The best coyote deterrents employ physical and chemical methods. These include loud noises and bright LED lights, coyote-proof fencing, and even ammonia and wolf urine.
If you’re familiar with coyotes, you probably know that the animal can be a pain when it comes to having it around your area. Suppose you are looking for ways to sleep soundly without the constant howling, worrying about your pets, or thinking about what coyotes might be up to.
In that case, you’re likely searching for the best coyote repellents for your house and yard. Coyote attacks aren’t common but are a significant concern for many homeowners-particularly those with small dogs.
Luckily, several methods reduce the chances of coyote attacks, giving your pup a higher chance of surviving any encounter. Keep in mind, none of the methods are truly guaranteed to work as there is no single product or process that will entirely eradicate the threats coyotes might present.
However, this guide gives you some of the most effective tricks, techniques, strategies, tools, and tools you can use to limit the risks.
Read on!
Table of Contents
How to recognize a coyote
Coyotes vary in size, with those found in the Northern United States and around Canada being the largest. Those found in the west and south generally smaller.
The largest coyote to be recorded was 75 pounds. Coyotes can be found in almost all colors you can imagine but usually combine white, grey, black, and brown.
To identify a coyote, look for the following traits:
- Long, slender snouts with a tiny nose pad
- Pointy, erect ears
- Narrow chest
- Bushy, dropping tail often with a black tip
What attracts coyotes to your house or yard?
Coyotes, just like skunks and raccoons, are attracted to your house or yard because of the availability of their natural food sources, such as garbage, bird feeders, and pet food. Besides, some homeowners illegally put food out for coyotes, exacerbating the issue.
Some coyotes can also prey on small dogs, domestic dogs, cats, and other pets. Sport trapping is prohibited in some states, and hunting is impossible in urban areas, making these places a haven for these canines.
Very few homeowners take the initiative to haze or deter coyotes from their property. As more and more coyotes infiltrate cities, coyotes have become accustomed to the presence of human beings.
Hence, coyotes are learning to lose their natural fear of us. Therefore, it is for this reason that coyote sightings are more frequent in urban centers than elsewhere.
Best coyote repellants
If you have a coyote issue on your property, there are a few coyote repellants that you can use.
These include:
- Ammonia-soaked rags
- Wolf urine
- Bring and move LED lights
- Noise and lights
- Coyote-proof fencing
You can use the items above to deter coyotes, but they will take time to be effective. It’s therefore essential to not only depend on reactionary methods but also use preventative methods to save effort and time when deterring coyotes.
Always have a good backup plan just in case the problem persists. Below are other practical actions that you can take to repel coyotes from your house and yard:
- Keeping the yard clean
- Keeping garbage cans secure or indoors
- Scoop up dogs’ droppings
What smell keeps coyotes away?
Like most pests you’ll find on your property, coyotes have an acute sense of smell that they use to hunt in packs and look for food. It’s believed that coyotes can smell and differentiate up to seven different smells simultaneously.
You can leverage this by repelling them with smells they detest, such as wolf urine, strong perfumes, cayenne pepper, and white vinegar. These smells are effective coyote repellents that have been proven to work.
Coyotes also have a keen vision as they’re partly nocturnal animals. The best scents to repel coyotes from your house and yard include:
- Wolf urine
- Strong perfumes
- White vinegar
- Bear repellents
- Cayenne and chili pepper
What would scare a coyote away?
Coyotes do fear certain things. You can scare away coyotes in the following ways:
- Loud noisemakers
- Loud sounds
- Bring lights
- Predator urine, such as wolf urine
- Throw rocks, stones, sticks, and branches
What is hazing a coyote?
Hazing is a technique that uses deterrents to discourage an animal’s undesirable activity or behavior or to move it out of an area. Hazing a coyote helps maintain its fear of humans and deters them from your property or playgrounds. A safe pest control method, hazing drives wildlife from an undesired area.
Does human urine deter coyotes?
There is not much-proven information available regarding human urine as a coyote deterrent. However, you can use predator urine to control the coyote population. The best and most effective predator urine is wolf urine.
Do wind chimes keep coyotes away?
Frightening gadgets including hanging pots, pans, motion-sensor lights, sprinkler systems. Even wind chimes have been shown as effective coyote deterrents. Although some wind chimes make a very gentle sound, they may prove effective in startling or confusing a coyote.
Will a porch light keep coyotes away?
Lights such as porch lights have been demonstrated to deter coyotes.
They detest flashing lights and loud noises, so installing a porch light in your yard will repel coyotes. Super bright LEDs are effective and energy efficient options for this task, and especially when enabled with motion detection.
Do barking dogs scare coyotes?
Barking dogs may attract coyotes.
But, barking will most likely scare coyotes away after they notice any human presence. However, larger dogs will repel coyotes unless the wild animal feels threatened and attacks. Typically, coyotes view dogs as competition and not prey.