Feral Hog Removal in East Texas
Palestine · Elkhart · Fairfield · Buffalo · Mexia · Crockett · Huntsville · and the Trinity River corridor in between
Hogs tore up your pasture. We take them off your hands — and on qualifying property, we do it for nothing. Whole-sounder trapping, thermal drone control, and nineteen years on this ground.
Here is the catch, stated up front.
We clear the hogs off your place and charge you nothing. In return we want written season access to hunt it, run night drone control, and bring guided clients. That is the entire deal. We would rather tell you exactly what we get out of it than have you wonder.
Why shooting them never worked
You have probably already tried. Sat the pasture, shot one or two, felt like you got somewhere. Then they were back, and there were more of them, and you never saw them in daylight again.
There is a reason for that. Research out of Texas A&M and the USDA is consistent on it: you have to remove 70 to 75 percent of a sounder at one time to actually suppress the population. Anything less and you have not thinned them, you have trained them. Survivors go nocturnal, shift range, and breed back faster than you removed them. Sows can produce two litters a year.
Single cage traps do the same damage. You catch two out of a group of twelve and the other ten will never walk into a trap again. That is why the corn-and-a-cage approach fails on almost every property we get called to.
Whole-sounder removal is not a better version of what you were doing. It is a different thing entirely, and it is the only approach that moves the number.
How a removal program runs
Survey
Cellular cameras go up first. We learn how many hogs are using your place, which trails, and what hours.
Condition
Bait conditioning until the whole sounder is comfortable feeding in one spot. This is the slow part and it cannot be rushed.
Capture
One coordinated capture with a corral or drop trap and a remote trigger. The whole group, not the two that walked in first.
Clean up
Thermal drone and night work on the stragglers the trap did not get. Legal, hogs only, gunners on the ground.
Document
Counts, dates and photos of every hog that came off your property. You see exactly what you got.
Three ways to work with us
Most landowners take the first one. All three start with the same property assessment and cost you nothing to ask about.
You have hogs and huntable ground. We remove them at no cost and ask for written season access in exchange — hogs and predators, night drone control, and guided clients.
No corn bills. No trap purchase. No labor on your end. We haul them off.
Qualifying: 100+ acres, active hog sign, and access we can use.
Want to keep tighter control over who is on your place? We will build a reduced-rate program with limited access terms — weekday only, hogs only, or a defined block of acreage.
Good fit for properties with an existing deer lease or family hunting already in place.
Small acreage, subdivisions, residential, commercial, golf course, municipal or right-of-way. Priced per hog or on a monthly program.
No trade, no strings, no access. Just the job done and documented.
The trade, in plain terms
What you get
- Whole-sounder trapping at no cost
- Thermal drone night control
- Photo and count documentation of every hog
- General liability naming you as additional insured
- The hunting lease license filing handled and paid
- No corn bills, no traps to buy, no labor
- We haul the hogs off — you never touch one
What we get
- Written season access to hunt hogs and predators
- Permission to bring guided clients
- Permission to run night drone control
- On Trinity River property: river and bank access
- Deer access only if you offer it, negotiated separately
The hunting side is a real business, not a formality — we run guided thermal hog hunts across this same ground, and that is exactly why free removal pencils out for us.
What we do not do: show up unannounced, bring people you have not approved, leave gates open, leave trash, or hunt anything not named in the agreement. Every partnership runs on a one-page written agreement so both of us know exactly where we stand.
Where we work
We run the same corridor our guide service has worked since 2007 — the Trinity and Brazos bottomlands from Anderson County down through Walker County. This is not a franchise territory drawn on a map. It is ground we know.
Palestine
Anderson CountyOur home ground. Trinity River bottomland, thick creek cover, and the heaviest hog pressure in the county. We have worked this ground since 2007.
Elkhart
Anderson CountySmall acreage and hay meadows south of Palestine. Sounders move between the creek bottoms and pasture at night — classic whole-sounder trapping country.
Fairfield
Freestone CountyCattle country and lake-adjacent property. Hogs hammer stock tanks and food plots here, and fence damage runs high.
Buffalo
Leon CountyRanch and timber mix along the I-45 corridor. Big sounders, big country, and properties large enough to run a full trapping and drone program.
Mexia
Limestone CountyOpen pasture and river drainages between Corsicana and Waco. Different terrain than the bottomlands, so we adjust trap placement accordingly.
Crockett
Houston CountyDeep timber and Davy Crockett National Forest edge property. Hogs bed thick and feed out at dark — thermal drone work earns its keep here.
Huntsville
Walker CountyOur southern base. About an hour from Houston, heavy hog numbers, and the ground our guide Holden Langley already runs thermal drone hunts on.
Also serving
Teague · Centerville · Grapeland · Lovelady · Oakwood · Wortham · Groesbeck · Cayuga · Tennessee Colony · Frankston · Athens · Corsicana · Trinity · Riverside · New Waverly · Madisonville · Coldspring · Livingston · and the surrounding Anderson, Freestone, Leon, Limestone, Houston, Navarro, Trinity, Madison, Walker, Polk and Liberty county communities.
What hogs are costing you
Pasture & hay
Rooting turns a hay meadow into something you cannot run a cutter through. Replanting costs run into the thousands per acre.
Crops & food plots
A sounder can flatten a food plot in one night and will come back to the same spot until it is gone.
Fence & gates
Hogs go under, through, and around. Every breach is a cattle problem waiting to happen.
Water & erosion
Wallowed stock tanks, fouled water, and blown-out creek banks that keep washing after they leave.
Livestock disease
Feral hogs carry disease that moves to cattle and hogs. It is the risk nobody prices until it happens.
Statewide
Roughly $52 million a year in Texas ag damage, up to $500 million across all categories, and $130 million a year spent trying to control them.
Why us and not a pest control company
Garzilla has worked the Trinity River corridor since 2007. Seven boats, multiple guides, clients from more than 172 countries, 41 IGFA world records, and credits on BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet and ITV. Bubba Bedre sits on the Texas Parks and Wildlife freshwater fisheries advisory committee.
None of that removes a hog. What it does mean is that we already know these bottomlands, these landowners, and these hogs — and we are not going anywhere. A trapping outfit out of Houston is on your place for three weeks. We have been on this river for nineteen years and we will still be here when you call about something else.
It also means we do not have to charge you the way a pest control company does. They are selling you an invoice. We are trading you a service for ground.
Questions landowners ask
Do you really remove feral hogs for free?
On qualifying properties, yes. We do not charge for removal when the landowner grants us written season hunting access in exchange. That is the whole trade and we state it up front. Qualifying generally means 100 acres or more, active hog sign, and access we can actually use. If your place does not qualify, we will quote you a fair removal price instead.
What is the catch?
There is no hidden catch, but there is a trade. We are a guide service, not a pest control company. We need good ground to hunt and guide on, and you need fewer hogs. We remove your hogs at no cost, and in return we get written permission to hunt hogs and predators on your place, run night drone control, and bring guided clients. Everything is spelled out in a one-page agreement so nobody is guessing later.
What if I do not want to give hunting access?
Then we price the job. Contract removal runs on either a per-hog fee or a monthly program depending on the property, and no access is required. Subdivisions, small acreage, commercial property, golf courses and municipal work all fall in this bucket.
What towns and counties do you cover?
Palestine and Elkhart in Anderson County, Fairfield in Freestone County, Buffalo in Leon County, Mexia in Limestone County, Crockett in Houston County, and Huntsville in Walker County. We also work Navarro, Trinity, Madison, Polk and Liberty counties and the towns in between — Teague, Centerville, Grapeland, Lovelady, Oakwood, Wortham, Groesbeck, Cayuga, Tennessee Colony, Frankston, Athens, Corsicana, Riverside, New Waverly and Madisonville. If you are in the Trinity or Brazos corridor, call and ask.
Why has shooting them not worked?
Because of how sounders respond to pressure. Research from Texas A&M and the USDA holds that you have to remove 70 to 75 percent of a sounder at one time to actually suppress the population. Shoot one or two and you educate the rest — they go nocturnal, shift to the next pasture, and come back with more. Single cage traps do the same thing: you catch two and teach ten. Whole-sounder removal is the only approach that moves the number.
How does your removal program actually work?
Five stages. First we run cellular cameras to learn how many hogs are using your place and when. Then we bait-condition the sounder so the whole group is comfortable feeding in one spot. Then one coordinated capture with a corral or drop trap. Then thermal drone and night work on whatever the trap did not get. Then documentation — counts, dates and photos of every hog that came off your property.
How long does it take?
Plan on two to four weeks for the first pass on most properties. Camera survey and bait conditioning are the slow part and they cannot be rushed without blowing the sounder. After that, ongoing control is a much lighter lift because we already know the ground.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. We carry general liability and we will name you as additional insured on the policy for your property. You get a certificate of insurance before we set foot on the place.
Do I need a license or permit for this?
You do not need a hunting license for anyone to take feral hogs on your private land with your consent — Texas removed that requirement in 2019. Separately, when a landowner grants hunting access in exchange for payment or other consideration, Texas requires a hunting lease license on the property. We handle that filing and the cost as part of the partnership, so it is not paperwork you have to chase.
What happens to the hogs?
We haul them off. You never touch one. Depending on size and condition they go to processing, to a licensed holding facility, or are disposed of properly. There is no cost to you either way and no carcasses left on your place.
How much land do I need to qualify for free removal?
As a rule of thumb, 100 acres or more with active hog sign. That said, acreage is not the only thing that matters. A smaller tract with Trinity River frontage or one that connects two properties we already work can absolutely qualify. Tell us what you have.
Can you help with hogs in a subdivision or on small acreage?
Yes, on a contract basis. Small-acreage and residential hog problems are usually about a travel corridor rather than a resident sounder, so the approach is different — more trapping, less drone. We will tell you honestly whether it is a one-time job or an ongoing program.
Will you leave gates open or bring people I have not approved?
No. We do not show up unannounced, we do not bring anyone you have not approved, we do not leave gates open or trash behind, and we do not hunt anything not named in the agreement. That discipline is the only reason a nineteen-year relationship business works.
What kind of damage do feral hogs cause?
Rooted-up pasture and hay meadows, destroyed food plots and crops, fence and gate damage, wallowed-out stock tanks and fouled water, erosion in creek bottoms, and a real disease risk to livestock. Statewide the damage estimates run from roughly $52 million a year in agricultural losses up to $500 million across all damage categories, and Texas landowners spend $130 million a year trying to control them.
Do you use thermal drones?
Yes, and legally. Texas allows a drone to locate feral hogs at night for gunners on the ground. Taking game from the drone is not allowed, and the drone provision covers feral hogs only — we do not fly it on deer or any other wildlife. Used correctly it is the fastest way to find what a trap missed.
How soon can you get out here?
Call and we will usually get eyes on the property within a week. Bubba is at (903) 724-6888 and Cody is at (936) 662-8988.
Tell us what your place looks like
Free property assessment, no obligation. Tell us the county, roughly how many acres, what kind of damage you are seeing, and whether you have Trinity or Brazos river frontage. We will tell you straight whether you qualify for free removal or whether you are better off with a quote.