Wild Pigs Tearing Up Lawns In Poinciana

Yards have been destroyed by the snouts of wild hogs and a local resident wants help. His lawn isn't his main worry. The hogs are invading a Poinciana neighborhood looking for food. One father said not only is it costing him thousands of dollars, he thinks his family is in danger.

The man dealing with the damage wanted to shoot the pigs, but you can't fire a weapon in a residential neighborhood, so he was forced to call in the experts.

A front lawn in Poinciana looks like a war zone with ripped up roots and craters several inches deep. It looks like it was destroyed by bombs. But it's not bombs. It's wild hogs that are messing up the neighborhood.

"I counted 11 black pigs and they are pretty big," said Carlos Soltero.

Email News Sign-Up Multiple Choices - Auto sign-up (LEFT ALIGN) GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts Soltero took photos of the hogs grazing. They've been greeting him every morning for the last two weeks and it's not the first time the hogs have tried to move in.

"I'm worried one of my kids is going to get killed," Soltero said.

So, Soltero called in the professionals, who bust boars for a living. They'll use a wire cage to trap the 150-pound hogs.

Paul Gentles, with Animal Control Specialists, said the boars are ripping up the ground to find food and they can be dangerous.

"They can hurt you, especially if they are protecting their young," Gentles said.

Now that the traps are in place, Soltero's eager for the hogs to take the bait, but he doesn't think should have to pay for it.

"I want the association to pay to remove these pigs and to fix my lawn," he said.

The Poinciana Association said it's up to each homeowner to maintain their lawn. The traps cost about $300 and it could take several months to catch all of the hogs.