Wild Hogs Vandalize Irving Couple's Lawn

An Irving couple thought teenage vandals were tearing up their front yard. But these nighttime vandals have four hooves and big snouts.

Fred Sanderson, Irving Animal Services manager, said he thinks about a dozen feral hogs moved into the Southwest Irving neighborhood after flooding along the Trinity forced them to seek higher ground.

"What we've discovered is that a single sounder -- a female pig -- with her offspring migrated into the subdivisions looking for grubs," he said.

Fred and Sharie Lavail said their yard has been damaged four times in the past few weeks.

"I saw them coming down the street at a fast clip, and they were scary-looking, they really are," Sharie Lavail said.

The pigs have torn up about six yards in Irving on multiple locations. They only attack in the middle of the night.

"We get up three and four times a night with a flashlight," Fred Lavail said.

His wife described the around-the-clock watch as physically, emotionally and monetarily demanding.

"We'll just deal with it and hope they go away," she said.

But Animal Services insists relief is on the way.

"We figured out where they are coming into the residential areas, and we have set up live traps there, and they've been pretty successful," Sanderson said.

Animal Services set up several traps in a field between the flood plain and the neighborhood. Six hogs have been captured since the weekend.

The city is transporting the trapped animals to a meat-processing facility.

Contact Us