How to rid Coyote's

[drizler]

Fishers are a subspecies of marten, and a tough one at that. Bigger than weasel or ferret, smaller that a badger and far more agile, mean as a mink when hungry or killing a coop full of ___ as if to deny others the pleasure. Might as well think 'wolverine-light' for the havoc they can cause. Certainly not as reclusive as wolverines, or as shy of human activity.

Well said. They aren't shy at all and will happily grab your cat off the deck right in front of you as a coworker found out. Once all the little critters are gone the just stake out your yard and yes the eat small dogs as well. Females tend to be smaller, about big tomcat size and brown. They don't go very far. Males are bigger and black. They roam Like wolves over 50 sq miles and live in dead tree hollows and such like the females Both look like cats from a distance but are more of a ferret. That's how they run too, more like a ferret with that slithering movement.
I never heard of them either but once wondered how back in the 60's that woodchuck got up into that tree across the field but of course it was gone before I got there. The best advice I got on them years later was " watch the small animals, rabbits n squirrels. When they are all disappearing you have a fisher living nearby". Too true.
They are dumb and easy to kill trap though. Just set a pole on a steep angle with some rotten meat past the trap. They will walk right through it. The trick is putting it someplace where house cats can't find it and high enough to keep Wiley yotes from knocking it down. I also put it well up past the trap a few feet so any vultures that land don't get killed. I don't like trapping much but with these vermin it's about the only realistic way. Shooting them is near impossible, they are like VC, you just don't see them.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

But if you do happen upon and startle a fisher cat... Especially at night as I found out... The sounds they make will nearly make you piss your pants.

I thought the devil himself had come for my soul! At least now I know I don't have any significant coronary artery disease.

Fisher Cat Sounds - YouTube

 

[Tig]

I had a fisher cat in my yard last spring. I found the goose nest cleaned out the next day. Saw her again the next week, early Sunday morning. Right by the store in the village. She disappeared under the bridge as we drove by. This one was pretty comfortable running around in daylight. It must have moved on since then. We have lots of bunnies and young squirrels running around this year. No raccoons though. The birds nests all seem to have survived.

 

[drssg]

In our case, the coyotes became less of a problem over time. I wouldn't swear it's anything we did, but we regularly take the dogs for a walk around the perimeter of the property, and they thoroughly mark their territory in the process. I've only shot three coyotes in fourteen years, and that's because they were behaving abnormally. They were near the house in broad daylight and seemed acclimated to people, which makes them more dangerous. Normal coyotes are quite shy, and I never even see them.

The pets come in at night. If the dogs need to go out after dark, they go on a line next to the house. The only animal we've lost was a half-grown kitten in broad daylight, and I think that must have been a hawk. I can't possibly kill all predators in the area that might attack our pets at night.

I used a 22-250, which I think is a good varmint rifle, but I got it for free from a family member. If I had to buy something, I think I'd go for some sort of an AR, which is also a good varmint rifle, but it's also appropriate for home defense.

If you are new to firearms and decide to buy one, I suggest attending some basic training which includes range time. The problem with unsafe gun handling is that it is often completely unconscious. It's just common sense not to point a gun at something you don't want to shoot, but people do it without even thinking. It's common sense not to put your finger on the trigger until ready to fire, but people pick up a gun and naturally put their finger inside the trigger guard. I think it's important to have someone watch your gun handling and point out any mistakes that you don't notice. Just my $0.02.

 

[Dr Dirt]

This might sound nuts, but, it seems to work for me.

About 10 years ago I had a serious coyote and racoon problem on my chicken flock. I bought a couple of solar powered flashing led lights. I was amazed that these little units actually scared away all the ground traveling predators.

It got to the point that we actually stopped "locking up" the birds at night! The way these little led lights work is the fact that predators never want to tango with other predators. When a predator spies these flashing lights they simply slink away in the dark. The coyote pack simply moved away and subsequent new packs moved away as well.

We moved from Cape Ann in Massachusetts to Southern Maine to a bigger farm, using these little lights my free rangers have never been locked up!

I have been here for four years and the only losses have been areal from hawks!

There are several manufacturers who sell these solar powered units, they are about $20 each and the recommended spacing is such that they are much cheaper than fencing and I have experienced 100% success.

 

[Snowback]

This might sound nuts, but, it seems to work for me.

About 10 years ago I had a serious coyote and racoon problem on my chicken flock. I bought a couple of solar powered flashing led lights. I was amazed that these little units actually scared away all the ground traveling predators.

It got to the point that we actually stopped "locking up" the birds at night! The way these little led lights work is the fact that predators never want to tango with other predators. When a predator spies these flashing lights they simply slink away in the dark. The coyote pack simply moved away and subsequent new packs moved away as well.

We moved from Cape Ann in Massachusetts to Southern Maine to a bigger farm, using these little lights my free rangers have never been locked up!

I have been here for four years and the only losses have been areal from hawks!

There are several manufacturers who sell these solar powered units, they are about $20 each and the recommended spacing is such that they are much cheaper than fencing and I have experienced 100% success.

Very interesting. Thanks! (I wonder if these flashing lights keep burglars away too?)

 

[BoylermanCT]

I had predator problems until I put up electric fencing. Keeps coyotes, bobcats and bears at bay. I have trail cameras along the fence line and I get lots of pics of them outside the fence so I know they are still around. All my animals come in every night as bad things happen at night!

 

[davesl708]

awprint:You might just have to get used to them. Even the Road Runner could not get rid of even one coyote.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

From your post, Richard, it sounds as though you object to their blood-curdling howls. After a while you get used to it. One coyote can sound like a whole pack, improvising like Hendrix. Best solution with coyotes is to get a good pair on your property and leave them alone. A good alpha female will keep others out and won't breed much if no members of her group die. They eat a LOT of mice and windfall apples. Our cat's at least 14 years old and there've been three generations of coyotes around the house over that time. She lives outside.

When mowing hay, I sometimes see them come out to watch, or to hunt for mice. They keep their distance, but they don't seem threatening.

In 20 years of sheep farming my dad shot two coyotes who looked troublesome. He lost two ewes in that time, both killed by his border collie *****, Sally. She tended to get impatient when herding.

One time I encountered a pack of strangers passing through, though. They looked dangerous, but they kept going. I guess they respected the resident pair's territory.

 

[CalG]

I hear that wolves are mean on "yotes".

don't bother foxes though. But the yotes will chew a fox in a heart beat.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I've read thru every comment here to see if anyone said what I have been thinking. I'm hesitant because everyone seems to have soft skin these days.
I see people say you can't hope to control their numbers. Some say you can't get rid f of them. Horsecrap. You can...but it won't be pretty...and it will probably be illegal. In Virginia, they have made their way back into the state in the last 15 years. 30 years ago, nobody saw a coyote. They had been eradicated from the state. When farmers, and settlers killed them of, most of the farmers probably didn't have an electric fence.....so they didn't have the same options we have now. it was a different time and they were harder than we are. This country wasn't founded by vegetarians. You had to get bloody just to put a meal on the table. Yotes were slaughtered. They were poisoned, shot, trapped, and killed any way you can think of. One of the most effective ways to kill them as poisoning a carcass. Another way that was extremely effective was chunks of meat on large hooks hung from tree branches. It is a hideous way for an animal to die. And it is indiscriminate. Dogs, large cats, etc, But it works. landowners and farmer took drastic steps to address something they considered a threat. People spent much more time on the land back then, so they would also find the dens....and smoke them out, and have snares, and other traps set up to kill them...as well as shoot the with shotguns. not sporting. Im only repeating what I have been told by older folks who lived in a time that was a bit harder than now.

 

[westcliffe01]

The reason they cannot be eradicated now is the fact that your own land is very likely to be surrounded by leased land that no-one lives on and owners will not give you permission to go onto it for the sake of identifying coyote dens. This seems to be very common in SE MI. Furthermore, farmers who grow crops are all for predators to keep the deer population down, and coyotes don't do any damage to corn or wheat. So there is a conflict of interest.

If you happen to raise vulnerable livestock and can't afford $20-30k to tear out old fence rows and put in modern - no climb fence that is buried and has a maintainable electric perimeter, it is just a fact of life that coyotes are going to continue to do damage every year. The sheep farm I was involved with were losing up to 100% of newborn lambs (100 count breed herd, between 1-2 lambs per ewe per year) and up to 25 of the ewes per year. So they were going bankrupt basically, of course a family cant live from a herd of 100 sheep, so the adults have full time or part time jobs to make ends meet. But by putting in 2 hours every Sat and Sun morning before dawn and a few nights in summer night hunting, those losses have dropped to 4-6 sheep lost per year total.

Summer is always a crapshoot, if a pack decides to do the daytime pup training, having figured out that no-one is home and the guard dog is sleeping, those figures can rise dramatically and taking time off work to observe during summer time heat, can be a tough call. But it is the only way to stop the daytime raids.

 

[k0ua]

There is no doubt in my mind that they can be eradicated by hunting them. They were eradicated before and they could be again. But in those days everyone eradicated them. Even myself as a child managed to collect the $10 bounty. But now they are back more numerous than before. But you don't have hundreds of people hunting them. You don't have the majority of landowners wanting rid of them. The bounty system is gone. Every weekend folks turned out with dogs, CB radios in their pickup trucks and guns and hunted coyotes where I lived. I haven't seen that in many decades.

 

[two_bit_score]

There is no doubt in my mind that they can be eradicated by hunting them. They were eradicated before and they could be again. But in those days everyone eradicated them. Even myself as a child managed to collect the $10 bounty. But now they are back more numerous than before. But you don't have hundreds of people hunting them. You don't have the majority of landowners wanting rid of them. The bounty system is gone. Every weekend folks turned out with dogs, CB radios in their pickup trucks and guns and hunted coyotes where I lived. I haven't seen that in many decades.

Well, yeah, that and it's just not popular and 'social' to look forward to going to the 'coyote camp' and then bragging about the B&C score of your 'yote kill. And who really wants to have 6 mounted coyote heads lining the wall of the den? Or who is going to be impressed with your 'dried 'yote sausage' every year?

 

[k0ua]

Man, that 'yote sausage does NOT sound good to me!:yuck:

 

[two_bit_score]

Man, that 'yote sausage does NOT sound good to me!:yuck:

Really? Well, have you tried it? :roll eyes:



TBS

 

[arpt209]

Around here coyotes are shot more from necessity than fun or sport. Pets & livestock of all sorts are always on their menu. Young of the year deer, antelope, elk which are considered people food are on the menu as well. There are other critters like gophers that are killed as well. I guess badgers get it too. Not enough wolves or lions to be a problem here. Not yet anyway.

Years ago I had lion hounds. I was out walking a track in the snow to decide if I'd put dogs on it. I saw coyote tracks coming in from the side. I then saw a swirl in the snow where it looked like the lion spun on the coyote. Coyote ran a loop & a couple of hundred yards later the swirl again. This occurred in the snow several times. The last swirl was more disturbed. No coyote tracks lead away. I kept following the lion into some trees & found a coyote hide with all 4 feet & the head still in it. Head had 2 very distinct fang marks right in the top of the skull. Always wish I'd had it tanned & kept the feet & skull. Dogs had a hard time staying on the track since it smelled so strong of coyote. Turned out the lion was a female so I leashed the dogs & let her go.

Coyotes taste like they smell. Same with badgers, fox, porcupines, muskrats, beaver. Maybe it was the cook's fault. Lions good. Tastes like cat not chicken. Same as bobcat.

 

[k0ua]

Really? Well, have you tried it? :roll eyes:



TBS

Nope, and ya can't make me

 

[Snowback]

Around here coyotes are shot more from necessity than fun or sport. Pets & livestock of all sorts are always on their menu. Young of the year deer, antelope, elk which are considered people food are on the menu as well. There are other critters like gophers that are killed as well. I guess badgers get it too. Not enough wolves or lions to be a problem here. Not yet anyway.

Years ago I had lion hounds. I was out walking a track in the snow to decide if I'd put dogs on it. I saw coyote tracks coming in from the side. I then saw a swirl in the snow where it looked like the lion spun on the coyote. Coyote ran a loop & a couple of hundred yards later the swirl again. This occurred in the snow several times. The last swirl was more disturbed. No coyote tracks lead away. I kept following the lion into some trees & found a coyote hide with all 4 feet & the head still in it. Head had 2 very distinct fang marks right in the top of the skull. Always wish I'd had it tanned & kept the feet & skull. Dogs had a hard time staying on the track since it smelled so strong of coyote. Turned out the lion was a female so I leashed the dogs & let her go.

Coyotes taste like they smell. Same with badgers, fox, porcupines, muskrats, beaver. Maybe it was the cook's fault. Lions good. Tastes like cat not chicken. Same as bobcat.

I had to read that twice and then think about it... My mind was showing me images of a giant, largely maned, African lion running wild in the snow! (Then it finally dawned on me that you were after a Cougar - AKA "Mountain" Lion!!!!) LOL! Sorry, I've been down south too long. Are your dogs Ridge backs or another type of hound? Thanks for making me laugh at myself. :laughing:

Here is the nice cat my 14 YO nephew took a few years back. My BIL was very proud!

 

[EddieWalker]

Here is the nice cat my 14 YO nephew took a few years back. My BIL was very proud!

View attachment 473316

Very Nice!!!

I've only seen one mt lion in my life and that was while backpacking near Yosemite. My neighbor here in Tyler TX has his own runway and he shot one a few years ago while he was getting his plane ready for a flight. It was laying in a wood pile at the side of his runway watching him.