Keep coyotes away from your camping spot or living environment

Content

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Tips
Warnings
Necessities

A carnivore in North America, coyotes are very smart, opportunistic and innovative animals; they are so smart they have even learned to chase after school kids to drop their lunch bags! As the number of coyotes increases, they become more courageous and adapt to our human environment and are less likely to be intimidated. With cheeky coyotes starting to venture further out of the woods and into rural areas and camping sites, there is both a need and a responsibility to drive them out of built-up areas or where people engage in activities, to avoid injury to humans and coyotes .

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Use fencing. It is recommended that the fence is at least six feet high, and that it also extends up to 12 inches below the ground. The vertical spacing of such a fence should not exceed 10 cm. Since coyotes are so smart, they will sometimes jump over or dig underneath a fence. This is often the case on livestock farms, where the temptation is so great that a hungry coyote will do whatever it takes to get in.
- Barbed wire at ground level can keep the coyote from digging under the fence.
- Yard and livestock can be protected from coyotes if the fence is high and deep enough. Make sure to keep livestock within the fence, or have someone on watch if they are being moved or are grazing elsewhere for a while.
- The more expensive fences also have underground fencing and canopies; the latter can be reserved for feeding places, a shelter, enclosures for livestock, or an enclosed space, to save costs.
- Electric fencing can provide a very useful option, at a reasonable cost, for the surrounding larger livestock pasture areas.
- Make sure the livestock has a safe shelter at night.
- Llamas and donkeys can be used as livestock guard animals. The donkey must be a female or a neutered male; uncastrated males are too aggressive. In the case of donkeys and llamas, care must be taken to ensure that they are unable to socialize with other donkeys or llamas, otherwise they will neglect livestock guarding. Multiple species grazing together, such as sheep, goats and cattle together, can provide protective benefits.
Work with sound. Noise can be an excellent deterrent to a coyote roaming your yard or camping site.
- Hit trash can lids or anything noisy to deter the coyote.
- Shout and make a lot of noise in any way.
- Alarms with a motion sensor can be useful. An even more technical option is the new anti-coyote sound system. This system is based on the fact that cougars' natural predators are coyotes. The systems emit puma sounds and can keep coyotes away.
- Propane explosives can be used to deter coyotes on farms and ranches.
Use negative affirmation or an element of surprise if you encounter a coyote in your yard or camping site. In addition to the above sound solutions, there are a number of other things to try if you discover a coyote in your area. Coyotes dislike new stimuli and terrifying tactics can initially deter them. However, you should never make eye contact with the coyote, turn your back on it, or walk away from it, as these can indicate aggression or induce the animal to hunt and attack. If you want to leave, take it easy or try one of the following deterrent tactics:
- Spray the coyote with a water hose.
- Scare yourself with noise and lots of body movements; swing your arms around you, kick your legs up. This lets the coyote know that you are in charge, and that the animal should stay away.
- Use children's toys that make noise, such as blow guns, rattles, bells, etc.
- Use motion-activated lighting that activates when the coyote crosses a certain area of the yard. If the lights are on from dusk to dawn, it can keep coyotes from entering the lit area. There are also strobe lights with sirens that can deter coyotes if used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
- While a vehicle can temporarily deter the coyote's behavior, especially if it moves frequently, it can also act as a shelter (or blind spot) for the attack, so be careful about relying on this method.
Eliminate food sources valued by coyotes. Although coyotes eat meat (especially rodents), they are very opportunistic and will eat anything they come across. As such, it is important to make it impossible to get food from your environment. Either way, never try to feed a coyote as a means of trying to tame or help it; feeding is simply reinforcing bad behaviors that will encourage them to return and will not tame the animals. Here are some ways to limit food sources near your yard or site:
- Put all waste in a coyote-safe box or container. If it is secure and cannot be opened with ease, it will deter the coyote. Please ask your local council for more information if your local store cannot deliver such a container.
- Properly dispose of all food waste, whether at home or on a camping site. Place edible waste in a secure waste container or in a secure compost bin. Do not leave food scraps nearby.
- Pick ripe fruit from your trees and remove any fruit that has fallen to the ground before it becomes part of a coyote feeding frenzy.
Keep pets away from coyotes. Cats, dogs, and other pets can be grounds for attacking, mating, or serving as a possible meal. To protect your pets if you live in or are camping with a pet in a coyote area, do the following:
- Keep pets (dogs and cats) indoors at night and monitor them during the day to avoid encounters with a coyote and to prevent them from being a potential source of the coyote's next meal or attack.
- Keep pet food inside or away from where a coyote may forage. If you want pets to eat outside, bring any uneaten food inside as soon as the pet has finished eating.
- Spay or neuter dogs. When dogs are ready, coyotes will try to mate with them.
- Do not use your dog as a coyote guard dog unless the dog is properly trained to do so. Such a dog needs both proper education and training to protect livestock from coyote attacks or else it could become prey itself.
- Cover fish ponds. Coyotes eat koi fish if they are not protected.
- Do not spread birdseed. Although it doesn't look like coyote food, coyotes are attracted to birdseed. Collect such birdseed after the birds have eaten or use a non-spill feeding method (keep the seed high) if you want to feed the birds.
Remove clutter from your yard. These can serve as a shelter for predators as well as for prey. Rabbits and other prey beloved by coyotes can use garbage piles to breed and live, attracting coyotes. In addition, coyotes can hide behind debris before launching the attack. Removing debris has several other benefits, such as reducing the habitat for snakes, poisonous insects and spiders or scorpions, and it looks better.
- Remove all water sources around the garden or camping site; these can attract coyotes.
Try to deter coyotes with wolf urine. A natural and innovative answer to the coyote's growing problem is the use of wolf urine as a deterrent. Wolves are one of the coyote's natural predators, and coyote populations decline as wolves are reintroduced to an area.
- Another scent that can scare coyotes is the familiar scent of mothballs or ammonia-soaked rags. Place these in strategic places around the yard or camping site.
If these humane solutions don't help, consider hiring a professional. Many professional wildlife traps use safe traps so that the coyote doesn't have to pay with its life to enter your environment. However, be aware that relocation is ineffective, so it is much better to use the barriers suggested above so that you can continue to live in harmony with the coyote population.

Tips

Teach your kids to respect wildlife by keeping your distance. Always keep an eye out for your kids around coyotes.
When camping, follow all instructions from the forest rangers or other site managers regarding the coyotes and other wildlife in the area. Under no circumstances should you feed or encourage them in any way. Make sure to store all your food items and anything with an appealing scent, including cosmetics. The same precautions like protecting your place from bears apply.

Warnings

Coyotes are shy animals, but if provoked, or if they feel threatened, they will attack. Always keep your distance and remember that coyotes are wild animals. Teach children to be respectful on their guard.
Coyotes have no problem with chicken wire removal. Do not use it as a barrier, but only to keep animals within a barrier that does work.
Know the rules regarding the protection of coyotes in your area. It is illegal to kill coyotes in some states and provinces of the US, while there are strict seasonal or hunting regulations in other areas.