Wild pigs ( <i>Sus scrofa</i> ) prefer inoculated peanuts over whole‐kernel corn in cafeteria‐style study

Abstract The rapid expansion of wild pigs ( Sus scrofa ) is a critical conservation concern. Managers often use baited traps to remove wild pigs, and the attractiveness of bait may improve the probability of capture. Anecdotal observations suggest inoculated peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea ) may be a superior bait relative to whole‐kernel corn ( Zea mays )—a commonly used bait for wild pigs. We used camera trapping to determine wild pig bait preference at 8 plots, each with 4 baits (peanuts [PN], inoculated peanuts [IP; peanuts inoculated with fungicide prior to planting], whole‐kernel corn [CN], and inoculated corn [IC; corn treated with peanut fungicide]) in southwestern Georgia, USA. We assessed the number of first visits by wild pigs to bait sites after placing bait and repeated this assessment for white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), a nontarget species that commonly visits wild pig bait sites. We performed 3 analyses to account for possible competition or exclusion of either species. In all cases, wild pigs preferred IP while white‐tailed deer preferred CN. We saw no evidence of interspecific competition at baits. Our data suggest that IP may be a superior bait for wild pigs while being less attractive to white‐tailed deer. Peanuts are an important crop in southwestern Georgia. In areas where peanuts are not grown, wild pigs may be neophobic to peanuts, warranting further research in these areas. Furthermore, future research should consider having plots with only one bait site relative to multiple bait sites to assess effects of multiple bait sites on competitive exclusion.