Feral Hogs Destroying West Ashley Yards

Nature and the suburbs don't always get along.

Case in Point: some neighborhoods near Bees Ferry Road are being overrun by feral pigs, the Post and Courier reports. As the once untouched swamps and forests surrounding Charleston are converted into suburbs the wildlife on the formerly isolated acreage comes in closer contact with humans.

A pack of wild hogs have been rooting through the lawns of homes in Autumn Chase/Magnolia Lakes in the Grand Oaks development. Residents first noticed problems with the hogs last fall, but incidents have increased in frequency and severity since a new road was cut into the development for a new phase in the construction.

The hogs come at night and usually leave before dawn, leaving torn up yards in their wakes, though residents say the pigs are nearly silent while rooting through yards, sometimes even right outside bedroom windows.

Feral pigs roam in all 46 South Carolina counties, according to the SC Dept. of Natural Resources. The pigs are not a protected species in the state and there is no bag limit or closed season on the hogs when hunted on private land. Hog hunting permit applications can be downloaded through the SCDNR website.

Officials estimate approximately 150,000 feral pigs currently live in the state.