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Stopping hogs in their tracks
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
By Cherry Young
Graham Leader Article
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
By Cherry Young
Graham Leader Article
Garrett Pettus, left, stands with hired guns near some hog-caused landscaping devastation at Pettus' home near Graham. Hogstoppers Ron, Darrell and Byron Corbyn along with dogs Buddy, Ben and Splash travel the state helping landowners rid their property o
Young County seems to have become hog heaven, but for many landowners it's more like hog Hades.
People have tried traps, snares, shooting and even aerial shooting with little results.
"They won't even go in traps. They're pretty darn smart animals," said Garrett Pettus. He said pigs are at the top of the list of the world's smartest animals.
So Pettus chose to hire some experts to clear his land of the destructive creatures, and he found the people to hire the same way most people find things these days.
"I Googled it," he said, and he came up with Hogstoppers.com.
The outfit based out of Fredricksburg is made up two sets of fathers and sons. Ron Corbyn and his boys, Darrell and Byron, turned what was an expensive hobby into a business about five years ago. Along with their yellow Labrador retriever "Ben" and his two pups "Splash" and "Buddy," they tracked and killed 12 hogs on the Pettus place in three days.
The hogs had been tearing up his yard, and Pettus reasoned that calling the Corbyns would be cost-effective.
"It's better to pay them to remove the hogs versus replacing the sprinkler system and landscaping," he said.
Feral hogs can do a great deal of costly damage. Ron Corbyn illustrated that point by describing what one of his clients, the Kingsland golf course, told him.
"Every time the hogs had come in, it was $10,000," he said.
Hogs have also been known to cause problems with deer populations by helping themselves to feeders and killing fawns.
Pettus went in with his adjacent neighbors, David Golden and Don George of Fort Worth, to hire the hog stoppers. The Corbyns recommend this because otherwise the pigs can move back and forth between the properties.
Ron said land to the southwest of Pettus' ranch is where many of the hogs are coming from.
"His wheat field was full of hogs last night. That's a hog manufacturing area. They have a little paradise down there with wallows and mud," he said.
Darrell added, "One was so big his jowls were sloppy fat."
The Corbyns hunt whenever the landowner will allow. If there are no restrictions, they let the hogs determine the times they go out. Last week, they hunted late at night, working 16 to 17 hours a day tracking the pigs' habits.
Hog hunting can be dangerous business. Byron had a pretty close call one night last week.
"I had the light on the gun, and they all came right toward me and one put his head down and butted my leg," he said.
He was not injured, but Darrell said he has come to recognize the hogs here as being more dangerous.
"These hogs are meaner around here than we're used to. He's (Darrell) been charged four times," said Ron.
"These big boars will growl almost like a lion," Darrell added.
Despite having some fairly serious equipment, like night vision scopes, Ron will tell you his most effective tools are his dogs.
He trained them himself from puppies by starting them out on rabbits and squirrels.
"Just to look at them you wouldn't know they're hog dogs. They're just as sweet as you're average backyard dog," he said.
The Corbyns' method is fairly simple. They get downwind with the dogs and when they hit a scent they go straight toward the hogs.
"They'll go through the thickest brush, and we get in there after them as fast as we can with guns, crawling on hands and knees," said Darrell.
Ron said the dogs can follow hogs into even thickest brush, but when they are in dense brush they are careful not to get too close.
A wild hog could make short work of any dog.
"It's as dangerous as the dickens. I wouldn't do it," he said.
Pettus said he has been having hog problems for about three years, and it has been getting worse over time. Darrell said that is because hogs get braver over time. He added that once a hunt occurs, it takes hogs a long time to build up their courage again.
Without some control, Ron said some landowners become prisoners on their own land. He said he has heard of sows charging people when they try to walk to their cars.
He said one of the most important things a property owner can do is rethink how they care for their livestock.
"They need to find a better way to feed cattle instead of feeding hogs at the same time," he said.
Young County seems to have become hog heaven, but for many landowners it's more like hog Hades.
People have tried traps, snares, shooting and even aerial shooting with little results.
"They won't even go in traps. They're pretty darn smart animals," said Garrett Pettus. He said pigs are at the top of the list of the world's smartest animals.
So Pettus chose to hire some experts to clear his land of the destructive creatures, and he found the people to hire the same way most people find things these days.
"I Googled it," he said, and he came up with Hogstoppers.com.
The outfit based out of Fredricksburg is made up two sets of fathers and sons. Ron Corbyn and his boys, Darrell and Byron, turned what was an expensive hobby into a business about five years ago. Along with their yellow Labrador retriever "Ben" and his two pups "Splash" and "Buddy," they tracked and killed 12 hogs on the Pettus place in three days.
The hogs had been tearing up his yard, and Pettus reasoned that calling the Corbyns would be cost-effective.
"It's better to pay them to remove the hogs versus replacing the sprinkler system and landscaping," he said.
Feral hogs can do a great deal of costly damage. Ron Corbyn illustrated that point by describing what one of his clients, the Kingsland golf course, told him.
"Every time the hogs had come in, it was $10,000," he said.
Hogs have also been known to cause problems with deer populations by helping themselves to feeders and killing fawns.
Pettus went in with his adjacent neighbors, David Golden and Don George of Fort Worth, to hire the hog stoppers. The Corbyns recommend this because otherwise the pigs can move back and forth between the properties.
Ron said land to the southwest of Pettus' ranch is where many of the hogs are coming from.
"His wheat field was full of hogs last night. That's a hog manufacturing area. They have a little paradise down there with wallows and mud," he said.
Darrell added, "One was so big his jowls were sloppy fat."
The Corbyns hunt whenever the landowner will allow. If there are no restrictions, they let the hogs determine the times they go out. Last week, they hunted late at night, working 16 to 17 hours a day tracking the pigs' habits.
Hog hunting can be dangerous business. Byron had a pretty close call one night last week.
"I had the light on the gun, and they all came right toward me and one put his head down and butted my leg," he said.
He was not injured, but Darrell said he has come to recognize the hogs here as being more dangerous.
"These hogs are meaner around here than we're used to. He's (Darrell) been charged four times," said Ron.
"These big boars will growl almost like a lion," Darrell added.
Despite having some fairly serious equipment, like night vision scopes, Ron will tell you his most effective tools are his dogs.
He trained them himself from puppies by starting them out on rabbits and squirrels.
"Just to look at them you wouldn't know they're hog dogs. They're just as sweet as you're average backyard dog," he said.
The Corbyns' method is fairly simple. They get downwind with the dogs and when they hit a scent they go straight toward the hogs.
"They'll go through the thickest brush, and we get in there after them as fast as we can with guns, crawling on hands and knees," said Darrell.
Ron said the dogs can follow hogs into even thickest brush, but when they are in dense brush they are careful not to get too close.
A wild hog could make short work of any dog.
"It's as dangerous as the dickens. I wouldn't do it," he said.
Pettus said he has been having hog problems for about three years, and it has been getting worse over time. Darrell said that is because hogs get braver over time. He added that once a hunt occurs, it takes hogs a long time to build up their courage again.
Without some control, Ron said some landowners become prisoners on their own land. He said he has heard of sows charging people when they try to walk to their cars.
He said one of the most important things a property owner can do is rethink how they care for their livestock.
"They need to find a better way to feed cattle instead of feeding hogs at the same time," he said.
