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Article Courtesy of WINK
NEWS
By Haley Jacobs
Published May 20, 2026
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BABCOCK RANCH — A Babcock Ranch homeowner says the wild hogs that tore through
his backyard are gone, but the damage they left behind is still there.
Now, the question is who should pay to fix it.
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Earlier this week, WINK News Reporter
Haley Jacobs showed the damage left behind after wild hogs
ripped through backyards in the Tuckers Cove community.
A contracted trapper removed 22 hogs from the neighborhood,
but for Glen and Stephanie Wulff, the problem did not end
there.
The couple closed on their Tuckers Cove home in February
after years of looking for the right place to retire in
Southwest Florida. Glen said he and his wife had been
searching for a home in the Fort Myers area for nearly 20
years before finding Babcock Ranch.
“We’ve been looking at houses for almost 20 years now over
here in the Fort Myers area, and we never heard of Babcock
Ranch until last August,” Glen Wulff said.
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The home checked nearly every box.
“She had a list she made up before we even came out here, and everything on her
list matches,” Wulff said. “She got her pool, she got a yard, she got the
preserve. We have nobody in front of us.”
Photos from just a few weeks ago show the Wulffs’ backyard with green grass
behind their brand-new home. But now, that same yard is covered with torn-up
grass, patches of dirt and damage Glen says was left behind after wild hogs came
through the area.
“We had no idea about hogs,” Wulff said. “Because if I knew about that, and I
knew they were going to eat up my lawn, I don’t think I would have built over
here.”
This week, a contracted trapper removed 22 hogs from the Tuckers Cove community.
But Wulff says the battle is not over because he is now trying to figure out who
is responsible for fixing the damage.
Wulff says his homeowners' association told him he is responsible for covering
the cost.
“HOA fees per quarter are about 1200 a quarter for a master, and the Tucker’s
Cove Association,” Wulff said.
When WINK News Reporter Haley Jacobs asked if that fee covers lawn care, Wulff
said that is one of the reasons he chose the community.
“That’s why I came here,” Wulff said. “I won’t have to touch the lawn.”
Wulff shared with Jacobs the landscape and irrigation information for Tucker's
Cove. The information says lawn care services include weed control,
fertilization and pest treatment of lawns.
Babcock Ranch’s Environmental Conservation Manager and Wildlife Biologist
Christina Kontos told WINK News earlier this week that feral hogs root through
the ground looking for food.
“They actually root into the ground up to, like, a meter deep or so, and they
root for grubs and insects and things,” Kontos said.
That is part of why Wulff believes he should not have to foot the bill.
He has not received an estimate for the repairs yet, but he believes the cost
could add up quickly.
“They are supposed to treat for pest,” Wulff said. “So I’m hoping you guys can
help us out with this situation.”
Wulff also pointed to what he says is a clear divide between the yards that were
damaged and the neighboring properties that were not touched. Three yards were
hit hard, while homes next door were left untouched.
Jacobs emailed the Tuckers Cove Community Association manager on Friday, asking
whether wild hog damage is considered the homeowner’s responsibility and whether
there is any repair process or assistance available for residents.
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