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A pack of feral hogs in a field at the LSU AgCenter Bob R. Jones-Idlewild Research Station. Photo by Olivia McClure
The past year saw a major milestone in the battle against feral swine when scientists with the LSU AgCenter and LSU Department of Chemistry received a patent for their sodium nitrite bait that is lethal to hogs.
The patent — the result of years of work aimed at finding an effective way of controlling skyrocketing feral hog populations — was awarded in August 2023.
Since then, research has continued, with the focus now being placed on environmental testing, shelf-life studies and bait delivery methods. These steps are required before the bait can be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and released to the public.
“We want to make sure that the bait holds up under the Louisiana environment and delivers as promised,” said Glen Gentry, an animal scientist and director of the AgCenter Bob R. Jones-Idlewild Research Station near Clinton, where much of the feral hog research has taken place.
The bait that Gentry and his team developed has a texture similar to gummy bears and a fishy taste that is appealing to hogs. It uses sodium nitrite as a toxicant. Hogs become sleepy and die within three hours of consuming the bait, which is shaped into golf ball-sized spheres.
If any bait is left behind, the sodium nitrite eventually breaks down into compounds that do not harm other species or present environmental concerns.
LSU AgCenter and LSU Department of Chemistry scientists received a patent for their sodium nitrite bait, which is lethal to feral hogs, in August 2023. Photo by Olivia McClure
Feral hogs have been a growing concern across rural America in recent years. In Louisiana, their population has exploded in the past decade. Experts believe there are about 1 million of the animals in the state, where they cause an estimated
$91 million in damage annually.
The hogs travel in packs, rooting up crop fields in search of food. They reproduce rapidly, making it difficult to bring their numbers under control. While hunting and trapping can help, a better solution has long been needed. Gentry said the bait will give agricultural producers and landowners an effective option.
“This bait, once approved, will give stakeholders another tool in the toolbox to combat the damage inflected on agricultural crops by feral swine,” Gentry said. “This should allow the reduction of their population to more manageable numbers.”
