What is the best line of defense against coyotes?

What is the best line of defense against coyotes?

Coyotes are a problem for many farmers and gardeners because they present a threat to livestock and pets.
There are rare situations where a coyote may become aggressive toward humans, but that's typically due to habituation. Habituation occurs when a coyote becomes comfortable with its habitat. Typically, this happens after being fed by people or having easy access to food.

Habituation can make coyotes less afraid of humans, which can cause them to feel more comfortable in urban situations. Other factors that can make coyotes aggressive toward humans include rabies or protecting young offspring.

If you encounter a coyote and it doesn't run away, don't turn around, as it can make you look like prey. Instead, you should make a loud noise or wave your hands in the air. You can also throw something at the coyote to scare it off. If you are concerned that the animal is acting aggressively, contact your local authorities.

Overall, it's best to avoid conflict with coyotes. If you don't go near them, they'll stay away from you. And don't feed them.

Beyond that, you should be aware that coyotes may find pets or livestock appetizing. So you need to take steps to protect them. Keep your cats, small dogs, and other pets indoors from dusk till dawn. Alternatively, keep your pets in a coyote-proof yard or cage during this time frame.

Make sure that chickens are inside a secure coop overnight as well. Feed all of your pets indoors or bring in the pet food before nightfall. Keep an eye on your pets when you have them outside. They will be more of a target if left alone.

Guardian animals like donkeys, llamas and larger dogs that live in the same enclosures as cattle and sheep can help protect livestock from coyote attacks.

Do your best to cut off potential food sources to coyotes. Make sure your trash cans have secure lids with locking mechanisms. Secure your cans to a fence or a wall with a rope or elastic cord so they can't be tipped over. Install motion-sensitive lights in your back yard and around your house. You can find solar LED deterrent lights on our website that can help stop night attacks since the regular flash of the twin LED lights mimics the eyes of another predator at night. This can cause the coyotes to be fearful and retreat.

Additional ways to deter coyotes include adding fladry to the fence line (strips of nylon ribbon that flap around in the wind) or Scare Tape which creates the same effect.

In most cases, coyotes will stay away. But they may create problems if they're attacking your pets and livestock or getting into your trash. Check out the hyperlinked