Don’t Invite the Coyotes In

It’s been a busy summer for coyote sightings in Granada Hills and Woodland Hills, which in turn means a lot of phone calls to the Los Angeles Animal Services Department. Before you pick up the phone, though, you may want to consider whether you’re doing all you can to discourage the critters from making unwelcome visits.

Among the steps you can take are keeping pet food and water dishes inside, backyard fruit picked up and trash cans tightly closed. Feeding coyotes, even inadvertently, helps socialize them and causes them to lose a healthy fear of humans.

Fences help, if they’re tall enough and planted deeply enough to keep coyotes from jumping over or digging under them.

Many callers want Animal Services to trap the animals, but trapping healthy coyotes is neither allowed nor helpful. They just reproduce more when a pack member is taken away.

As with most problems, prevention is key--and the first step to try before calling Animal Services.