A booming wild hog population is causing frustration and damage for residents in Roanoke. The hog wild problem has led police and city leaders to ramp up efforts to control the destructive animals.
Feral hogs have been tearing up yards in neighborhoods off Highway 114 and Litsey Road, according to Roanoke police.
“Some feral hogs have made their way into the neighborhood and damaged some yards,” Sgt. Ryan Otero, public information officer for the Roanoke Police Department, said.
Residents have reported uprooted lawns and gutted flower beds caused by the animals.
“Some seasons tend to be worse. Some years it’s not near as bad. This year it just seems to be worse than recent,” Otero said.
To help address the problem, the city has hired professional hog trappers Cole Murphy and RJ with Lone Star Trapping.
“I wouldn’t say we have to. We do it to help our community,” Otero said.
Murphy said the hogs are primarily searching for acorns.
“I think we had enough rain this year for the acorn crop to be really, really good,” Murphy said. “All of the acorns have been dropping for a good while now. So that’s their main bait source right now. And now that the nights are getting longer and cooler, they’re traveling harder. They’re trying to get every acorn that they can eat right now. And you know, that’s what’s attracting them into people’s yards.”
Despite their destructive behavior, Murphy said wild hogs rarely pose a danger to people.
“They’re just gonna see you and run off. And that’s one of the reasons they’re so good at staying alive is just because they’re so smart and so elusive,” Murphy said.
Murphy and RJ are responsible for trapping and removing the hogs.
“We scouted the area, tried to find the ideal trapping site,” Murphy said. “That sounder is traveling the creek.”
Work began late Wednesday afternoon before rain moved in.
“All we’re gonna do is establish a bait site. We’re gonna set up a cellular camera,” Murphy said “The main thing we do in the first week is one, win their bellies over to get them eating in the same site every night.”
It remains unclear exactly how many hogs are roaming the area.
“Then week two, we establish a target number. We realize how many pigs we’re dealing with without any equipment interference, as well as maybe establish a pattern,” Murphy said.
On Wednesday night, two hogs followed the bait trail.
“Sometimes they’ll hit the site twice a night. We’ll just kind of look at all of those pictures throughout the week to get a game plan on how to best attack them,” Murphy said.
Murphy said it could take weeks before the trapping gate is finally set and triggered.
“Most of the time it takes a few days for them to get comfortable for that last bit of pressure we’ve just applied,” Murphy said.
Homeowners can try installing lights, fencing or alarm systems to deter hogs, though Murphy said those measures aren’t always effective.
“But when they don’t, that’s when they call us,” Murphy said.
