The coyote is similar in shape to the shepherd dog. Coloration is grey, brown, or tan. The tail is the distinguishing factor. The coyote's tail is round, bushy, and carried straight out below its back.

A coyote's legs are slender, and its feet are smaller than those of a dog of the same size. The muzzle is long and slender, and its ears are large and erect.

Coyotes are omnivorous and eat whatever is handy, including meat, garbage, insects, rodents, rabbits, birds, and carrion. In late summer and early fall, fruits and berries can make up a large portion of their diet. Coyotes are important in controlling rodents; 80% of their diet consists of rabbits, squirrels, gophers, mice, and rats. Normally solitary hunters, they sometimes hunt in pairs and rarely in packs to down larger prey. Coyotes can run up to 45 mph for short distances and swim well. They are active both day and night, though chiefly nocturnal. They have a life span of 10 to 15 years in captivity and 8 to 10 years in the wild.

Coyotes are monogamous. They breed just once a year from January to March and their gestation period is 63 days. Litters usually average anywhere from five to ten pups. These pups are born underground in a den that the female hollows out. Their babies begin to learn how to hunt at about ten weeks of age and are less than a year old when they leave their parents.

Coyotes' exceptional sense of smell, vision, and hearing, coupled with their evasiveness, enable them to survive both in the wild and in suburban areas. They adapt quickly to environmental changes and exploit new food sources, ignoring fat-moving automobiles to clean up road-killed birds and small animals, for example. Coyotes are basically garbage bandits. Accused, often wrongly, of killing livestock, they are sometimes considered pests.

If you want to discourage coyotes from visiting, take the following steps:

1. Make sure your pets are inside whenever coyotes are seen or heard. Do not allow pets to run free. Always walk your dog on leash and accompany pets outside, especially at night. Provide secure shelters for poultry and rabbits.

2. DO NOT feed coyotes. Observe food sources that are attracting them and take steps to eliminate these. Never leave pet food outside or discard edible garbage where coyotes can get to it. Secure garbage containers and eliminate their odors. Use a small amount of ammonia or cayenne pepper in the garbage to discourage scavenging. Restricting use of bird seed may be advisable; coyotes are attracted to it and to the birds and rodents that use the feeder. If possible, eliminate outdoor sources of water.

3. Trim and clear near ground level any shrubbery that provides cover for coyotes or prey.

4. Use fencing to help deter coyotes. The fence must be at least six feet tall with the bottom extending at least six inches below ground level.

5. Actively discourage coyotes by making loud noises and throwing rocks to make them leave.

6. Ask your neighbors to cooperate in following these non-lethal steps to control coyote presence in your area.

Critter Creek wishes to thank those ranchers who recognize the potential of coyotes as a natural ground squirrel population control. They support our coyote rehab efforts by welcoming them on their land. We appreciate their efforts to reestablish a critical predator-prey balance intended by nature.

Bold Coyotes

Generally, coyotes are reclusive animals who avoid human contact.

Coyotes who have adapted to urban and suburban environments, however, may realize there are few real threats and may approach people or feel safe visiting yards even when people are present.

These coyotes have become habituated (lost their fear of humans), probably owing to the bounty of food that they have become accustomed to feeding upon in your neighborhood.

These bold coyotes should not be tolerated or enticed but instead given the clear message that they should not be so brazen.

Hazing

Hazing is a method that makes use of deterrents to move an animal out of an area or discourage an undesirable behavior or activity. Hazing can help maintain a coyote’s fear of humans and deter them from backyards and play spaces.

Methods of hazing

Using a variety of different hazing tools is critical so that coyotes don’t get used to redundant or single stimulus devices, sounds, and actions.

Yelling and waving your arms while approaching the coyote
Noisemakers: Voice, whistles, air horns, bells, “shaker” cans full of marbles or pennies, pots, lid or pie pans banged together
Projectiles: sticks, small rocks, cans, tennis balls or rubber balls
Other: hoses, water guns with vinegar water, spray bottles with vinegar water, pepper spray or bear repellent

“Go away coyote!”

The simplest method of hazing a coyote involves being loud and large:

Stand tall, wave your arms, and yell at the coyote, approaching them if necessary, until they run away.
If a coyote has not been hazed before, they may not immediately run away when you yell at them. If this happens, you may need to walk towards the coyote and increase the intensity of your hazing.
The coyote may run away, but then stop after a distance and look at you. It is important to continue to go after the coyote until they completely leaves the area. You may need to use different tactics, such as noisemakers, stomping your feet, or spraying the coyote with a hose, to get them to leave.

Dog-walking tools

There are several tools that you can carry with you while walking your dog that can be used to repel coyotes. These include:

Whistle or small air horn (you can purchase small air horn “necklaces”)
Squirt guns
Pepper spray
Sticks or other objects to throw towards (but not at) the coyote

In your yard

Remember, keeping pets and pet food inside is the best way to keep coyotes out of your yard. If you do encounter coyotes, all of the above methods can be used in your yard at home. First, try the “Go away coyote!” method (yell and wave your arms as you approach the coyote). Here are some additional methods you can also use:

Squirt the coyote with your garden hose
Spray the coyote with vinegar water
Bang pots and pans together

Important things to remember

Never run away from a coyote!
The coyote may not leave at first, but if you approach them closer and/or increase the intensity of your hazing, they will run away.
If the coyote runs away a short distance and then stops and looks at you, continue hazing until he leaves the area entirely.
After you have successfully hazed a coyote, they may return. Continue to haze the coyote as you did before; it usually takes only one or two times to haze a coyote away for good.

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