After more tests, feral hog poison returns to Texas market
After nearly seven years, Kaput Feral Hog Bait is returning to the market for Texas farmers looking for a way to deal with the state’s rampant feral hog problem.
The bait containing warfarin, a blood thinner that is poisonous to hogs, was registered for statewide use Feb. 1 for people with a pesticide applicator license. Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller fully supports its use in the state.
The product is expected to be available on shelves in the spring.
“It’ll eradicate them. If you have hogs on your property that are devastating your crops and your field, you can put this bait out and eliminate the problem,” Miller said. “It goes right to the source of the problem.”
It was first approved back in 2017 with support from Miller and the backing of the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service. Miller said his team had
done research at the time that demonstrated it was safe.
But Kaput pulled the product before it was officially released a few months later, claiming threats of lawsuits. Miller said there was a lot of misinformation during those few months with panic and hysteria “propagated by the opposition.”
At least one lawsuit was filed at the time, which led to a state district judge blocking the initial ruling from Miller. The Texas House
also approved a bill stating all potentially lethal pesticides must be subject to state or university research prior to approval.
The bait underwent more study. New research released last year found the bait effective, setting it up to return to the marketplace.
“If the landowner follows a very specific application protocol, actually teaches the pigs how to feed out of a hog-specific feeder and integrates a nontoxic bait over several weeks before they ever introduce a hot bait, the product does kill the pigs effectively,” Texas Wildlife Services director Mike Bodenchuk said after the research was publicized.
Bodenchuk said the warfarinbased bait is not going to solve all feral hog problems. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension wildlife specialist John Tomecek said in a statement after the research was released that no non-hogs had access to the bait when the feeders are used correctly. Warfarin is found in rat poison but the feral hog bait has only 20% of the warfarin in rat poison.
Kaput Feral Hog Bait includes a blue dye that turns a pig’s fatty tissues blue when they eat it so farmers can know which animals have been poisoned. The health risk to humans is low.
Feral hogs are a major problem for farmers in the state of Texas, with Miller noting a 2018 estimate of the animal causing $500 million in property and crop damages across Texas.
Miller thinks that number is low, and he estimated that there was $5 billion worth of damage from the feral hogs over the seven years the product was off the market.
“Feral hogs, wild pigs — whatever you call them, they are one of the most destructive invasive species in Texas and the U.S. today,” Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening told Texas Agriculture Daily. “The environmental damage they cause is staggering, and disease risks to humans and other animals are very real. This toxicant is another way to try to get control of the fast-growing population and limit the damage they can do.”
There are now two baits Texas farmers can use to try to curb the rampant problem. In addition to Kaput, Hogstop is also available. Hogstop is not a poison but instead is a contraceptive that stops a male hog’s ability to reproduce.
Miller said he doesn’t expect to add another feral hog bait product to the market anytime soon.
“I don’t see a need for any other product other than these two.”