Resident Eileen Parker said the boars were coming from conservation land by the Taramakau River, near the West Coast Wilderness Trail.
They most recently got into her neighbour's garden and ploughed it up.
"He is going to be devastated."
She expected to see them rooting around in her garden any time.
No-one had spotted them in the act so she was unsure how many there were.
"You never see them."
She was also concerned they could gore a cyclist on the wilderness trail.
Phil Payne said he had pigs approach his property in the night over the past month, but also had never spotted them.
"They've been rooting up all my lawn and garden."
They came out of the bush and had hit up to a dozen properties along Greenstone Rd and the tramway.
"I rake it back, but they come back and root it up again."
A local with a pig dog had killed a sow and a boar in the past month, but others were still there.
As a ratepayer, Mr Payne said he wanted action.
Department of Conservation (Doc) Hokitika operations manager Tim Shaw said while the department sympathised with the affected landowners, this was not a species it controlled at a local level.
"There is some localised damage and turned ground, mostly around lowland forest areas. The local pig population is small but very mobile, and even a few can turn a lot of ground quickly," he said.
"The safety risk to the public is low, as pigs tend to avoid conflict, and are far more likely to run away from someone than toward them. However, as with most wild animals, cornering or surprising them may lead to panic or aggression, as will getting between a sow and piglets."
Doc's advice to the public was to avoid the pigs if possible and contact a local hunter who knew the area and the landowners affected.
If pigs were discouraged in one area, they would move on to another, but not if they felt safe and had food available.
Doc was unable to manage wild animals like pigs everywhere. It prioritised work based factors such as the biodiversity value of a site, the presence of other threats like possums, and work others may be doing. — Greymouth Star
