Abstract
ABSTRACTToxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the United States. Use of toxic bait sites by non‐target species is concerning because of the risks posed from exposure to a toxic bait. A 2018 field trial in northern Texas, USA, examining the efficacy of a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE®, containing 10% sodium nitrite) revealed unexpected hazards to non‐target species, primarily passerine birds, from consuming toxic bait spilled outside of bait stations by wild pigs. The hazards jeopardize the ability to register HOGGONE as a tool for controlling wild pigs. We conducted apost hocanalysis from that 2018 trial to identify how daily and landscape factors influenced the use of bait sites by non‐target species, and subsequent hazards from consuming the toxic bait. We discovered that no single strategy can eliminate visitations by all non‐target species, but offering the toxic bait at night, in wild‐pig specific bait stations, and in more homogeneous landscapes appeared to be the best strategy for minimizing visits by passerine birds. We also found that use of bait sites by wild pigs were temporally clustered, and more pigs visited bait sites along linear features of the landscape (e.g., agricultural edges or riparian corridors). We recommend a baiting strategy where applicators do not place bait stations directly at sites where remnant particles of grain (from prebaiting) are available on the ground. Published 2021. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Highlights
Wild pigs (Sus scrofa), termed feral hogs, feral pigs, feral swine, invasive wild pigs, or wild boar (Keiter et al 2016), are a destructive invasive species that have been introduced throughout much of the world (Seward et al 2004, Bevins et al 2014)
The experimental trial resulted in reducing the population of wild pigs by ~70% in 1–2 nights of toxic baiting at 14 bait sites, it resulted in 171 bird mortalities and 8 raccoon mortalities from consuming HOGGONE spilled outside of the bait stations by wild pigs (United States Department of Agriculture 2018)
Passerine birds experienced the greatest hazards from HOGGONE in the 2018 trial (United States Department of Agriculture 2018), and our results show that those hazards increased as more passerine birds were present at bait sites
Summary
Wild pigs (Sus scrofa), termed feral hogs, feral pigs, feral swine, invasive wild pigs, or wild boar (Keiter et al 2016), are a destructive invasive species that have been introduced throughout much of the world (Seward et al 2004, Bevins et al 2014). Baiting for wild pigs without attracting non‐target species would be most successful when non‐target populations are low during their annual population cycle or have migrated elsewhere, and when availability of preferred foods are at a minimum (Sweetapple et al 2002, Howald et al 2007, Lavelle et al 2017). The presence of non‐target species during baiting for population control of wild pigs using toxic baits increases the probabilities of non‐target mortalities from consumption of the bait (Campbell et al 2011, Lapidge et al 2012, Snow et al 2017c, Lavelle et al 2018a). We wanted to evaluate data from the 2018 HOGGONE trial to examine for any attributes from daily baiting procedures or surrounding landscape that could inform strategies for reducing non‐target animals at bait sites
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