Coyotes - How to Get Rid of Them?

[NancyM]

Coyotes are a part of the natural landscape. And a part of the web of life. They are just trying to make a living, and raise a family, as they have done for many thousands of years. It’s not THEIR fault that humans moved into their neighborhood and somehow think that they have the right to exterminate every other living creature that “gets in their way”, or that they consider a “nuisance”. I don’t know how humans ever got so dam uppity.

We coexist with our coyotes. They keep the rodent population in check. They sing in a choir. They are not a threat to us, or our horses. Our cats…we look after them, that is OUR responsibility. Our chickens are kept safe from all predators who would like to eat them. A coyote den became apparent in our back field this summer, young coyote pups having their first day in the great outdoors, so adorable and cute!!! Bouncing around, falling over each other, exploring the world. Good luck, little guys! Stay away from humans with guns who think it’s fun or amusing to shoot your leg off and watch you die in agony and boast to their friends about it. (our neighbours). Humans are evil.

[Ghazzu]

@NancyM

It’s not THEIR fault that humans moved into their neighborhood

While I agree with peaceful coexistence, they moved into my neighborhood.

[SusanO]

Yes I live and let live. They don’t bother me and I don’t bother them. The only exception is armadillos. Nasty destructive buggers and not native to Alabama. The herd has been thinned out and they stopped digging up my garden and yard and I leave them alone too.

[Dressage59]

Yesterday we found a spot where they had bedded in the tall grasses by the creek - there were 5 spots, likely 1 for each coyote. That spot is about 50 feet from each of our barns and 15 feet from our tiny backyard. This morning around 7, my daughter saw one in the tall grass within 10-20 feet from our barn. We both yelled to haze it and it ran away. I don’t want them habituated to human presence and I’m afraid that’s what happening. I also don’t know why they’re suddenly interested in our farm. There are 18 acres of green space - let them live there.

[endlessclimb]

Get a paintball gun and pepper them.

[endlessclimb]

And mow that bedding area down.

[clanter]

this morning I as I was finishing cleaning stalls/paddocks I heard a woman crying, she was trying to find her little dog…she found its collar in the back of neighboring property.

Do They Eat The Entire DOG? Fur and ALL ? yes they do as I find coyote poop in our driveway with fur in it

She was clutching the collar as she cried.

I suspect next will be an attack on the kids walking to school

[FitToBeTied]

Lot of misconceptions regarding coyotes and foxes. When they first came here the fox population dropped. Now we have a pretty strong fox population and still have coyotes
Nature balances out.

[Scribbler]

@clanter

this morning I as I was finishing cleaning stalls/paddocks I heard a woman crying, she was trying to find her little dog…she found its collar in the back of neighboring property.

Do They Eat The Entire DOG? Fur and ALL ? yes they do as I find coyote poop in our driveway with fur in it

She was clutching the collar as she cried.

I suspect next will be an attack on the kids walking to school

School age children are a bit large for coyotes, and unprovoked attacks on humans are very rare.

Small dogs though can be very easy prey if they don’t have speed or “street smarts” and have been snatched up under the owners eyes in our city parks. Small dogs can be very small.

[sascha]

@Scribbler

School age children are a bit large for coyotes

Fully-grown adults can be attacked. There has been an adult fatality in Canada in fairly recent history. Just this weekend I was told about a friend of a friend who lost a dog (last week) and a donkey, granted that coyote was rabid. They’re not bunny rabbits in dog suits and in the East they are crossed with wolves and do a lot of wolf things including hunting in packs, full-on howling, etc.

I don’t wish them any harm at all, but feel that it is unwise to downplay the potential danger especially as we see more of their land become “ours” and we need to share as peaceably as possible.

[JanM]

Where I live the coyotes are huge. Apparently crossed with domestic dogs that were running loose. Someone I used to work with hit one with his sports car, and the entire fender was ripped off.

[Scribbler]

@sascha

@Scribbler

School age children are a bit large for coyotes

Fully-grown adults can be attacked. There has been an adult fatality in Canada in fairly recent history. Just this weekend I was told about a friend of a friend who lost a dog (last week) and a donkey, granted that coyote was rabid. They’re not bunny rabbits in dog suits and in the East they are crossed with wolves and do a lot of wolf things including hunting in packs, full-on howling, etc.

I don’t wish them any harm at all, but feel that it is unwise to downplay the potential danger especially as we see more of their land become “ours” and we need to share as peaceably as possible.

The coyote attack in Nova Scotia made the news because it was so unusual.

Our coyotes are small, like border collies mostly. If they were more wolf size they could certainly do more damage.

We are in the city in a big leash law spay and neuter world, so not getting a lot of coydog crosses. I wouldn’t want to see packs of pitbull or Rottweiler coydogs!

[luvmyhackney]

The ones here in WV seem large. They are bigger than my heeler mix who is 30 lbs. I’ve never been fast enough to get a good picture, plus they stay out of my pastures when the horses are out. They could easily injure a kid if they got to human friendly.

[sascha]

@Scribbler

We are in the city in a big leash law spay and neuter world, so not getting a lot of coydog crosses.

I don’t believe I said anything about coydogs? But I agree a coyote/large dog cross would be unpleasant … sort of like the coyote/wolf crosses in this part of the world that are just called coyotes even though they are not. They are larger and behave somewhat differently. That pack in NS? It was taking down moose before it took down the human. They take deer in my area.

[snowblaze]

Here’s some info on the Nova Scotia coyote attack. It says:

The 19-year-old folk singer was just about to start the popular Skyline Trail when climbers in the area saw the animals close in, unprovoked. and

Interestingly, they also only found a few examples of individuals having eaten human food, debunking any claims that coyotes’ attraction to human food might’ve been a factor in Mitchell’s attack.

Scientists Now Know Why Coyotes Unexpectedly Killed a Human in 2009

And a research paper on coyote attacks:

Coyote Attacks on Humans, 1970-2015

From the paper:

Howell (1982) reported on a developing situation in Los Angeles County, CA, when from
1978 through 1981 at least 7 persons had been attacked by coyotes; one attack resulted in the death of a 3-year-old girl in Glendale, CA (Gottschalk 1981, Howell 1982).

Subsequently, Carbyn (1989) summarized information on several coyote attacks on children that had occurred in North America, primarily in national parks in western Canada, mostly during the 1980s. Of the 14 reported
attacks, 4 resulted in “major injuries.”

It says that once coyotes become habituated to humans, the ‘hazing’ is generally ineffective.

[Scribbler]

Coyotes taking down moose (even moose calves) or deer is scary, and not what our local population does. But we have a lot of rats, rabbits, ducks, frogs, in our park. And very rarely a deer, wrong habitat.

[avjudge]

@Scribbler

Coyotes taking down moose (even moose calves) or deer is scary, and not what our local population does

Fortunately the researchers did note that it was an unusual dietary strategy!

[sascha]

@Scribbler

Coyotes taking down moose (even moose calves) or deer is scary, and not what our local population does

Right. Western and Eastern coyotes are literally different animals. One’s local population does not represent a whole different hybrid a few thousand kms over

Another story of local-to-me attacks. 20+ years ago my BO at the time had horses attacked overnight in their field. Their heads were attacked. Large vet bills. Large wounds. She lost one youngster (learning I think? The others were 2). The MNR came out to look at the wounds and any tracks and declared coyotes and were on their way.

The rest of us were, “No way. MNR cover up! (Lol) Couldn’t be coyotes. That kind of damage must have been done by something else.”

Now, after learning more about coywolves, I am less convinced it wasn’t.

At any rate, that was when I decided any horses I kept in that area would always come in at night and when that BO got her first donkeys.

[S1969]

@Dressage59

Yesterday we found a spot where they had bedded in the tall grasses by the creek - there were 5 spots, likely 1 for each coyote.

That doesn’t sound like coyote behavior but does sound like deer. Are you positive it was the coyotes who were sleeping there as opposed to seeing them later? Coyotes typically do not sleep out in the open, which “tall grass by a creek” might fall into that (obviously depends a lot on terrain).

There was a long thread some months ago about coyotes; I had a lone/rogue one who was following me and my dogs which was highly unusual. He seemed to have been hit by a car (I saw the body and think it was the same one as he was unusually marked) and since then it’s been all quiet again. They are still there (we hear them all the time) but they don’t approach and are generally not a nuisance.

That was the only time I ever had an issue that needed to be addressed and I did get a local hunter on the job but the car took it out first.

Generally speaking though - I would not be worried about coyote attacks on humans. Just because it happened (once or twice in history) doesn’t make it a likely threat. Obviously taking out your chickens is a threat. Unfortunately, fencing might be the best answer to that.

[rothmpp]

We’ve had issues on and off with coyotes for years around my property. One neighbor went on a coyote eradication kick last summer and it seems to have helped for now, though we apparently are now developing a bobcat problem.

When I had a large dog, I never really worried about him (he always took his night walk on a leash) other than in the late spring when I could hear the pack of juvenile males nearby. My 150lb dog - a single coyote was never going to attempt to take him on. I worried about the young, dumb pack when they were loud and very near. For a bit when I lived alone out here, I would carry my .22 at night just for a bit of extra security when they were active.

Now that I only have a 12lb dog - if I can hear them nearby at night at all I’ll cut our walk short even if he is not done with his business. He’s pee pad trained and I’m willing to let him use it rather than take a chance of him getting attacked/taken.