Panel selection is key to retaining feral pigs in your trap. Several types of commercial livestock panels are commonly used to build corral trap enclosures, however, they are not effective at retaining feral pigs. These domestic hog, sheep, goat, cattle and horse panels range in heights between 34 and 60 inches tall, normally 16 feet long and contain mesh openings from two inches apart up to six inches apart.
Commercial Livestock Panels
Domestic Hog Panel
A commercial hog panel used to hold domestic hogs is 16 feet long and only 34 inches tall. The bottom horizontal bars are two inches tall for the first 10 inches then spread to four and six-inch tall openings. The commercial hog panel is only designed for domestic hogs as wild pigs will easily escape over the top.
Figure 1: Adult wild pig escaping over the top of a commercial hog panel.
Cattle Panel
The next group is labeled as cattle or combination panels. The cattle panel is 50 inches tall and 16 feet long. The bottom two horizontal bars are four inches tall then spread to six inches. This panel dimension will not hold pigs younger than nine weeks old at the bottom. Adults will expand the six-inch by eight-inch openings and break the welds creating a trap enclosure which is prone to fail.
Figure 2: Nine week old piglet escaping through a cattle panel.
Figure 3: Adult wild pigs will expand the six-inch by eight-inch openings on cattle panels and break the welds.
Utility Panel
The next type is labeled as a sheep, goat or utility panel. They are either 48 or 60 inches tall and 16 feet long with mesh openings four inches wide by four inches tall. This panel dimension will not hold pigs younger than three weeks old and adult feral hogs will easily escape over the top.
Figure 4: Three week old piglet escaping through a four-inch by four-inch opening of a utility panel.
Figure 5: Adult wild pig jumping over a 48-inch tall utility panel.
Horse Panel
The final type is labeled as a horse panel. They are 60 inches tall and 16 feet long. Their mesh openings are only two inches wide by four inches tall and will hold both juvenile and adult feral pigs. The negatives associated with using horse panels is they cost twice as much as other panels and weigh 75 pounds which requires two people to carry them. The tight two-inch wide by four-inch tall pattern creates a panel which is visually noticeable against the night sky from ground level which can negatively affect the behavior of trap resistant hogs.
Professional-Grade Wild Hog Panels
Flexible 18-60™ Trap Panel
Using the above information, JAGER PRO® designed and patented a more effective panel for trapping wild hogs. It is 16 feet long with 18 horizontal bars reaching 60 inches in height. The bottom six horizontal bars are only two inches apart then the next four horizontal bars spread to three inches apart which makes the bottom 24 inches impossible for the youngest piglet to escape. The next three horizontal bars spread to four inches apart and the top four horizontal bars spread to six inches apart creating 36 inches of visually open space at the top which helps this panel design blend into the night sky from ground level. The 18-60™ panel weighs and costs 20% less than a commercial horse panel and is the most cost effective panel design on the market to retain both juvenile and adult wild hogs.
Figure 6: M.I.N.E.® Trapping System constructed with six flexible 18-60™ trap panels capturing 20 feral pigs.
8′ Rigid 18-60™ Trap Panel
JAGER PRO® also manufactures their 18-60™ patented design in an eight feet long version which is welded on galvanized one-inch steel stock enabling a single person to erect the very best trap enclosure in 30 minutes or less. The rigid, portable, trap panel height is increased to 68 inches tall to match the M.I.N.E.® Gate. Make sure you are selecting the correct panel when doing a panel selection analysis.
Figure 7: M.I.N.E.® Trapping System constructed with twelve (eight foot long) rigid 18-60™ trap panels capturing 12/12 feral pigs.
