“It almost seems like they know where to hide, and then they come out at night, especially if you live on property adjoining the national forest,” Scaggs said. “They’ll be out at night and they’ll be right on top of you.”

One farmer who lives near Bell Mountain, Scaggs said, patrols his land at night and shoots blanks to scare away the hogs.

The Missouri Department of Conservation said it did not participate in this week’s aerial operation. Despite touting the effectiveness of such raids, Leary said “we have not done one with an MDC helicopter in over a year.” An APHIS spokeswoman said that no MDC money is going toward the helicopter operations.

Leary said the lack of state flights is not due to political pressures, although at least one rural lawmaker has criticized the practice.

Brian Davidson, program manager for botany, invasive species and range land for the U.S. Forest Service, said the aerial operations can be effective, especially when leaves have fallen or there is snow on the ground.

Because the government has used radio collars to track some of the hogs, agents have a good idea of where large groups will be before a flight, he said.