As feral hogs continue to trample all over private property in what residents say are increasing numbers spurred by development and a diminishing habitat, the Flagler County Commission is proposing to increase traps, encourage more volunteer to join a corps of hog-hunters, repair fencing along county roads, and work with homeowner associations on their own hog-management plans.
But if Commissioner Greg Hansen thinks the problem is “solvable,” Commissioner Leann Pennington is more skeptical. The county can enact that list of initiatives, but “to be quite honest, to be realistic, we’ll do our part but I’m not sure it’s going to solve the problem overall.”
“There’s a few entities that need to come together on it,” Commission Chairman Andy Dance said: Palm Coast, the county, the Florida Inland Navigation District, and other agencies.
But to what pragmatic ends? In many ways, the hog problem is as perplexing as it is spread out.
“This quality of life has been severely dampened by the chronic anxiety, fear, anger and exasperation felt by our residents, your residents,” Nancy Crouch, a resident of Grand Haven and a supervisor of that community development district, told the commission. (Crouch is best known in Flagler for her leadership roles in the arts.) “The hundreds of thousands of dollars of property damage to Grand Haven residents from feral hogs over recent years has worsened and will continue to unless we find a solution. I do like to believe that we are the superior species here, however.”
Crouch noted that development in various sectors, such as Colbert Lane and Old Kings Road–both of which have seen rapid development–has aggravated the situation, sending hogs seeking food through Hidden Lakes and Grand Haven. “Grand Haven has seen an enormous increase in feral hog damage to residential properties since the major developments along Colbert Lane and Roberts Road,” she said. She showed pictures from Grand Haven that, she said, looked more like “someone tilling a far.” (If one word can sum up what hogs do to a landscape, it’s trampling.)
Then there are unnerving encounters between residents out for a walk, or walking their dog, and the sudden appearance of a hog, making it ultimately “a safety issue,” in Commissioner Dave Sullivan’s view.
“I also think about this situation from a public health responsibility standpoint,” Commissioner Donald O’Brien said. “That is something that is that’s one of our charges, something that we have to think about.” He said relying on the state will not help, “because the state does everything they can to force things down at the local level and not fund it, and get us to fund it.”
“I have coyotes in my backyard right now,” Pennington said. “I called Florida Wildlife and they sent me a brochure on how to live with the urban Coyote. That was their response to me.”
Residents, Crouch said, are helpless. She suggested the county could hire a hog manager, add more traps, repair some of the dilapidated fencing along certain arterial roads in the county, at least to confine the hogs in places like Graham Swamp, and require developers “to be part of the solution instead of the problem.” She urged a collaboration with state and national agencies to manage the hogs’ damage.
A dozen other people, some from Hidden Lakes, most from Grand Haven, shared their own concerns or, in some cases, horror stories about hogs. It was that kind of mounting complaints that spurred county government to schedule Monday’s workshop on hogs.
The workshop was designed to provide an overview of hogs’ history in the state, their (negative) economic impact, their numbers and answer questions: What is Flagler County doing about hogs on county lands? What is it doing on private lands and what can residents do?
Governments may not use their hog-management resources on private lands. Local government can only provide advice and put residents’ eyes to work, spotting hogs, using the photographs they submit to the county’s database, “because sometimes an early detection is really the best way to respond,” Mike Lagassi, the county’s assistant director of general services, said. “We can’t always do something, but sometimes we can.” (Residents can report hog sightings at the county’s Feral Hog Reporting page.)
Hogs, which forage over miles, have been around in Florida for half a millennium. There are probably half a million of them in the state today, 9 million in 35 states mostly concentrated in the South and California. There’s no known figure for Flagler County. Hogs in a single year are estimated to cause $6 million in crop losses. “In Florida for each producer the loss for hog damage is anywhere from $400 to $4,000,” Lagasse said. “It probably depends on the size and land and where you’re located. But if you think about that for each producer each year, that’s a reasonable expense.”
The county for years has had “management agents” hunting and trapping hogs. They have been trapping and killing hogs at a rate of 100 to 150 per year, though with county efforts, 424 hogs have been trapped and removed from county lands just since last September, including 245 from Graham Swamp and 133 from Princess Place Preserve.
Ronnie Mitchel, a land management specialist with the county, described a new net-style trapping system that has been particularly successful. The county is using two such traps at the moment, one at Graham Swamp, one at Princess Place, each costing about $2,500. The traps are wide enough that deer will not get trapped. The county works with volunteers to set the traps. It also takes about $75 worth of corn a month to bait the hogs. The county could have more traps, but “the limiting factor is staff time,” Lagasse said–among other factors.
The hogs are either moved from the property (only licensed agents may move hogs) or they are killed on site. After they are killed, they are either buried at a certain depth, to prevent scavenging, or removed. On private property, hogs may be shot at will with permission from a landowner. Some hunters deliver the hogs to people who like to cook them, Lagassi said, but they are never donated to food banks.
“Being a feral hog hunter allows people to kind of be outside and enjoy themselves,” Lagasse says. “But when it’s really hot, we still have to do it.” The hunters themselves have to be managed by the county to avoid hunting hazards. Oftentimes, Lagasse says, people say: “Let’s put more and more hunters on the same property. Well, if we do that, we expect there to be a little bit more danger and that’s something that we’re trying to kind of avoid the most part.” The hunters are not allowed to hunt anything other than feral hogs.
“The hog pressure isn’t always every day,” Lagassi said. “It’s kind of seasonal. It runs with weather. It runs with the drop of acorns. It runs with basically food availability or habitat availability. So when low areas are really wet, they really like to be kind of deep, they like to have a lot of cover. But when it’s really wet and they’re not able to feed, then they move up into the uplands and sometimes that’s what ends up in people’s yards or in some of our more sensitive habitats.”
Is any of the hunting and trapping making a dent? Lagasse said the county is attempting a census of hogs of certain segments of the county, by drone and thermal imaging cameras that pick up the hogs’ heat (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission counts manatees by air). “Our plan is to test at a couple different seasons to see what kind of differentiation we can get even in the warmer time of year,” he said. “Because if we can figure out a way to do this, it’s a really great way to think about like, Hey, are the efforts we’re doing having an effect or do we need to go harder this time of year or next time another time of year?”
In other words, for now, the results of the county’s management efforts are inconclusive. The workshop was a bit less so. It was richly informative, and county staff got some direction for more trapping, it was directed to find more hunters, and it will be armed with an ordinance that will give it more authority to deal with hog management or hog killings. But on the whole, the problem remains difficult to control.
“I understand and could really sense the fear that the residents have with these animals. I’ve got a four pound and an eight pound dog which would not stand a chance with an encounter, so I get it,” Dance said, summarizing the consensus on the various directions given. He pressed county staff to focus on technology for more precise tracking and mapping of hogs. “Why can’t we put an apple tag on a pig and find out where he’s going?” he asked. (An Apple tag costs $20 apiece.)
“Everybody basically came up with a lot of these sensible solutions,” he said.
John says
With all the wildlife in Florida that has been here longer than any housing development you would think Florida would already have a humane way of dealing with it but as you can see from this article, they are clueless, and I feel it is a disgrace.
The City of Palm Coast has an Animal Control Department that won’t even go out for an injured or sick raccoon or opossum, they tell you they only do domestic animals such as cats and dogs. So, the injured or sick wildlife in the City of PC are out of luck, another disgrace to the wildlife in Florida.
I can’t wait to see what you people come up with and killing the helpless wildlife is not a solution.
Dawn Smith says
What do you expect. With all this NEW development going on. We are pushing the wild life out of their territories.
Jeffrey says
Feral hogs are invasive. They shouldn’t even be here any more than pythons or iguanas.
John says
If people don’t like wildlife they should move to a large city with skyscrapers.
Julz says
Once again humans cursed that issue…Humans r the most invasive species on the planet! They have felled the last area of trees in the P section…u don’t think animals live there? Then u will have all these ppl who moved here for the gorgeous natural beauty Florida complain about the “invasive” animals!
Rick G says
With rampant development comes encounters with those who once lived in that space. You want to live there? Then accept wildlife incursions.
dave says
Well we are fighting a losing battle it seems. The land they roam is running out which brings them into our yards and long our highways. Wild hogs have a very short gestation period of about 114 days. Sows are sexually mature at 6-8 months of age and average 4-6 piglets per litter. Ya need a bigger trapping plan, or a hunting plan. Get Off My Lawn, piggy.
Derrick Redder says
Some good eating yum yum where they at?
I got room for 4 at about 40 lbs or so each ‘
JimboXYZ says
Would appear that the wildlife is protesting the very individuals that have approved destroying their homes. How appropriate that the coyotes & hogs are in their yards.
Pogo says
@Free range bacon!?
It’s downright un-American
https://www.google.com/search?q=top+us+pork+producer
Mr. and Mrs. Howell simply will not have the abattoir added to storage buildings for those people, and stuff, and tiny lots, and all the rest of the blight that is destroying the retirement idyll that is their goddamn right. Call Rep. Jesus and tell him he’s going to hell right now if this mess isn’t fixed, PDQ!
Gilligan!… the bath is cold again.
Hogs taste good. says
I think all the people that complain about all the development going on might need to think the lot that their house is on was a home for two deer, a possum, 3 squirrels and 10 hogs. So that would your part of the reason that your saying is the cause.
The Sour Kraut says
Hogs are NOT native to Florida. Extermination is the answer. No half measures.
getting NOTHING done says
“A dozen other people, some from Hidden Lakes, most from Grand Haven, shared their own concerns or, in some cases, horror stories about hogs. It was that kind of mounting complaints that spurred county government to schedule Monday’s workshop on hogs”
If I’m not mistaken grand haven is a private gated community where the average house costs over 700,000 dollars complete with pga golf course and a members only club house. But for some reason the county will see it necessary to expend county resources and redirect money to eradicate the “feral” hogs from the private gated community were a sitting commissioner resides.
The county is going belly up with having to build restaurants on county property for a another politically connected citizen in the hammock, spending millions of dune repair so million dollar homes on a1a wont fall into the ocean after every rain storm.
Congratulations to commissioner pennington, so far her only accomplishment since taking office is to look dumbfounded before going completely silent on the issues where massive amounts of county resources are reserved for the hammock.
Meanwhile her own district still has the infrastructure of a 1800’s mining camp.
Not so says
They are getting red lights, road paving, a new Bull Creek restaurant, properties put into conservation and fairgrounds redone. Only the negative ever gets reported.
TR says
The county has no one to blame for themselves for this problem. The push for the major growth on building because of greed has forced the hogs out of their habitat. They are just getting revenge because their homes were destroyed. The County, the builder and the new home owner didn’t care about the after effects of building in the area, so I don’t blame the hogs for damaging the property that took over their property. A solution would be STOP developing the small areas that are left.
Former Grandhavener says
Hogs don’t bring in tax revenue!
Beth Hartopp says
So am I allowed to shoot a hog that is in my yard?
Joseph Barand says
You can’t but I have. I’ve called the Sheriff and reported myself, never arrested, never fined. I have shot both hogs an rattle snakes and will continue if necessary until the government agency that makes rules also addresses the problem and provides a solution.
Former Grandhavener says
From a Dec 2022 . Unfortunately until it affects the main Grand Haven community acrossfrom the crossings ir Wild Oaks nothing will be done “residents would like the CDD or HOA to place a fence around the edges of where the two properties meet. But that costs money, Kaplan said, which is the second issue. Both organizations told residents there isn’t any funding to build a fence like that — Kaplan said that they just installed a new croquet court in the Grand Haven community just across Colbert Road, with pristine grass and fenced in to protect it from the wildlife.”
dave says
Hate to tell ya, hogs are impacting a lot more homes than those in grand haven. Hogs do not care where they want to roam and root and eat. Drive along old kings road, North and South, a lot of hog rooting and in Hidden Lakes, the C section May 2020, made the news, the Woodlands area of Palm Coast, just to name a few.
David says
Jager Pro on YouTube
https://youtu.be/APcdP-dfZ7Y?si=T7Cd0ZTM3Q1TBpSq
Atwp says
Always good to work with God. When we work against him we always loose. God always have the ability to take back what he put on the earth, hogs are here to stay. Welcome to uncontrolled growth and bad growing pains.
Leila says
If I need to call an exterminator, should I expect you to pay for it? Heavens no!
Fred G Sanford says
I remember when everything that all of you transplants were not here! The woods were great, didn’t have any problems or people bitching about any hogs, coyotes, deer, squirrels or any other the wildlife that had THEIR home where yours is now! It was a great place back then, it gets worse EVERY DAY!
Hog Wild says
We hired a guy from Palatka to trap and run dogs to eliminate our hog problem.
Hogs are gone! I’m sure they will be back at some point, but for now, adios. They were tearing the hell out of our neighborhood.