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Abstract
As the distribution of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) continues to spread across its introduced range, landowners and managers are faced with the increasingly problematic task of maximizing the efficiency and efficacy of their control efforts. Despite the expanding distribution and extent of wild pig damage, there is little data regarding the impacts of control methods and the variability of damage in relation to season and habitat attributes. In this thesis, I monitored invasive wild pig populations, environmental rooting damage, and crop damage across 17 privately owned agricultural (POA) properties before and during control efforts in South Carolina, USA (Chapter 2). Additionally, I modeled the effect of season and habitat attributes on environmental rooting damage to unveil trends in rooting location and timing on both the POA properties and on the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, USA (Chapter 3). The results of this work will help landowners and managers decide when and where to utilize control efforts to maximize their effectiveness in an ever-changing landscape.