Hot weather hog hunting

Creosote poles attract summertime hogs

Wild hogs are widespread throughout the Carolinas, and these invasive creatures do a lot of damage to crops, as well as the natural habitat. This displaces a lot of native, more desirable game animals.

But many hunters see them as less of a nuisance and more of a bonus animal to hunt. Most deer processing facilities will also process wild hogs, and the meat from these animals is just as tasty as anything else you’ll find in the woods. Double bonus? You can hunt them at night in most counties, with no limit. If you want to keep your freezer stocked with wild game all year, wild hogs are the way to go.

John MacPherson of 704 Outdoors is a big fan of hunting hogs, and he’s got a big tip for those wanting to hunt hogs throughout the summer. And this generation of hog hunters may be the last to be fortunate enough to use this trick.

“Wild hogs love creosote poles,” MacPherson said.

What is a creosote pole?

“Look at the mud on that pole,” MacPherson said as he drove up to an old utility pole in the woods. “If you’ll look at the bottom of this pole, you’ll see all the mud from the hogs rubbing on it.”

Creosote is a chemical made up of various tars and pyrolysis of certain plant materials. It is primarily used to preserve wooden products such as utility poles and railroad ties.

“Creosote was used as an insect repellent to prolong the life of utility poles so that termites and all sorts of bugs don’t get into the wood and destroy them,” he said.

One reason MacPherson is such a good hog hunter is that he understands and appreciates the level of intelligence possessed by wild hogs. While many hunters dismiss them as stupid animals, MacPherson recognizes that’s not the case.

So what does creosote have to do with hogs?

“Hogs, being the geniuses that they are, have figured out over all these years that if they rub on these poles and get that creosote on their hide, it’ll get rid of the lice, ticks and chiggers,” he said. “It is essentially to them, a natural insect repellent. Even though it’s not actually natural, but to them, it’s something they can find in the wild, rub against, and get rid of those insects. So they actually feel better because it gets rid of all the aggravating bugs that are constantly chewing on them.”

The smell attracts them

Creosote exudes a strong smell. Even hunters walking through the woods near a line of power poles will often catch wind of the smell. And wild hogs, which have a much stronger sense of smell than humans, have no trouble finding these poles.

MacPherson first began noticing how attracted wild hogs are to these poles when he kept seeing mud caked onto some of them that were located in areas without food plots or any other food source.

“We figured we’d just buy some creosote and rub it onto some trees, and we’d be in business. But then we found out you can’t buy it. It’s highly regulated and it’s not something you can legally purchase,” he said.

So he began searching Facebook Marketplace and talking to friends who were building pole barns, found a few creosote power poles, and cut them into 5-foot sections.

Put them anywhere

Creosote utility poles aren’t much help for a hog hunter that doesn’t hunt near power lines, and that’s why MacPherson likes to put his own in the ground.

“Wild hogs, especially in the summertime when bugs are bad,” he said, “will come from miles around to rub on that creosote. So wherever you want to hunt, you can put these poles in the ground, and you will have hogs coming to you.”

This is much more of a hot-weather attractant for hogs than it is any other time of year, but MacPherson said even in the winter, hogs may use it when the weather is unseasonably warm, which prompts more bug activity.

Once he’s got them cut into 5-foot sections, MacPherson just uses a post hole digger to dig a hole about 18 inches deep.

“That will leave you with about a 31/2-foot section above ground, and the hogs will love rubbing up against that,” he said. “And you can put these anywhere you want to hunt. Creosote gives off a really strong smell, and the hogs will find it in no time.”

Many utility companies are replacing their creosote poles with pressure treated poles, and MacPherson has noticed that the wild hogs simply don’t use those newer poles. It’s that bug-repelling creosote that they’re after.

He said finding someone building a project using creosote poles can be a gold mine.

“Folks that are building pole barns and things like that, they usually cut off the ends of the poles because that’s where most of the creosote runs. And those ends are what you want because that’s where the creosote is the most concentrated,” he said.

So when he buries a section that was originally the bottom of the pole, he makes sure the most heavily-saturated part of it is the part he leaves above ground.

Hogs will flock to these poles, even if they aren’t located near a bait site or food plot, but MacPherson said it’s always a good idea to place them near food sources. Giving a hog more than one reason to visit your stand is never a bad idea.

704 Outdoors airs on the Hunt Channel, and on their YouTube channel at youtube.com/@704outdoors.

Hog harvest numbers for the Carolinas

The most recent available wild hog harvest numbers for the Carolinas are from 2023, and they show a total of more than 46,000 hogs killed by hunters across both states.

These numbers do not include hogs killed by state or federal wildlife officials.

Hog hunting regulations in both states are very liberal. Hogs can be hunted year-round, and in most cases even at night, in North and South Carolina. And while the popularity of hunting hogs is growing, hogs are still among the least targeted animals among hunters.

Many of the hogs that are killed each year are incidental harvests by hunters who are targeting deer, but just happen to get an opportunity at killing a hog when one shows up unexpectedly.

Hogs can be hunted in numerous ways, including from deer stands, using the same rifle you use to hunt deer. So hunting hogs all year can help keep you ready for deer season. And another bonus is that the meat from wild hogs is plenty tasty.