Coyote too close for comfort

[2LaneCruzer]

First let me start by saying we have horses. So protecting them is important. I know a lot of you here will tell me coyotes do not attack horses. They do. I have seen it at other barns we have been at. It is rare, but not zero. Also it can spook the horses and with them acting the fool they can get hurt by a fence or each other or who knows what.

Also we have a dog. We keep her either inside or on a lead when she is outside doing her business. Obviously do not want to have to worry about her.

So yesterday there was a coyote roaming our 18 acres and neighbor's 10 acres. Looked like he was just passing through. So no big deal - keep on moving dude and you will be fine.

Well later in the day I went out side and there he was in my yard, about 50 feet away from me. Thankfully the horses were in so no worries there. I do not routinely carry when I am just out and about on my own property so I could not dispatch him then and there.

In the 5 or so years we have been living here this is the first we have seen one that close in the day light. We have found their prints around the property in the snow in the morning, meaning they came around overnight. We also hear them at night yipping and calling to each other as they do.

If it was a one time thing for this dude no big deal, live and let live. However if he is that hungry or so bold that he is coming up to the house in the middle of the day I need to change that behavior - more than likely by eliminating him from the gene pool.

In Indiana they are nuisance animals. I do not need a permit so long as I am "taking" them on my own property. I can either hunt them or trap and euthanize them.

Note I am not a coyote hater. If he was just passing through and goes back to his nocturnal ways I am good with that. If he continues his daylight activities I am not going to bother him. We have lived and let live for this long.

So assuming he continues this activity any advice on trapping him? I have borrowed a coyote trap, but everything I read on line says they are tough to trap. Trap is a large cage type live trap. He would then be euthanized in the trap via being shot.

You seem a bit tentative. You should not have to apologize for getting rid of a pest, and coyotes can be a pest, as you know. I have no animosity toward wild animals, unless they interfere. I am also suspicious of animals that hang around like that, as they might be sick with something that could spread to your animals, like rabies or distemper. I would dispatch the animal in the best way I know how, and not worry about it...there's a lot information on the internet, and you might even contact your local animal control or state wildlife agency.

How To Get Rid of Coyotes Yourself - Steps and Tips

 

[Jstpssng]

Bush hogging 14 acres Saturday and saw one about 50 yards in front of me after I made a turn. Did not care about me or the tractor at all (full throttle and shredder engaged). Took a nice 30 second video as he/she just ambled across my field. I will post a link to the video if I can figure out how to upload it somewhere.

No livestock on my property but plenty of bunnies and mice.

He probably was dining on the bunnies and field mice which you were exposing.

 

[Beeenvenue]

I would have thought so but if you look at the video he was just trotting across the field. I stopped recording just before he turned north and kept moving along the fence line into areas I hadn’t gotten to yet, which was over a hill and out of sight. He appeared to just be using my field as a path from somewhere to somewhere else.

 

[polo1665]

My neighbor sets snares and she has been fairly successful. She told me she took 12 coyotes one year. That was a few years back.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^
The issue that I have with snares as well as their cousin the Conibear, is they are unforgiving. If your dog gets in a foothold you can let him out... and he will tell you to get that thing off his foot.
If your dog gets into a snare and you don't notice immediately, you will be burying him. OTOH all of them have a place if used properly.

 

[drssg]

I've never had any luck trapping coyotes. I've only shot a few, and each shot has been from my own bedroom window.

If this coyote is a chronic problem, it will present you with an easy shot, with little effort on your part. If it disappears, even better.

 

[riptides]

My neighbor sets snares and she has been fairly successful. She told me she took 12 coyotes one year. That was a few years back.

^^^
The issue that I have with snares as well as their cousin the Conibear, is they are unforgiving. If your dog gets in a foothold you can let him out... and he will tell you to get that thing off his foot.
If your dog gets into a snare and you don't notice immediately, you will be burying him. OTOH all of them have a place if used properly.

Exactly what happened to an up the road neighbor. Their dog ended up in someone's snare on their property. Boy was that a bad time while she looked for the person who set the snare.

I'd opt to shoot it.

 

[polo1665]

^^^
The issue that I have with snares as well as their cousin the Conibear, is they are unforgiving. If your dog gets in a foothold you can let him out... and he will tell you to get that thing off his foot.
If your dog gets into a snare and you don't notice immediately, you will be burying him. OTOH all of them have a place if used properly.

Exactly what happened to an up the road neighbor. Their dog ended up in someone's snare on their property. Boy was that a bad time while she looked for the person who set the snare.

I'd opt to shoot it.

Yes, I agree that they are very unforgiving. She raises sheep and sets snares on her acreage, and on neighboring land with permission. There is a thought there that peoples dogs should not be running free through rural forests. If dogs run free as packs they can be prone to attack sheep as well.

Around here, if my dog got loose and wandered into the forest, I would worry more about him becoming coyote food than I would him being caught in a snare.

 

[AWSubie]

Shoot it.

 

[Thomas]

Coyote may have pups near by,as other said coming and going for food.