Wild hogs roaming Brevard neighborhood

SUNTREE -- A wildlife trapper is on the trail for wild hogs, including one he believes could be up to 350 pounds, before they damage any more lawns or possibly harm children in a Suntree community.

Licensed wildlife trapper James Dean said the wild hogs have torn up the lawns of 17 homes in Sawgrass at Suntree in recent days. Hogs have caused problems every year in the area, he said.

"This year is the worst I've ever seen," Dean said.

With Halloween coming, Dean wants to trap most of the hogs so they won't pose a danger to children. Hogs are often seen at dusk and dawn.

"Pigs are coming out of the woods and going into the street," he said. "They are going after grub worms."

Dean has trapped eight hogs and has set up more traps in the neighborhood.

Wild hogs and feral pigs can cause a disturbance to ground cover vegetation, causing it to look like a plowed field. Tying to prevent them from coming onto a property is often futile, though fencing can keep them out of yards and gardens.

Wild hogs have long caused problems, including serious car crashes, in Brevard as well as in every other county in Florida.

Karyn Cole, who lives on Ficus Point Drive, said the hogs had done some rooting in her yard but not as much as on some of her neighbors' lawns.

"They've dug up a bit," she said. "And I've seen them on the street at dusk."

Cole said she heard that some of the hogs are large. Her children are not old enough to be outside by themselves, so that is not too much of a concern for her.

Cole said trappers are trying to control the pigs in the neighborhood but she questioned how much could be done since they live next to a wildlife area. The hogs come out into the neighborhood at certain times.

"We saw them down the street," Cole said. "We didn't go that way and they went on down the road."