Make Coyotes Feel Less Welcome

Long before the first tractor leveled land for the first subdivision, the San Fernando Valley was home to the coyote--a predator whose recent incursions into urban neighborhoods have won it a reputation as a bloodthirsty pest. In a small portion of the Encino flatlands, for instance, Los Angeles animal regulation officials reported a tenfold increase in the number of incidents involving coyotes. Those incidents range from mere sightings to the mutilation of domestic cats and dogs.

Waking up to discover a coyote in the backyard can be an unsettling experience--worse yet to have a coyote devour a beloved pet. Yet however urban it feels, many parts of Southern California are still coyote country and a few simple measures by homeowners and merchants can help discourage trespassing coyotes and keep household pets safe. Opportunists, coyotes often use flood control channels and hillside erosion gutters to move out of the mountains and into residential neighborhoods in search of easy food and abundant water.

Among the attractions for a hungry or thirsty coyote: pet food and water bowls left outside, unsecured trash cans, backyard fruit, small dogs and cats. Coyotes are intelligent and can scale fences up to 6 feet. Keep coyotes off property by using 8-foot fences, buried at least 6 to 12 inches underground. Remove reasons for a coyote’s even wanting to scale the fence by putting pet food inside, securing trash can lids, picking up rotten fruit and fixing leaking sprinklers or pipes. Keep small pets inside at night. When out with dogs at night, keep an eye on them and keep them on a leash.

Man and coyote have lived for thousands of years in the hills and valleys of Southern California. Never has the relationship been comfortable, with each suspiciously eyeing the other as an encroacher. But humans have only themselves to blame for recent coyote visitations. As the coyotes’ habitat shrinks through urban development, they naturally seek food and water elsewhere. Like so many humans, the coyotes find just what they need in the suburbs. They are following millenniums of instinct. But if we humans don’t want the coyotes in our neighborhood, we must not invite them in. A few precautions can make the coyote feel unwelcome.