Rough, uneven ground and torn up grass has become the norm in Jackie Rixon's front yard.
Her property in Adelaide River, about 100 kilometres south of Darwin, has been invaded by feral pigs.
In the past, the animals typically stayed close to the river and out of the way of residents and their homes. But in recent years, they've started to move a bit too close for comfort.
"We came back from our holidays, and we had 15 crossing the driveway," Ms Rixon said.
"I don't mind them down in the back paddock, but once they get up here — it's our lawn and our home".
Ms Rixon said the unwanted pests have been coming onto her property every few of nights, "tearing up" her grass, and "churning up" her soil.
She's tried to repair the damage before by backfilling and replacing the top soil, but said she'd found it was not worth the effort.
"They're just going to come back and rip it straight back up," she said.
It's an issue that is affecting the whole community of Adelaide River.
Karina Lewis, who works at the local post office, said she's had similar problems on her own property.
"This year's probably been more so than any other year that we've had," she said.
"We've had them right up to our gate, right up to our house."
Ms Lewis said the pigs had had a disturbing effect on her land, making "big ruts" and huge "wallows" through her yards and paddocks.
She's tried to hunt them before, but said it hadn't scared them off or made any impact on their population.
"They just keep breeding, and they keep coming back," she said.
Too close for comfort
Adelaide River residents say in recent years, feral pigs have seemed to be wreaking havoc a lot closer to the town's centre than they used to, after moving away from their usual hang-outs down by the river.
They've sometimes been seen sniffing around the town's war cemetery, a heritage-listed burial site that's home to the graves of 434 military personnel and 63 civilians who died during the 1942 bombing of Darwin.
Fencing around the cemetery has kept the pigs out for the time being, but with the site positioned on the river corridor, its outskirts are sometimes highly frequented by the animals.
But the worst damage the pigs have caused so far has been at the town showground, the home of the annual Adelaide River Races.
Last year, the wild pigs tore up the surface of the track, forcing the races to be rescheduled and relocated.
Ms Rixon, who also sits on the board of the Adelaide River Show Society, said the town had been devastated by the damage.
She said the races usually brought significant economic benefits to the town.
"We lost our funding to keep us going through the year," she said.
"The race meeting is what keeps us alive".
Sharon Hillen, chief executive of the Coomalie Council, said it had been a disappointing outcome for the town.
"It's always disappointing for the community to lose out on a major event like the races," she said.
In the hopes of keeping the pigs out this year, more than $60,000 has been spent on building fences around the racetrack ahead of this year's races in May.
Stuck for solutions
While Adelaide River residents have expressed their frustrations with the issue, there are so far few prospects for how to tackle the problem.
Town residents believe the issue is getting worse, but Ms Hillen said believes it's just a seasonal issue.
"There's no monitoring programs. We've got no evidence to suggest that it's worse," she said.
Ms Hillen said unusual animal movements were just a part of the wet season. According to her, the pigs would usually reside near water courses and floodplains, but during the wet season "everything is a floodplain".
And she said there was not much the Coomalie Council could do to help residents manage the pigs.
The Feral Animal Act states that landowners are ultimately responsible for the eradication of wild pigs, while the council and government should just provide advice and support where needed.
"We can advocate for other landowners and coordinate with other agencies of government … to try and come up with a solution, [but] it's not the council's responsibility," Ms Hillen said.
But landowners, some of whom are facing the problem on their own properties every day, say they are feeling just as stuck for solutions.
Ms Rixon said she was going to try baiting a trap at the back of her property.
Others in the area are installing electric fences.
Ms Lewis said she planned to keep hunting the pigs because she's unconvinced that traps will have an impact.
"I don't really know the answer to getting rid of them. Who knows?," she said.
And Ms Hillen is sceptical too.
"Fencing a town doesn't work," she said.
It's a message the residents are hoping isn't true, as they wait to see if the new fence around the race course will hold up until May, for the races to make their grand return to Adelaide River.
