City of Decatur Animal Services
300 A Beltline Rd. SW, Decatur AL 35601
256-341-4790 FAX 256-341-4794
www.DecaturAlabamaUSA.com and www.decatur.petfinder.org
Coyote Proof Your Yard and Neighborhood
When is a coyote considered a nuisance animal?
A coyote may be considered as a nuisance animal when it behaves in an aggressive manner
towards humans or exhibits an aggressive or standoffish attitude meaning that it just stands and
watches you rather than run off. It is not a nuisance animal simply because one is seen running
across a road in the neighborhood or backyard.
Why are coyotes coming into my neighborhood or yard?
Coyotes primarily hunt rodents and rabbits for food, but they will definitely take advantage of
whatever is available, including compost and garbage, pet food, and domestic animals,
including small dogs and cats.
Usually, coyotes are reclusive wildlife that avoid human contact. Coyotes who have become
habituated (overly used to) to humans and their environments seem to understand there are
few real threats and feel comfortable targeting yards even when people are present.
Habituation can be due to or encouraged by the ready availability of food in our yards and
neighborhoods. Sometimes, this food is deliberately provided by people who like to watch wild
animals or misguidedly feel they are helping them by feeding. These bold coyotes should not be
tolerated or enticed, but definitely given the message that they are not welcome.
What should I do if I see a coyote in my backyard?
Remember, keeping pets and pet food inside at night is the best way to keep coyotes out of
your yard. If you do encounter coyotes, the goal is to simply startle the animal to get it to run off.
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If you see a coyote in your yard, yell at the animal and make loud noises to scare it
away.
Bang a stick against something that will make a startling noise like your garbage can or
pots and pans.
Purchase an air horn and sound it off when you see a coyote near your home.
Squirt the coyote with your garden hose or a super soaker squirt gun.
Throw rocks or a soda can with pebbles inside it at the coyote.
Using a variety of different hazing tools and noises is important; coyotes will get used to
individual items, sounds, and actions.
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If the coyote doesn’t run off and you feel threatened, back slowly into your home. Do not run
away from a coyote as he may interpret this as fear and believe that he is the dominant animal
which may lead to or encourage aggressive behavior.
How can I prevent coyotes from coming into my yard?
You may not be able to prevent a coyote from running through your neighborhood but you can
take steps to lessen the likelihood that the coyote will stop in your yard. You can also talk to your
neighbors about a neighborhood plan to reduce the attractiveness of your area to coyotes.
Hazing is a use of deterrents to scare 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
neighborhood spaces such as backyards and play spaces. See above answer.
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Yell and wave your arms while approaching the coyote
Noisemakers: Voice, whistles, air horns, bells, soda cans filled with pennies or dead
batteries, pots and pans banged together
Projectiles: sticks, small rocks, cans, tennis balls, rubber balls
Other: hoses, water guns with vinegar water, spray bottles with vinegar water, pepper
spray, bear repellant, walking sticks
Using a variety of different hazing tools and noises is critical; coyotes will get used to individual
items, sounds, and actions.
“Go Away Coyote!” The simplest method of hazing a coyote involves being loud and large:
Stand tall, wave your arms or hat (or take off your belt and swing it buckle out, shake your
walking stick, etc.) and yell at the coyote, approaching it if necessary, until it runs away. If a
coyote has not been hazed before, he may not immediately run away when you yell at him. 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 hazing until the coyote has left the area. You may need to use different tactics, such
as noisemakers, stomping your feet, or spraying the coyote with a hose or super soaker, to get
him to leave.
Tips for Success The more often an individual coyote is hazed, by a variety of tools and
techniques and a variety of people, the more effective hazing is for changing behavior. The
coyote being hazed must be able to recognize that the potential threat is coming from a
person, so he learns to associate it with people. Hiding behind a bush and throwing rocks, for
example, will not be effective. Techniques and tools can be used in the same manner for one
animal or multiple animals. Usually there is a dominant animal in the group who will respond, and
others will follow his lead. Certain levels of hazing must always be maintained so that future
generations of coyotes do not learn or return to unacceptable habits or behaviors.
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Remove sources of drinking water.
Don’t leave your pet’s food dish out at night, especially with food still in it.
Use animal proof garbage cans.
Don’t leave pet cats or small dogs outside at night unless they are in a roofed kennel with
an animal proof lock.
Take down your bird feeder or put a much larger tray under it to catch seed. Birds are
not the only animals that eat the contents of your feeder. Mice, chipmunks, squirrels,
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skunks, raccoons and other animals also feed on this type of food that’s fallen to the
ground. These animals are a natural food source for the coyote.
The first and best way to keep coyotes away from your yard is to install a six foot fence
with roller-bars on the top. This will normally keep family members and pets safe from
prowling coyotes, although occasionally large coyotes can clear even 6ft. fences.
Coyotes tend to hunt at night so it is also suggested that motion sensor lighting in the
yard and on the house will also deter them, although coyotes are very adaptable
Gardens in the yard are another banquet for wild predators such as coyotes. Be sure to
keep gardens and compost piles well enclosed. Coyotes may still smell the garbage from
the compost pile and the food in the garden but the fence will help keep them away.
Keep yard bushes trimmed and yard trimmings thrown away. This gives predators like
coyotes no available place to hide. Be sure the yard has no convenient den spots. This
would be a cave-like place that provides shelter, rather than keeping coyotes away.
Talk to neighbors about following these same tips for keeping coyotes away from the
yard. If the whole neighborhood is working to keep coyotes away, your yard becomes a
safer place.
Do coyotes have any natural predators?
People, wolves, bears and mountain lions are predators of the coyote. Humans are coyotes’
most common predator due to hunting, trapping, poisoning and accidental death. Coyotes are
not protected animals. They are non-game mammals and can be taken at anytime.
What diseases or parasites do coyotes carry?
Coyotes can carry distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, mange (caused by mites) and rabies.
Numerous parasites live on the coyote including mites, ticks, fleas worms and flukes. Coyotes are
known to carry heart worm which can be transmitted to dogs. Be sure to keep your pets current
on their vaccines and on heartworm preventative to avoid the spread of disease.
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