Creative coyote deterrents?

[Mary in Nevada]

Coyotes here in southern Nevada are bold and operate 24/7 but dogs always have done the trick for me and without getting hurt. My 12 yr old pitbull and my chihuahua have saved quite a few chickens. One coyote was driven off by my friends' very elderly black lab when she came to live with me. Ours just don't mess with dogs.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Same here, scared of tiny dogs even when they are out eating garbage all day in plain sight of humans.

 

[bobbi-j]

We had a cornfield right next to our house this year. Several times during late summer, I'd hear a coyote yipping - starting in the pasture, the dog would head out that way, and the coyote would move into the corn, come even with the house and go toward the other side of our building site toward the barn, the dog following. It wasn't running away, just moving through the corn. I'd go outside and call the dog, the coyote would keep luring him, and the idiot kept following. The only way to get the dog in was to fire a shot to scare the coyote away. The dog loves to hunt, so he'd come running to us. We have neighbors who believe their dog was lured to the pack and killed that way.

 

[Latestarter]

Coyotes are VERY smart animals... they HAVE to be to survive. Many have experienced a pack of coyotes luring a single dog to its death. Even a large dog, experienced at fighting, would stand little chance against a pack of coyotes. I have heard and read about single LGD's being taken down by packs of coyotes, and they are raised and bred specifically to deal with threats to their flocks such as wolves and bears. Part of the reason why most folks run their LGDs in pairs or trios. Much more info about LGDs on other threads here.

As I see it, a person has 2 choices dealing with coyotes; you either fence them out with high fencing (they can JUMP!) and hot wire (using LGDs as back up if the problem is really severe), or you take them out with a terminal case of lead poisoning. Coyotes are no longer a "wild west" problem... they have spread to suburbia and live among us, even inside city limits in some cases, scavenging from our trash and eating pets and strays. As a further problem, especially up north, they seem to have cross bred with wolves and have become larger and much more dangerous. While they hsitorically weighed in about 30 pounds, I have seen some now as large as a small German Shepard @ 50-70 pounds!

Doesn't matter if you're an animal lover or not, live & let live is fine right up until they become a threat to me, my family, or my animals. At that point, they become nothing more than a target. As long as they're eating rabbits and squirrels, they have nothing to fear from me. As a worst case scenario I would SSS, but where I am we have the right to protect our livestock. Oh, and as an aside, from what I've come to understand, eliminating pack members will NOT alleviate the problem. To get the pack to move, you need to eliminate the alphas.

 

[Mutt Farm]

I admit, when I started this post I was really hopeful that there was some creative humane way to scare coyotes off that I hadn't thought of. Being a huge wildlife and nature lover, I couldn't bring myself to shoot them even if it was legal for me. But, I'm quickly becoming tired of continually trying to chase them off and I am realizing that they really do have this area figured out and are not safely coexisting anymore.

They have learned that many people are gone during the week days. We didn't see them at all over the weekend, but at 2:00pm today one was back in my yard (I'm a stay at home mom with three young kids right now, which is why I'm here to see them while all my neighbors are gone). They really do seem too used to people for comfort. I threw a frisbee at this one today, but he just stared at it as it landed in front of him. When I charged full force screaming and waving another frisbee, he took off, but I really don't have the time or energy to keep up with this. I plan to discuss it with our county animal control later this week. In the mean time, my chickens are always locked up in hardware cloth and my kids are never out without me standing guard.

I do appreciate all the suggestions on this thread, because I do completely understand how many feel driven to eliminate them...my anger and frustration has grown so much in the past few weeks!

I'm late to the thread, but wanted to share a couple thoughts with you. As some on here have stated, I too have very bold brazen habituated suburban coyotes. They can be quite dangerous.
I'm not against humanely and legally dispatching a predator but have found that each area has a specific predator load. When you remove one another will move right in to the territory.
I've used the pulsing hot wire with good success to keep coyotes and stray dogs out of my yard and my own dogs in the yard. http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/zareba-10-mile-ac-low-impedance-fence-charger?cm_vc=-10005
A friend has boasted success with the night eyes.
Another deterrent not yet mentioned that has been quite helpful is a motion detector sprinkler. There are several varieties.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Havahart...ted-Sprinkler-Animal-Repellent-5266/203281169
Best of luck to you and please keep us posted.

 

[aart]

I'm late to the thread, but wanted to share a couple thoughts with you. As some on here have stated, I too have very bold brazen habituated suburban coyotes. They can be quite dangerous.
I'm not against humanely and legally dispatching a predator but have found that each area has a specific predator load. When you remove one another will move right in to the territory.
I've used the pulsing hot wire with good success to keep coyotes and stray dogs out of my yard and my own dogs in the yard. http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/zareba-10-mile-ac-low-impedance-fence-charger?cm_vc=-10005
A friend has boasted success with the night eyes.
Another deterrent not yet mentioned that has been quite helpful is a motion detector sprinkler. There are several varieties.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Havahart...ted-Sprinkler-Animal-Repellent-5266/203281169
Best of luck to you and please keep us posted.

Different brand but...

Hot wire is the best...why can't you use it?
Have you tried contacting DNR about the issue?

Is your run on the property line?
Maybe privacy fencing to block view?
Scare Crow brand motion triggered water jet?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you're close enough to land a frisbee in front of a coyote, and you aren't an Olympic frisbee distance champion, this coyote if far too close for comfort. If I didn't want to kill it outright, here's what I would do... I would yell at it, and then I would aim my 12 guage shotgun about 3' in front of it, and fire off a #6 - #8 shotshell. As soon as it turned to run, I'd put another round in it's rump. While this won't kill the coyote, it will sting enough that it will remember it from now on. If it ever came within sight again, I can assure you that yelling at it will make it think it's butt's about to catch fire again. I've used this method for stray dogs that refuse to leave, and they always seem a lot more cooperative afterwards. I suppose I'd be the same way after getting peppered with birdshot...

Bird shot from a 12 ga is extremely torturous and could kill after long bought of infection or starvation due to poor mobility. That is not a sharp slap and it's going to be alright later kind of action. Unless your aiming a kid's low power BB gun (not an adult's pellet gun) at an animal you should be intending to kill it outright.

To the OP,

I'd favor the hotwire fence or go all out and put up a privacy fence around property line in back yard with gate. The thing about coyote is they are more curious than hungry. Those that trap them successfully do so by intriguing the animal more than baiting it with feed. In reality coyote eat all the time and are constantly on the move. They'll eat meadow moles or mice all day long, constantly feeding. Hotwire fencing even though short works well as it's something new in their terrain. Instead of easily jumping it they check it out then get 3-6K volts right on the nose and don't come near it again.

 

[BBQJOE]

I like the idea of a motion detector sprinkler if you're adverse to shooting them.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Call the county/dnr right away on this they are so far only after your chickens but they have no fear of you as is apparent with them coming to hunt while your outside. Speaking from someone who was almost attacked by one i say call. I was five walking my dog up and down a residential street in Austin and the dang thing came out of no where and would have gotten me if i hadnt let my dog off her lease and she attacked him saving my life. I am not trying to scare you but coyotes are after any meal they can get and since they cant get your flock they will go after something else.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Bird shot from a 12 ga is extremely torturous and could kill after long bought of infection or starvation due to poor mobility. That is not a sharp slap and it's going to be alright later kind of action. Unless your aiming a kid's low power BB gun (not an adult's pellet gun) at an animal you should be intending to kill it outright.

I suppose you're right. I didn't take into consideration that the poster might not be be a seasoned hunter and know the effective range of birdshot. It didn't occur to me that they may not have even been "peppered" with birdshot while dove or quail hunting. My bad. I was only thinking of my experiences in the field, and my experiences with "peppering" stubborn dogs that refuse to leave. I don't recall any of them ever suffering extensive damage or starvation, as I've spotted most all of them while driving around afterwards... but not on my property. I should had suggested allowing the coyote to get a 50'-75' lead before shooting at it, assuming the poster is a good judge of distance. I've been hit with birdshot from that range (and a few times from less range), and it doesn't even break the skin. It does create small welts that resemble measles, which is something you probably don't want to transfer to the local coyote pack. In my opinion, I'd rather get hit by birdshot from 75' than a BB from a Red Ryder any day (I've experienced both). I've tried BB guns on stray dogs, and it was never effective at keeping them away. Sure, they'd run when I come out with it, only to return later. Either make a lasting impression on the animal... or kill it. If you straddle the fence on how to deal with it, you'll always have a problem. Just my 2c...