How to rid Coyote's

[Richard]

Seems we have coyote's around us.

At night, then can make the worst racket.... sounds like they are simply eating each other (or something else) alive....

We have the obligatory small dogs (note avatar) and cats.

Over the years, it sounds like there are more of them and at times, getting pretty close to the house. Wife says she has heard them directly behind the house in the woods (woods start about 20' behind the house).

I get that their voices carry and they might be a distance away however, with some dogs on the other side of the farm as a known location, these guys are pretty close.

So, that said.... I understand there is an open season on them year round however, you have to shoot them during the day or something like that?

(I'm not a hunter, own no guns but, am not against any hunting especially if it means thinning out little SOB's that might create a real bad night for me if they ever got ahold of one of our dogs or cats)

I'm now willing to wage some war on them but, have no clue what might work.

Poison? Nope, don't like that
Live traps? I'm guessing that won't work
Buy a gun, buy some night vision? (now you have my attention)

The land we live on is surrounded on three sides by a lake so their ways in and out are somewhat limited. If I could put a dent in them, it might take them a while to repopulate since their ways in here are restricted.

Thoughts?

It really is a blood curdling sound they make when they are doing whatever they are doing. What ARE they doing when they sound like they are eating and attacking something alive?

 

[lilranch2001]

I do not know much about them, but I have seen some wondering around my property and they are nasty looking critters
I have never been able to get my gun fast enough......

 

[DT86]

Honestly, if you don't hunt or own guns now I'd say leave it to someone else.

People ask me all the time to come coyote hunting on the farm. The ones I let come have mixed success. The guys that do the best have mucho dinero and time invested.

 

[sseelhoff]

Get a roadrunner.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

See if you can find someone that will trap them. If you want to hunt them you may want to go on a guided coyote hunt to learn the ropes before you go out on your own.

 

[Tomtint]

Trap one, shoot it in the head with a 22, then hang it. Wait for its brothers and sisters to show up then blast all of them.

 

[EddieWalker]

There is nothing as satisfying as killing coyote. Sadly, I'm lucky if I kill half a dozen a year. I've had some success with calling them in, but it's time consuming and most of the time they don't come in like you want them to. Sometimes bobcats show up too. My best results are after I shoot a wild hog and I leave the gut pile out in the middle of a field. Three days later, when the buzzards are thick, the coyotes show up and hang out there.

I honestly don't think you can affect their population by killing them. When their numbers are down, they have more babies. When they are overpopulated, they have fewer babies. I've lost close to 20 cats over the last decade to coyotes. If you have cats that are outdoors catching mice, it's just a matter of time until a coyote eats it. I've also lost chickens, ducks and guineas to coyotes. I had one group of two coyotes kill 7 ducks and leave five of them behind. Just killed them for fun.

A couple years ago I installed a hot wire around my pasture where the ducks and guineas are. One is just inches off the ground, the next is about a foot up, then the top one keeps the horses in at 3 feet up. Since then, we haven't lost a single animal to coyotes. We can see their tracks walking around the fence, and where they test it and run away. It's very effective!!!!!

Something that I do all the time after it rains is to go for a walk in the mud and look at the tracks out there. Coyotes tracks are very easy to see. 4 toes with claws. The claws are the important thing since cats never walk with their claws out. They will look bigger because of the mud, that doesn't matter. Seeing their tracks and seeing how close they come to the house, your animals and out buildings is what matters. I've seen tracks inches from my house!!!!

 

[Sysop]

We have them around our place too. Generally when they're all cackling about, it's during the final moments of the kill, and the frenzy of tearing apart a fresh meal.

My advice, get some of the "driveway alert" motion detectors that sound tones on a unit in your house and identifies where something is moving around outside your house. That will let you know if they get close and where around the house they are. I personally wouldn't go after one with less than a 12 gauge shotgun. Not that it takes one to kill a coyote, but ya need the quick "point and click" without worrying so much about perfect aim. To see one standing still is a rare thing and having a spread to the shot increases the chances of a kill dramatically. To go hunting and find them, you need to be able to track them. They maintain large territories, so expect a hike if you want to go hunt them. That said, if you find or know of a path they travel; setting and waiting works also. Generally just shooting at them will cause them to alter their travel patterns. So you may not need to kill any to get rid of them. They're smart, and they figure it out quickly when something higher up the food chain is hunting them.

 

[sdef]

I have no coyote experience and they are rare very locally, but I understand they are more prevalent down the road a piece from our new home.

I am fencing the cleared portion of my back yard to help protect the garden from the deer and the wife's cats from feral cats, fox, dogs and potential coyote. I am armed and experienced and also have a fine cross bow I purchased for this purpose that is spot on. I understand coyote are very wily and would expect that to make a dent in their population would a challenge, especially for an inexperienced hunter/marksman. But since the entrance and exit to your place is limited, it sounds like an experienced marksman could be helpful to get the point across to the critters to stay away. But this would be time consuming and more conducive for the land owner to accomplish.

One way or the other I certainly think it prudent to arm oneself and train for future endeavors, although it may not be of immediate help for you. You may want to consider photo eye lights, sprinklers, sound, etc. for those close to the house as a first step towards deterrence.

 

[BHD]

I do not think you will ever get rid of them, you may lessen them some but get rid of them, my neighbor is or was an avid hunter, one winter he had over a 100 coyotes hanging in his shop (selling the skins), I never noticed the "reduction in them". I have shot them in my yard, 15 feet behind the barn, 30 feet front of the house, can hear them running with in 100 yards running north of the trees, a lot in the evening, I from time to time have some kids who want to try to call them in, and they may get a few a winter, I get a few from time to time, but to eliminate them I do not think so,