Lexington resident Kathrine Clark has noticed feral hog activity in downtown Lexington.
Clark and her husband live on Dupree Street, about a block from Highway 78, and a few weeks ago, she said she noticed digging in her flower beds and droppings on her lawn.
“We’re like, ‘Huh? It must be hogs,’ ” Clark said.
Clark said a week passed and the hogs had dealt more damage.
“They knocked over a bunch of fences that we put up to protect the camellias from deer. (They’ve) gotten smart enough to flip those over and get into the rich soil,” Clark said.
Clark said Lexington Mayor Craig Snow is working on solutions. He was unavailable for comment.
More than 2,112 feral hogs have been trapped in the Broad River Conservation District, which includes Banks, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison, Oglethorpe and Wilkes counties, since 2019, The Oglethorpe Echo reported in March. Damages from hogs are estimated at $150 million per year, according to the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts.
"It looks like someone with a rotary tiller went through the yard. The soil is turned, the leaves are turned up, the sod is turned up," Mike Mengak, the wildlife outreach specialist at the University of Georgia School of Forestry and Natural Resources, told The Echo earlier this year.
Clark isn’t just concerned about her garden when it comes to hogs being in town.
“I’m concerned about the disease from all of their droppings because we have pets, and (the droppings) really smell bad,” Clark said.
Clark doesn’t want to have to fence around her property because of the cost and she appreciates other wildlife.
“I kind of like seeing the deer come in occasionally, but I don’t wanna have to fence the whole wilderness out,” she said.
Clark said her neighbors have told her of hog droppings in their yards as well.
“(One) neighbor has been running lights and music and everything trying to keep them away,” Clark said.