# How to co-exist with coyote pack? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558 "2017-12-04T18:21:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/21 "2017-12-05T00:33:27Z")
The roadrunners where I live take care of the coyotes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/22 "2017-12-05T01:04:06Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The roadrunners where I live take care of the coyotes. 😃 The dents from the anvils is a PITA though… ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/23 "2017-12-05T01:07:24Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > The dents from the anvils is a PITA though… And here I thought you were going to suggest an illudium pu-36 space modulator. _sad_ ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/24 "2017-12-05T01:36:42Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I know you said guns are out, but would you consider an air rifle/pellet gun? They are quiet, accurate, legal to use in many places where firearms are not, and animals do not like to be struck by the pellets. Check your laws. In the same category as gunpowder discharge where I live, and it’s not even California. Can’t shoot in congested area, I don’t remember if bows are included. That said, it’s a law that is frequently flouted for pest control as the chances of getting caught and prosecuted are very low. Standard .177 pellets are a bit weak for coyote, but they make them bigger, and even the small pellets are not non-lethal options. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/25 "2017-12-05T01:43:55Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > And here I thought you were going to suggest an illudium pu-36 space modulator. _sad_ Those were not an Acme product. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/26 "2017-12-05T01:44:06Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > - Finally,don’t waste money on regular motion detector lights. You need ones that are meant to startle, that blink, change color, and even make noises. Further, they have to change up; if a coyote can learn to predict what it will do, they’ll become comfortable with it. Google “motion detector paintball gun.” Not necessarily cheap… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/27 "2017-12-05T01:45:24Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > And here I thought you were going to suggest an illudium pu-36 space modulator. _sad_ Illudium pu-36 _explosive_ space modulator. An ordinary one won’t do the job. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/28 "2017-12-05T01:55:10Z")
However, when _properly_ deployed, it will, to say the least, set off every nuke detector and seismograph on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/29 "2017-12-05T02:42:35Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > So why is poison so bad? Poison gets into the food chain with a lot of unintended consequences, all bad. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/30 "2017-12-05T03:23:00Z")
How close can you get to them? Can you leave some food out and ambush them? My grandfather had horses that he rode around his small town on occasion. Dogs would come barking and try to chase him, but he kept a spray bottle full of ammonia with him. If they came close enough to get sprayed, it would be the last time. They’d usually run the other way when they saw him coming after that. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/31 "2017-12-05T03:35:31Z")
What about a motion-activated sprinkler? seen it recommended on those ‘my cat from hell’ to keep neighbor cats out of your yard. I can’t say if it’d annoy the coyotes enough to make them go somewhere else or just give them a free drink. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/32 "2017-12-05T03:43:25Z")
Also, make sure your dog is very, very well trained. Coyotes will sometimes have one come out and entice the dog to play. Once they run off for fun and frolic, they meet the rest of the pack, and the dog is donezo. ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/33 "2017-12-05T05:07:27Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Hunting slingshot, with Lug Nuts for ammo. > Won’t kill them, but pain is an educator. I wouldn’t know where to get lug nuts in quantity, and I can’t believe they would be very aerodynamic. However, you can buy 00 buckshot for less than $30 for 5 pounds. .330 inch lead balls fly true, and make a very satisfying ‘thud’ when they hit something. They are available at any worthwhile sporting good store that carries reloading supplies. 5 pounds could probably be considered a lifetime supply. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/34 "2017-12-05T05:18:51Z")
> [@Dobbs](#): > > I wouldn’t know where to get lug nuts in quantity, and I can’t believe they would be very aerodynamic. However, you can buy 00 buckshot for less than $30 for 5 pounds. > > .330 inch lead balls fly true, and make a very satisfying ‘thud’ when they hit something. They are available at any worthwhile sporting good store that carries reloading supplies. > > 5 pounds could probably be considered a lifetime supply. Planet express will deliver boxes of precious lug nuts to you. Though there might be…complications. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/35 "2017-12-05T13:09:19Z")
We live in the country, and are generally animal lovers. Except for coyotes. They are relatively rare here, but universally hated. A neighbor came around asking people if they’d mind him hunting/shooting coyotes. Any other animal and he’d have a huge majority of “no ways”, but everyone agreed on him killing coyotes. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/36 "2017-12-05T15:08:30Z")
That reminds me of a conversation that I had with a summer student we had who came from the farm. We were talking about coyotes and she says they kill them on sight. I said, “why?” SS:Because they go after the newborn calves and we’ve lost a few to them. Me: How many cows do you lose a year to broken legs due to gopher holes? SS: A few but we poison them so it’s less than it was. Me: Do you think that maybe if you didn’t poison the gophers the coyotes would and be less inclined to go after the calves? SS: That’s just stupid! Me: Not to mention the effort involved with laying out poison and the outlay for guns and ammo… SS: You obviously don’t get it! Me: Oh, I get it. Let me guess, you shoot ravens too. SS: Of course! Me: Yeah… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/37 "2017-12-05T15:47:55Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > That reminds me of a conversation that I had with a summer student we had who came from the farm. We were talking about coyotes and she says they kill them on sight. I said, “why?” > SS:Because they go after the newborn calves and we’ve lost a few to them. > Me: How many cows do you lose a year to broken legs due to gopher holes? > SS: A few but we poison them so it’s less than it was. > Me: Do you think that maybe if you didn’t poison the gophers the coyotes would and be less inclined to go after the calves? > SS: That’s just stupid! > Me: Not to mention the effort involved with laying out poison and the outlay for guns and ammo… > SS: You obviously don’t get it! > Me: Oh, I get it. Let me guess, you shoot ravens too. > SS: Of course! > Me: Yeah… Yep. We used to “hire” ourselves out to local ranchers to kill off some ground squirrels, since after killing off the coyotes, bobcats and raptors, the ground squirrel population zoomed way up and they were lossing more cattle to broken legs than they even did to predators. Cattlemen insisted eagles and other raptors would carry off and kill calves. Sure, you would find cattle eaten by coyotes, but that’s becuase the cattle fell ill or died and the coyotes acted as jackals. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/38 "2017-12-05T17:24:43Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > However, when _properly_ deployed, it will, to say the least, set off every nuke detector and seismograph on the planet. Ah yes, that would be the “earth shattering kaboom”. We live on the edge of a canyon (not on a cliff edge, but atop a pretty steep pitch) about 60-70 feet above a golf course. We hear the coyote packs down on the golf course many nights, but as far as I know they don’t climb up the hill to our residential street. I don’t know about the neighborhood on the floor of the canyon level with the golf course. The javelina, on the other hand, just go wherever they feel like and they don’t scare easily. We had a group in our front courtyard munching away on our jack-o-lantern (learned a lesson about leaving anything remotely edible outside). I went out the door and chucked a softball-sized rock at one of them. Hit him squarely in the side - he just turned and stared at me. I decided to retreat back indoors and let them have the pumpkin. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/39 "2017-12-05T17:26:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Cattlemen insisted eagles and other raptors would carry off and kill calves. Big freaking eagles. Did these cattlemen live in Rohan or Gondor? ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558/40 "2017-12-05T17:30:56Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Planet express will deliver boxes of precious lug nuts to you. Though there might be…complications. …they won’t be around for another 983 or so years. I could wait a few days, but that’s a bit too long. 00 buck I can get today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-co-exist-with-coyote-pack/803558.md?page=3)