like pattern - you know, like lengthwise first and then crosswise.

Maybe you can beg borrow and plead for this equipment if you don't have it? I'm afraid some sort of halfway aggressive tillage is needed from the sounds of it.


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## siscofarms (Nov 23, 2010)

sounds like you need to do some grading , dragging before tillage , move dirt . But I have a question , What are you going to do about the problem that caused the problem so after you do all this work the problem doesn't happen again ? Don't have that problem in ky so I cant feel your pain , but unless you fix the original hog problem , whats keeping it from happening a week after you fix all this back up ?


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## Ray 54 (Aug 2, 2014)

Sounds like a old crawler tractor is needed. I just chisel plowed 14 acres that had a vineyard removed with a excavator. A hole every 6 x 10 foot with a lot of trellis parts like broken t posts. Kept the old D6 in second gear and not to bad. Only one or two really bad times I was not ready for the pitching and drop. The one time really loosed all the old crud in the fuel tank,making a fuel filter change necessary.

If the ground has not set up to much field cultivator and heavy harrow would put a lot of dirt back in the holes. But more passes with a roller or drag to get smooth for nice hay making. I have used old train track,9 inch heavy wall pipe,or roller depending on how much dirt needed to be moved as well as the size of clods. So no one tool that works for all conditions.

But my experience with hogs is they will be back once they find good food. Very hard to move with hunting if they have sanctuary to hid in during day light hours.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

I share a similar problem on upland sandy loam soil. Some interesting suggestions so far, but the implement to correct feral hog rooting damage has not yet been developed. Hogs don't throw the uprooted soil in only one direction, but in all directions. So, running a drag across these rooting holes pulls soil back into the hole as it approaches it and then pulls soil away from the hole as it passes over it. In most cases, a drag does not remain flat or parallel with the soil surface as it goes over these rooted areas but bounces end to end, so a drag by itself is rather useless. And, correcting the damage in one pass is a pipe dream. I've thought about running a roto tiller over the damaged area, but that would really tear up the Coastal bermudagrass roots and sprigs this time of the year.

In the past, I have run my disk harrow towing a huge board plank the width of the disk harrow, and followed by a homemade cattle panel drag weighted down with old truck tires. Do not start repairing the damaged soil surface until the Coastal bermudagrass begins to break dormancy. At this time the soil disturbance will cut up the sprigs of the bermudagrass simulating a sprigging operation. The first pass, if driving too fast will throw you up and down and side to side, so a crawl speed in four wheel drive with the seat belt fastened for the first pass or two is a must. Multiple passes are needed in multiple directions and the damage may still exist but on a much smaller scale. I have gone over hog rooted damaged areas at least six times and the soil surface is still not perfectly smooth.

Repairing feral hog rooting damaged soil using this method, or any other method that disturbs the soil is best done when the soil is very moist and the likely hood of a good rain coming the following night or the next day is high. As soon as possible, like immediately, pull a weighted roller over the disturbed soil to help seal in whatever moisture is left so that the Coastal bermudagrass sprigs don't dry up. This may require repair operations be done a few acres at a time.

Feral hog damage is a pain... to correct and yes it will occur again and there is no sure fire way to stop it unless field fence is put all around your fields. Shooting eliminates one or two, unless you are a better shot at running hogs than I am, and it scares the survivors away for a few nights. Trapping works better, but traps must be baited with corn that is an attractant for even more hogs to come to dinner and tear up more soil on their way to the corn baited trap. A poison that would kill hogs and not critters that eat the dead hogs would be helpful, but the likelihood of a poison being approved may not happen because of the political power of urban "sporting" clubs whose members enjoy hog hunting, and even shoot hogs for hire or guide wanna be hog hunters for profit.

Be careful that you don't totally eliminate all your resident feral hogs, as if that were possible. When AOC and her cohorts eliminate farting cattle and all other means of existing, you can still have something to eat.

Good luck in repairing your hog damaged areas.

Vincent


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

As far as trying to fix the problem that caused the surface problem I have a set of pens that have cattle panels welded to sucker rod cross members 6' tall I modified the loading chute to handle the vermin and I built a trap door that is the length of the gate that I took down. I have been feeding the vermin for three weeks with cameras working and they are getting very comfy coming in. Hell, I even dropped a couple of mineral blocks inside my trap. This trap is 100' wide and 75' deep with one panel to open to a loading chute and if I can catch most of them the ones that will not load I will drop where they stand. The ones I am unable to trap I have another surprise for in a FLIR rifle scope and an M4 under it. Almost every landowner around me leases out to hunters I met with most of the owners and a good portion of the hunters and gave them a heads up that if I was able to there would be little or no hogs to hunt. I have some smaller traps and have caught around 20 but the pack I have seen in-game cameras is nothing to compare. I am headed out after lunch to make the trap door operational and bait it up again. So wish me good luck. Have a good day.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

This is what we use for hogs.

Regards, Mike

https://jagerpro.com/hog-trapping/capture-success-matrix/


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Good Luck Seventyfourci. Looks like you are working in the right direction.

I'm currently building my second tear drop shaped pen trap using eight cattle panels tied to T-posts placed every 8 rectangles, or 3 T-posts per panel for a total of 26 T-posts including the two at the panel ends where the gate will be located. Panels are tied to T-posts using smooth fence wire. I plan on making saloon gates for this trap. My first pen trap was made using corral panels with cattle panels tied to the inside all around, with a saloon gate. This trap has been quite successful over at least seven years. I don't use a camera on this trap, but feed corn until it begins to disappear every night. The evening I set the trap, I feed corn from the trigger in the back of the trap to the front and I'll drop piles of corn from the back to the front of the trap for the first incoming hogs to stop and spend sufficient time eating to allow late comers to also get into the trap before someone gets to the back end of the trap to activate the gate trigger. I try to give any caught hogs except old sows and boars to people who want them for food. All caught hogs are dead when they leave here. Recently, I heard that certain people in Houston, when notified, will come to a farmer's place an buy trapped hogs for food. Maybe we are missing another source of potential income.

It helps if neighbors also are actively trapping hogs on their places. We'll never get them all.


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

When I went out to set a active trigger on my trap I found another 10 plus acres rooted up because of the light rain we have been receiving it made their work much easier. My neighbors do not think there is a hog problem. One neighbor told me his hunters like them out there and they kill 2 or 3 a year. LMAO I guess he thinks feral hogs are like cattle 1 calf a year. I do not think I have anyone close to me that has a clue about the problem and even less know how to go about controlling the population. When I ask if they were seeing any sign 2 of them ask what kind of sign they would leave. I will not bother them anymore. There are 2 buyers in the area but you have to haul them to their yards which increases the chance of being injured dealing with these unfriendly SOB's. I would like to recover some of my expenses but not at a cost of being injured or worse.I do not think the average land owner has a clue howagressive a 350 pound boar can be much less if you make a mistake and end up on the ground inside a enclosure with several large hogs. I know 350 is a very large boar but I have game camera pics and video of a couple that will weigh very close to that and at least 20 over 200 pounds. Several of them have cutters you can see top and bottom. Thanks for the well wishing I may need lots of it.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

seventyfourci said:


> There are 2 buyers in the area but you have to haul them to their yards which increases the chance of being injured dealing with these unfriendly SOB's. I would like to recover some of my expenses but not at a cost of being injured or worse.


Dumb idea of the day perhaps, but what if 'buyers' could get them free. They would need to arrange their own transportation, you just catch them and place a call to come and pick them up. It wouldn't be the recovery of expenses, but a 'savings' of the cost of you're injury/lost of ability to work. That alone could almost be priceless, IMHO.

Larry


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Put a little bait at your neighbors house so he sees the signs in his lawn.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

A thermal on an ar works pretty well on pigs


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

Lewis, I have one on top of an M4. The sounder of hogs I have maybe 40 plus mature adults. If that is the case it will take lots of sleepless nights to get the worst of the SOB's taken care of. In the past where I had had problems after the first night, they will stay away for a given amount of time and not knowing how long that will be you can waste several nights waiting for them and them not showing up.

Dan, the two I made reference to would not see the signs if I baited their livingroom.

Larry, the only two buyers I know of said HELL NO when I asked about them doing a pickup. They said they don't have the equipment or manpower to do it.

I am thinking about talking to a few of the neighbors about me setting up traps on their places. The last thing I want is to get into the hog trapping business.

Mike, that system is really nice but just the trap door is almost 2 grand which is less than what the hogs are costing me.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

danwi said:


> Put a little bait at your neighbors house so he sees the signs in his lawn.


Yep! It's like my know it all neighbor who puts Japanese Beetle traps out in summer. Does a great job of attracting the beetles on MY property over to HIS property. I keep telling him how brilliant he is for putting the traps out. My roses never looked better


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

JD if you were to grab them both by the shoulders and shake them real good you could hear both brain cells rattle around in their skulls, probably sounds the same as two BB's in a boxcar.


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## Ray 54 (Aug 2, 2014)

I have trapped hogs,and not very hard to build a gate. Just used a good rubber tarp strap as the spring to close the gate. The best success was trapping right in the corral. Started feeding 3 heifer for butchering. After they were eating good, us big bags dumped in a old self feeder.What should have been good for 2 weeks was gone in 4 days. I knew there was a problem. So ever hog for miles knew where the feed was and had been coming for weeks already. With other things like predictors many smaller groups of 2 or 3 sows and their young. Some would stay away for days after catching a group.


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## seventyfourci (May 13, 2014)

I locked the trap door back out it seems the big boars and sows do not like the looks of my trap door. I am going to give them some more time to acclimate to the changes to the pens. Only ones going in are little ones with all the signs the mature ones are staying just outside the trap door.

Ray could you send me a pic of your trap door and trigger system it may be a lot of help.

Thanks


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

Sounds like a story a exterminator told me. The big ones (rats) are smart enough to stay back and let the little ones test it out. After 2 weeks and nothing changes, the big ones start to filter in. The trick is timing, and you have to get them all in one night. He had 75 rats in the basement of a vacant commercial building. He had to use snap traps like bear trap style chained to the floor, some went 2#. Ugh, just ugh. I saw the picture on his game camera, looked like a CSI shootout. What a mess (blood).

Hope you get that sounder taken care of, is there any natural predator? I can't imagine the damage, 10 acres at a crack destroyed? Ugh, just ugh.

Hulk out.


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## scout (Jan 14, 2015)

A spike tooth harrow with weights on it works for us on heavy black clay in smoothing out the rough places. That or a disc run lightly, maybe followed with a roller.

For hogs, helicopter hunting has been the best for us. We've trapped and currently use thermals, but the helicopter works best. The virus has shut our local helicopter hunter down so I'm on edge with our cooler, wetter than normal weather and a lot of corn seed in the ground.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Related problem, removing skidder ruts from a leased field today. Hay through them every year for 15 years after trying to blade them out. Offset disc did the trick, first time the field has been plowed in 40 years at least. Didn't get a pic of the ruts I guess, just wide floatation tire ruts a foot deep all mis mashed in every direction.


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## Three44s (May 21, 2016)

You might contact the Night Crew if you and they are in the same area. I am sure there are plenty of other hunters in the area though.

This is how the Night Crew gets around now.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=night+crew+hog+hunting+youtube&docid=608019763743556646&mid=ACA5374095057272A779ACA5374095057272A779&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

https://www.ultimatenightvision.com/ROVIR-640-35mm-p/rovir-0635.htm

They were strictly lights and then they merged their hunting stick after a hunt with Tyler Adar owner of Ultimate Night Vision and hunt with Thermal and lights on predators, just Thermal on hogs.

Three44s


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

I did read this a while back and am ashame did not think of these then, a pull type box blade should work real well, more like road grader. The other is an arena rake.

https://www.legendlandsupply.com/6-spin-groomer-arena-rake-p/mcm-ar6.htm

Maybe you can borrow one of these.


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