Wild hogs have taken over areas in Florida and North Carolina this spring, exploding to nearly three dozen states as part of a troubling decades-long uptick federal officials warn could ignite a dreaded “feral swine bomb,” sparking concerns a growing population can spread diseases to humans, and destroy critical agricultural land and forests.

Wild Hogs

Wild hogs can be found in nearly three dozen states, and their numbers keep increasing.

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Key Facts

Feral hog populations have grown substantially over the past four decades, taking over areas in the South, California and southern Great Plains, as well as multiple counties in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Hampshire, according to a 2023 report from the USDA.

The hogs—which were introduced back in the 1500s by early Spanish colonists—now occupy parts of 35 states, including every county in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Hawaii and all but one county in Louisiana, Texas and California, causing roughly $1.5 million in agricultural damage per year, according to the Department of Agriculture.

While several states and federal agencies have taken actions in recent years to

combat rising numbers, the USDA warns without “appropriate and coordinated management and removal of feral swine,” the country could be in for a continued surge in hog numbers, which the USDA called a “feral swine bomb.”

In Florida, one of the states that has seen the brunt of the surge, feral hogs have been found near Everglades National Park and on farm land, grazing on corn and acorns, and on at least one occasion, menacing a farmer, The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

Savannah River National Laboratory scientist John Mayer told the Sun Sentinel the “only solution” to control the hogs is “lethal removal,” specifically trapping and euthanizing, which Mayer argued is more effective than hunting, adding hunting “doesn’t take enough of these animals in any given year to keep populations low.”