With the increasing loss of their natural habitat, coyotes are gradually but surely sneaking into our homes. For rural folks and also for some who live in suburban areas, it’s becoming more common to spot a coyote in the backyard, and this is proving to be a worrisome trend.
Coyotes are opportunistic predators and can pose an immediate danger to little kids and even small pets!
Luckily, you don’t need to panic when you spot one on your property, there are various ways to deter them from making those unwelcome visits to your compound. Consider the following best ways to keep coyotes out of your yard:
Keep Your Yard Clean
Coyotes have scavenger’s tendencies and are always on the prowl to find an easy meal. This means they’ll jump at any sight or smell of food remnants you throw in the garbage can or leave lying around in the compound. As such, you should remove all food, as well as water sources, that may draw them to your property.
Your garbage cans should be kept out of reach and have an airtight lid to limit the spread of the smell. Remember to also bring all pet food inside and if you keep rabbits or other domesticated animals, ensure that you build a safe shelter to house them at night.
Also, if you have a rodent infestation in your yard, find a way of dealing with this first. You can call an exterminator to get rid of them so that there is no food source to attract the unwanted canines.
Coyote Hazing
Although not for the faint of heart, it’s actually a good idea to shoo away a coyote in case you encounter one. Any confrontations with the animal should not only be unpleasant but also frightening to make them feel completely unwelcomed. Several tactics will help you to achieve this. For instance, you can scream, yell, blow an air horn, or make any other uncomfortable noise you can think of.
You can also raise your hands over your head and wave them vigorously to appear larger and intimidating to the coyote, which will cause it to bolt as soon as possible. Another way is to turn on the sprinklers or spray the coyote with a hose, spray bottle, water gun, etc.; anything to get them out of your compound!
Install a Solid Fence
If you didn’t have one already, this would be the perfect time to get a solid fence installed on your property. To keep the pesky coyotes at bay, find a fence that is at least 7 ft high, as coyotes can easily clear anything shorter by simply jumping over it.
Additionally, you want to make sure that the fence sinks at least 1 foot into the ground. Apart from being great jumpers, coyotes are also talented diggers and can easily access your compound from below. You can reinforce the fence with hardware cloth to make sure that it’s impenetrable.
As if they weren’t agile enough, coyotes can also climb many types of fences. You want to choose a smooth and flat material for the fence. Fencing poles with a smooth texture will keep them from latching onto the fence and ensure that they slide back down when they try to climb over it.
Get a Guard Animal
Most people think “dog” when they hear about guard animals but when it comes to keeping coyotes away, llamas and donkeys actually make a better guard animal. If you keep any livestock on your property, get a single donkey or llama for the safety of your animals.
Donkeys will naturally rush at coyotes while llamas hate them and will attack upon spotting one. However, you don’t want to keep many donkeys or llamas as they will start to herd and lose focus of the main goal, which is to drive off the coyotes. Although it’s not a watertight solution, it will still be a nice option for a farmer.
Hunt Down the Animals
For a more permanent solution, you can hunt down the coyotes if you own a couple of guns or bow and arrows. Assuming you’ve tried all the above methods but nothing seems to be working, you can put your foot down by opting for complete neutralization of the threat.
You want to get a coyote call equipment to lure the animals when you are ready with your gun or arrow. Hunting provides a permanent answer to the problem until another group of coyotes invades your place. But before you do this, check with the local animal protection laws to make sure you don’t get into trouble with the authorities.