Coyotte Being Spotted in Suburbs

[greenthumbomaha]

I am getting constant neighborhood alerts. The ring system is picking up a lot of coyotee activity in my subdivision. This is new, this winter, to the area. I need to plan now to protect my vegetable garden come summer. What will they be most attracted to? What is a barrier that makes sense in the suburbs? No pellets and staying up all night monitoring please!


- Lisa

[Worth1]

Dirty cloths around the area works great.
Worth

[greenthumbomaha]

Got plenty of those but not sure about the neighbors having my laundry flying about. Its bad enough back there already.

- Lisa

[PhilaGardener]

Lisa, what is the concern for your garden? If you and your animals are not out after dark, I would think the vegetables should be fine. Coyotes, and their inter-hybrids with wolves, seem to be increasingly common in many areas and a serious concern for livestock and outdoor pets.

[brownrexx]

I wasn't aware that coyotes bothered gardens. I thought that they ate small mammals like rodents and baby animals like deer. I know that the deer hunters in my area hate them because they go after the deer.

[Salsacharley]

Coyotes are all over the place. Metropolitan areas, too.

https://news.osu.edu/on-the-loose--u...erican-cities/

[rxkeith]

i would think the local pet population would be at more risk than the garden to coyotes. coyotes won't pass up an easy meal. they may do a number on rodents in the area, but it won't be long before someones pet gets snatched if they are indeed moving in to the area. if you compost any kind of meat food scraps or leave any bones in the yard after that big barbecue you had over the weekend, any coyote in the area will be attracted to that.
garden should be safe. maybe keep an eye on the beefsteak tomatoes.

a number of years ago, we were driving home after flying into chicago, and i saw a coyote near the freeway on the out skirts of the city. i couldn't believe it would be in such an urban setting.



keith

[GoDawgs]

Coyotes will tote off watermelons but if you're not growing any, don't worry about it. I'd worry more about cats or small dogs that stay outside.

I caught them on the game cam this summer after I found a trail of melon chunks leading to the woods. Then I looked it up and sure enough, they are the bane of commercial watermelon grower's existence. Who knew?

[oldman]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

I wasn't aware that coyotes bothered gardens. I thought that they ate small mammals like rodents and baby animals like deer. I know that the deer hunters in my area hate them because they go after the deer.

Coyotes seem to really enjoy watermelon. The can gnaw holes in all of them big enough to have liquid in them in a few hours if undisturbed. I've also had them pick all the green tomatoes and take one bite of each one. And if they're willing to invade urban areas not much will disturb them. It will be a balancing act between keeping them at bay and not disturbing your neighbors' sleep. Coyotes typically avoid people, but population pressure, environmental damage, and more people moving into remote areas are changing some of the dynamics.

Things with human scent can help mark your territory. Or you can buy scent-based deterrents at outdoor stores. Fencing might help, especially electric fencing. But if you're in an area that's more than lightly populated, it's probably a problem you should attempt to find a solution to as a neighborhood rather than as individuals. It does little good to keep them out of your yard if they're still going to be comfortable in yards adjacent to yours.

[Nan_PA_6b]

I wonder if they go after watermelon for the liquid?

[oldman]

Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b

I wonder if they go after watermelon for the liquid?

My personal belief is that they do it just to make me angry. But I may just get really self-centered when I'm mad. :-)

[carolyn137]

Sheesh,there are coyotes all over the area where I now live, including where I now live.Yes I grow many kinds of veggies here, well someone else does that for me now and I've never seen them eat/destroy anything.Deer yes and also raccoons and also woodchucks as well.

Have you ever heard them talking to each other? Coyotes are most always nocturnal and so prowl around at night. And when there are several in an area you'll hear them howl,and get an answering howl back.

Carolyn

[oldman]

They're are probably more of them here where they're native than in the East where they're invaders. My closest neighbors aren't close and I don't have dogs or a yard light so I do see them icome into the yard occasionally. And hear them year round.

The tomatoes might have been a raccoon, but raccoons don't tend to leave anything if they start eating it. I might have suspected a squirrel, but given how few trees and how many coyets we have, squirrels are very rare. And I have actually caught coyote eating melons early in the morning. There are bigger pests, but the only coyote I want in my garden is a small yellow tomato. ;-)

[brownrexx]

I never knew that they would eat melons. Interesting. I guess that they are true omnivores!

[Salsacharley]

As long as you aren't growing melons it looks like coyotes would be beneficial in removing other pests. They'll eat anything the can catch.