Getting coyotes off your property requires a combination of removing what attracts them, making your yard hostile to their presence, and reinforcing boundaries they can’t easily cross. A single tactic rarely works on its own. Coyotes are intelligent, adaptable animals that learn quickly, so the most effective approach layers multiple deterrents together.
Remove What’s Drawing Them In
Coyotes show up because your property offers food, water, or shelter. Eliminating those attractants is the single most important step, because deterrents and fencing won’t matter much if your yard is still a reliable food source.
Start with the obvious: never feed pets outdoors. If you absolutely must, put food out during the day for no more than 15 minutes and clean up immediately. Store all pet food indoors in sealed containers. Secure trash cans with locking lids, clean them periodically to reduce lingering odors, and put bins out the morning of pickup rather than the night before.
Bird feeders are a surprisingly common coyote magnet, not because coyotes eat birdseed, but because fallen seed attracts mice, rats, and squirrels. Those small mammals are exactly what coyotes prefer to eat. Remove feeders entirely or position them so seed doesn’t accumulate on the ground. The same logic applies to fallen fruit from trees, open compost piles, and unwashed BBQ grills. Burn residue off your grill after each use, pick up fruit regularly, and fully enclose compost bins and vegetable gardens.
Water sources matter too. Pet bowls left outside, birdbaths, decorative fountains, and ponds (especially those stocked with fish) all give coyotes a reason to visit. Bring water bowls inside and limit standing water where you can.
Finally, look at your landscaping. Thick, overgrown bushes and brush piles create perfect hiding and denning spots. Trim vegetation low enough that a coyote can’t tuck itself underneath. Block access under decks, porches, sheds, and woodpiles with hardware cloth or lattice secured at the base.
Build a Coyote-Resistant Fence
Standard residential fencing often isn’t enough. Coyotes can jump, climb, and dig, so an effective barrier needs to address all three. Oregon State University Extension recommends a fence at least 72 inches (6 feet) tall, with the top 16 inches bent outward at an angle using outrigger supports attached to each post. This overhang prevents coyotes from jumping or climbing over the top.
The bottom of the fence needs protection too. A woven wire apron extending outward from the base, at least 24 inches wide, stops coyotes from digging underneath. Burying the apron a few inches below the soil surface makes it even more effective. For the fence mesh itself, smaller openings are better, since coyotes will try to squeeze through any gap they can fit their head through.
If you already have a 6-foot privacy fence and don’t want to rebuild, adding a roller bar or angled extension along the top can serve a similar purpose. Low-voltage electric wire (“hot wire”) strung along the outside of an existing fence also discourages coyotes from testing the boundary. It won’t stop every animal, but it adds one more reason for a coyote to move on.
Use Hazing to Retrain Bold Coyotes
Hazing means actively scaring a coyote every time it appears on or near your property, with the goal of teaching it that your yard is not a safe place. Research on resident-based hazing programs found that the most commonly used methods, voice, noise, and physically approaching the coyote, were effective in getting the animal to leave the area.
In practice, this looks like: stepping toward the coyote while making yourself appear large, shouting loudly, clapping, banging pots together, or shaking a can filled with coins or pebbles. Some people carry an air horn or whistle for encounters during walks. The key is to be assertive and sustained. Don’t stop hazing until the coyote has fully left the area, not just paused or moved a few yards away.
Two important caveats. First, hazing is less effective when your dog is with you. Researchers found that coyotes responded less predictably when a domestic dog was present, likely because the dog’s behavior complicates the social signal. Keep your dog close and leashed during any encounter. Second, hazing works through repetition. A single scare may not change behavior permanently. Consistency across every encounter is what eventually retrains the animal to avoid your property.
Motion-Activated Deterrents
Motion-activated sprinklers, lights, and sound devices extend your hazing efforts to times when you’re not outside. Sprinkler-based systems detect heat and motion up to about 40 feet away and release a sudden burst of water paired with the noise of the sprinkler valve firing. The combination of unexpected water, movement, and sound startles animals without harming them.
These devices work best when you rotate their placement every few weeks. Coyotes are smart enough to learn the boundaries of a fixed deterrent and simply walk around it. Moving the sprinkler to a different part of the yard, or combining it with solar-powered strobe lights or ultrasonic sound emitters in alternating positions, keeps the unpredictability high. No single device is a permanent solution on its own, but as part of a layered approach, they add meaningful pressure.
Protecting Pets and Small Livestock
Pets are one of the main reasons people search for coyote solutions, and the risk is real. Small dogs, cats, and backyard chickens are all vulnerable. Coyotes are most active at dawn, dusk, and overnight, so the simplest protective step is keeping pets inside during those hours. Cats allowed to roam freely at night are at especially high risk.
For chickens and small livestock, nighttime enclosures need to be fully enclosed, including the top. Hawks and owls are a threat from above, but coyotes can also climb surprisingly well. Underground barriers along the base of the enclosure prevent digging. Hot wire around the perimeter adds another layer of protection.
If you have larger livestock like sheep or goats, a guardian animal can be highly effective. Great Pyrenees and similar livestock guardian dog breeds are purpose-built for this role. Donkeys and llamas also make excellent guardians. A good guardian donkey will actively harass coyotes, foxes, and bobcats until they give up and leave. Even a working barn cat contributes indirectly by reducing the mice, rats, and birds that attract predators to your property in the first place.
Seasonal Timing Matters
Coyote behavior shifts throughout the year, and conflicts tend to spike during specific windows. Late January through early March is mating season. During this period, coyotes are more territorial and more visible, actively patrolling and defending their range. They can’t distinguish your dog from a rival coyote, which makes them more aggressive toward medium and large dogs in particular.
Spring through early summer is denning and pup-rearing season. A coyote with a nearby den will be more defensive of the area and less likely to respond to hazing by simply leaving. If you notice a coyote repeatedly returning to the same spot on or near your property despite consistent hazing, it may have a den with pups. In fall, juvenile coyotes disperse from their family groups and explore new territory, which can bring unfamiliar animals into neighborhoods that hadn’t seen coyote activity before. Reinforcing your deterrents before each of these seasonal shifts gives you the best chance of avoiding problems.
Legal Considerations for Trapping and Removal
Laws around coyote control vary significantly by state, and getting this wrong can result in fines. In many states, coyotes are classified as game animals with specific hunting and trapping seasons. Outside those seasons, you typically need a permit from your state wildlife agency to take action. In New York, for example, you need a permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation to take a nuisance coyote, and the agency can deny the permit if they determine removal won’t effectively resolve the problem.
Relocating a coyote is illegal in many jurisdictions. In New York, it’s flatly prohibited to live-trap an animal and release it anywhere other than the property where it was captured. This isn’t just a bureaucratic rule. Relocation spreads diseases like rabies, creates problems for people in the release area, and causes severe stress to the animal. When removal is necessary, lethal control handled by a professional is generally considered the more responsible option by wildlife agencies.
When to Call a Professional
Most coyote problems can be managed with the attractant removal, fencing, and hazing strategies above. But certain behaviors signal that a coyote has become too habituated for DIY approaches. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks recommends professional removal when a coyote approaches people without fear, shows focused interest in children, attacks leashed pets, or fails to flee (or reacts aggressively) when you attempt to scare it.
A licensed nuisance wildlife control operator has the training, equipment, and legal authority to handle removal safely, particularly in suburban and urban areas where trapping requires specialized skill and knowledge of local regulations. In rural areas, landowners often have more flexibility to address coyotes through hunting or trapping during open seasons, but checking your state’s specific rules before acting is essential.