Raccoons and Coyotes

Raccoon and Coyote Neighbor Conflicts

Are you having some conflicts with your wild raccoon or coyote neighbor? Both are attracted to our yards because for food.

Steps to minimize conflicts:
* Purchase animal proof trash cans or secure the lids
* Remove animal foods & bird seed
* Sprinkle cayenne pepper on porch where raccoons walk
* Use rags soaked in household ammonia
* DO NOT FEED
* Store BBQ grill in shed/garage when not in use to prevent the smell of meat attracting wild neighbors
* Don't feed pets outdoors
* Bring cats and chickens in at night
* Secure chicken pen, bury wire around perimeter or use hot wire, clear perimeter of tall weeds
* Use llamas, guard dogs of adult donkeys to protect sheep from coyotes
* Eliminate compost open piles
* supervise pets outdoors
* Haze with loud noise

Controls that do not work:
* Spraying with water
* Trapping
* Shooting/killing
* Relocating

COYOTE HAZING
Hazing is simply scaring away a coyote in order to reinforce it’s natural instinct to avoid people without harming them. In many cases hazing will also work with raccoons.

* Yelling and waving your arms while approaching the coyote
* Noisemakers: whistles, air horns, bells, “shaker” cans full of marbles or pennies,
pots banged together
* Projectiles: sticks, small rocks, cans, rubber balls
* Water guns with vinegar water, pepper or bear spray

Important things to remember:
* Never run away from a coyote
* Show confidence
* If coyote does not leave at first, increase the intensity
* Research has shown that killing coyotes will result in other coyotes in the area having more pups
* Trapping and relocating does not work and in some areas is illegal

Coyote Diet
Small rodents (42%), Fruit (23%) ØDeer (22%), Rabbit (18%), Birds (13%), Raccoon (8%), Grasses (6%), Insects (4%), Human foods (2%), Cats (1%)

Coyotes have been known to kill very small dogs and free roaming cats. But so do eagles, great horned owls, domestic dogs and bad human neighbors.


Human Attacks
Coyote bites are extremely rare. There have only been three humans bitten by a wild coyote in in Washington State History (Bellevue 2006 two children bit; Kent 2012 adult bit). Compare this to over 1,000 domestic dog bites /day treated in US emergency rooms.


Coyote Trivia
* Numbers increase when eradication is attempted
* Lone coyotes and small packs of 5/6; only alpha pair breed
* Home pack territory average 2 sq miles (as large as 4 sq miles); solitary coyotes 10 sq miles
* 50,000 in Washington State
* Pups disperse in October/November
* Breed in December-February; pups March-May