A couple of nights ago I was just closing up the computer and turning out the lights to go to bed when I heard the sound of something crashing into a metal bucket just outside the living room door. My heart leapt as I was sans homme that night – JF was away for work.  With visions of “bad men” going round my head I wondered what on earth to do when I heard grunts, lots of grunts – PIG grunts!  We’d recently noticed evidence of sanglier in the garden so it came as no surprise, and great relief, that it wasn’t a person outside but wild boars.

wild boar sanglier

I took a torch and shone it out into the garden from an upstairs window and counted six pigs.  Two enormous adults and four babies.  It was pouring with rain so that coupled with the fact that I was a teency bit alarmed at their presence meant that I didn’t go outside to try and shoo them off.  I couldn’t shout and make a lot of noise either as I was above the gîte and I didn’t think the guests would appreciate it so I watched helplessly from a distance as they merrily dug up the lawn.  One of them was having a ball running round and round the lawn in circles as though he’d just been let out of captivity while the others snuffled and rooted around under an oak tree.

wild boar garden damageTalking to the guests after the visitation they said they’d seen ten in the lane one evening. The boars have definitely been back since that night as there’s more ploughed land by the pool but so far they haven’t ruined anything too important.  It’s great having wildlife in the garden but not when it’s too destructive.  Let’s hope they don’t become a bore!

Here are some of the comments I had when I posted about this on Facebook: “we’re going for the ploughed look too”, “lion dung is alleged to be unpopular”, “have you tried any of the ultrasonic squealers?”  “Wow!”, “You need Obelix to collect his dinner”, “dinner time?  You are in the land of Asterix and his gang, non?”  “Piglet could be on the menu.  Very tasty”, “time to get an electric fence”, “or a big BBQ”, “blimey!”  “How many ended up on the spit?”  “Two solutions: build an electric fence or buy a gun!”  “Good aeration for the lawn”.

Do you have any suggestions about what we can do to stop the damage?  I’d love to hear them.

Photo of boar credit : I_am_Allan via photopin cc as it was too dark to take my own.  Photo above here is of the damage to the garden, with small stone wall partially knocked down and lawn dug up.

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