Coyotes are a common sight throughout Nevada, even our biggest cities have coyotes living inside our neighborhoods. We provide some pretty awesome resources for coyotes in the form of food, water and shelter! If you think about your backyard… are there rodents or places for rodents to hide? Do you feed birds? Are rabbits a common occurrence in your yard? Do you have pet food or water dishes? All of these can attract coyotes into the area. So, how can we live with coyotes in the area?
How do I keep a coyote away from my yard?
Coyotes can often find their way into our neighborhoods and even our backyards, there are some ways you can help to discourage them from being in the area.
- Remove anything that might be attracting the coyotes or their food sources such as rodents. Examples can include birdseed, pet food, trash or compost, water features, fallen fruit, excess shrubs, woodpiles, decks or other structures that can provide cover or a place to den.
- Install devices to scare away the coyotes.
- Fence in your yard with a fence that is over 6ft tall. You can also add “coyote rollers” to the top of the fence. Coyotes can jump fences that are 7ft tall, so a fence alone will not suffice.
- NEVER allow a coyote to become comfortable around your home, every time you see a coyote scare it away!
I’m worried about my pets. What should I do?
A lot of us have pets that we would do anything for. Making sure to secure your pets properly helps to ensure their safety.
Dog owners –
- Supervise your dog when it is outside, especially around dawn and dusk. If you must leave your dog outside, make sure you leave it in a fully enclosed dog run that has a roof.
- When walking your dog, always keep it on a 6ft leash. Avoid using extendable leashes because this limits the control you have over your pet.
- Do not allow your dog to interact with coyotes! Never allow your dog to chase or follow coyotes for any reason.
Cat owners –
- The only way to ensure your cat’s safety is to keep them indoors or in an outdoor cat enclosure that is secure. This not only keeps your cat in, but other animals out.
What should I do if I see a coyote in the neighborhood?
Because they are so common, a lot of us will see a coyote in a neighborhood at one point or another. Whenever a coyote is seen in an urban area, the best thing you can do for them, and us, is to haze it away. This means:
- Standing your ground, NEVER run from the coyote.
- Get big, loud and scary!
- Wave your hands around and yell at the coyote.
- If the animal stops and looks back, make sure to continue scaring the coyote away until they have completely left the area.
- NEVER corner a coyote, always make sure they have a way to escape.
Hazing is important because it helps to ensure coyotes maintain a fear of humans. When they become habituated to humans (lose their fear) they are more likely to become bold and be less likely to run away from people when they are seen.
I am worried about my safety, will a coyote attack me?
Statistically, champagne corks and golf balls are far more dangerous to humans than coyotes. By taking the above precautions you will help limit conflicts that may arise in your neighborhood. If an incident with a human does occur, please call 911 or our dispatch 775-688-1331 immediately.
Will the department come and remove/relocate the coyotes in my neighborhood?
In short, removal of coyotes is not a long-term solution. If there is habitat in your neighborhood, coyotes will be in the area. Even if every single coyote was removed, more would quickly come into the area (who doesn’t want to live near a nice golf course?). Coyotes are very territorial and dependent on their home ranges. After being relocated, they will do just about anything to get back home where they are familiar with the resources (this includes crossing roadways, exposure to elements, lack of food and water) – this is both dangerous for the animal, and counter-effective for the neighborhood. If they stay, the new, unfamiliar territory is almost guaranteed to be a currently occupied territory for other foxes or coyotes, who will aggressively and fatally defend against intruders. The best, and most effective way of keeping coyotes out of our neighborhoods is to keep the resources low (reduce attractants) and the threats high (haze).
If there is a significant public safety risk, please reach out to us. However, we do not remove coyotes for being sighted in neighborhoods or attacking free-roaming cats and dogs. With that in mind, please make sure to secure your pets and haze away coyotes when seen.