About Nuisance Coyotes

These days, coyotes have expanded their territory into urban and suburban areas across the United States. In doing so, the animal has become much more of a nuisance to humans. This wasn’t always the case though. Scientists have tracked coyote expansion over time and discovered that the species’ move into cities only really began after the 1990s. Today, coyotes can be found downtown in some of the largest American cities like Chicago and New York.

• One problem that humans encounter when it comes to coyotes is raided garbage cans, seed bags, pet food, and other easily accessible food sources in and around most homes. Coyotes are opportunistic and will gladly take advantage of an easy meal.

That said, the good news is that coyotes are actually quite skittish and generally shy away from humans when possible. It’s true to say that they are more scared of us than we are of them, so they try to avoid confrontation.

A recent study out of Cornell University examined coyote behavior in suburban regions and studied human-coyote interactions across the state of New York. The study found that, when living in a suburban area, coyotes still prefer to keep their dens and territories in more natural habitats outside of densely populated residential areas. Results also showed that coyotes actually prefer their typical prey to any human sources of food.

The study also found that, across the state of New York, the most commonly reported coyote issues were run-ins with pets. Unfortunately, dogs and cats do attract coyotes, and coyotes will attack these animals. The most common human-coyote incidents occur when humans try to intervene in these situations.

• Though it is rare, coyotes have been known to attack humans. The risk of an attack increases when humans feed coyotes, or if they allow coyotes to approach them or their pets. Urban coyotes that become too comfortable with humans are also a risk. Most sources report that in the last 30 years, there have been approximately 160 confirmed coyote attacks on humans in the United States. Most of these attacks took place in the Los Angeles County area. Of all 160 attacks, only two were fatal.

There are a few things you can do to decrease your risk of coyote interactions and keep these animals away from your property.

• Make sure your property is clean of any trash and food scraps. That said, coyotes are crafty and are often able to raid closed trash cans. Use a metal trash can and secure the lid with bungee cords.
• Keep your pets indoors when you can’t keep a close eye on them outside. If you let your pets roam free outdoors, this can attract coyotes to your property. It’s especially important to keep your pets indoors between dusk and dawn, as coyotes are more active during this time.
• Feed your pets indoors in order to keep pet food from attracting coyotes. If you must feed your pets outside, make sure to clean up well and take food and water bowls inside each night.
• Secure any farm animals you may have on your property. This is especially important for the smaller, more vulnerable animals like chickens. The easiest thing to do is keep your animals in pens and make sure these pens are well secured. Don’t let your animals roam in remote areas where you can’t keep an eye on them.
• Install high-quality fencing that is at least six feet high. Coyotes are experts at jumping and can easily get over anything lower than that. The best material is solid wood, but vinyl and metal will work too. Electric fences are also a useful deterrent.
• Clear your property of any possible coyote hiding spots like brush piles, large bushes, fallen trees, and low-growth vegetation.

Trapping

The primary non-lethal removal tactic that professional wildlife control experts will use to remove coyotes from your property is trapping. Trapping is not as simple as it sounds. Remember that the coyote is known as the trickster – these animals are known to evade most traps. For this reason, you need a true expert to do trapping for you. 

To be successful, coyote trappers often turn to the specialized techniques of fur trappers in order to trap coyotes. Experts are able to trap coyotes with ease, but you shouldn’t try it on your own.

Lethal Methods

There are also many removal experts who use lethal methods, but these come with a long list of risks and drawbacks that make them undesirable.

• It’s impossible to only target the offending animal (the coyote in this case) with lethal methods. In the worst case, poisons or snares might even harm your own pets or livestock.
• When these methods do find the right target, they are often inhumane and cause extended suffering for the animal.