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(37 posts)

coyote problem- poison or trap

Started 2 years ago by jschu
Latest reply from JanS

jschu
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what works best in city limits?

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
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coexisting?

Posted 2 years ago #
HunterG
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Cut off your hand and use it to bait the trap.

Posted 2 years ago #
tanyar23
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I agree on the coexisting piece.

Posted 2 years ago #
elikapeka
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Another vote for co-existing

Posted 2 years ago #
hammerhead
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It is illegal to harm wildlife unless your life is in IMMEDIATE danger. You can call fish and wildlife and ask them if there is some thing they can do.

Also FYI on the dog in Magnolia, the dog WAS NOT leashed and across the way while the mom was getting the kids. The little dog RAN up to the coyote. I know is sucks this happened but think if the mom had her dog a leash this NEVER would have happened.

Another vote of co-existing

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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HunterG seems to be the only one so far who realizes jschu is a troll...

Posted 2 years ago #
pigeonmom
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Amen SarahScoot!

Posted 2 years ago #
velo_nut
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Love those trolls.

Posted 2 years ago #
velo_nut
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watch out... say something like that and some d-bag on the forum will report you to SPD....

Trust me.

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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velo-nut..

only one "dirt bag"
lots of posters
even more readers

and more than one who offered to help you with vet bills...

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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velo_nut..

only one "d-bag"
lots of posters
and even more readers

some you have never met
who offered to help you with vet bills and fines

just saying

Posted 2 years ago #
hopey
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jschu apparently can't be bothered to read the home page. Posted mere hours before this thread was started: http://westseattleblog.com/2010/01/coexisting-with-coyotes-what-you-might-not-know-or-remember

My suggestion? Capture a troll and use it to bait the coyote trap.

Posted 2 years ago #
velo_nut
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and I forgot my sarcasm tag once again! :-)

Posted 2 years ago #
erin215
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Ugh, I feel for you. When coyotes killed our cats, we went through everything. I e-mailed animal control, Fish and Wildlife, and city council members. We talked to a private trapper (whose suggestion was to walk small dogs on a leash so you can pull back whatever the coyotes don't eat), and asked the city what we're allowed to do.

What we learned is basically this:

1. The city won't do anything until someone gets hurt (yes the mayor's office actually told me they're waiting for a kid to die!)
2. You're not allowed to trap on public land
3. You can trap on your property, but according to the trapper, getting coyotes in there is tough
4. You can spray mountain lion urine around and it should scare them away (but it's expensive). This may also be a temporary deterrent, because coyotes used to fear domesticated dogs too.

I'm not personally a big fan of "coexisting" with disease-spreading, cat-eating animals that have been known to attack children and even adults. However, until someone in Seattle gets injured (in which case, expect to hear a loud chorus of people screaming "we were concerned all along!" while you stare in open-mouthed shock), your best bet is to keep ALL small animals indoors (and by small, I mean smaller than say a German Shepard, as coyotes have been known to kill and eat dogs their own size, since they hunt in packs), walk your dog on a leash at all times, no matter the size, keep garbage tightly sealed, supervise all children around green belts, make sure your dogs are fully vaccinated and don't let them drink from water in the park, and report coyote sightings to your neighbors.

Those who don't mind the coyotes, please do the rest of us a few favors:

1. Stop letting your cats outdoors if you live near Schmitz Park. Seriously, it breaks my heart.
2. Do not feed them!!! You encourage them to hunt through people's yards.
3. If you encounter one, scare it away. It's best for them and us if they're afraid of people

I know coyotes seem like dogs who live outdoors, but they are predators. A lone coyote can kill a sheep. A pack of coyotes can get a small cow (I've seen the remains--it ain't pretty). They are here, though many of us don't like, but we don't need to encourage them.

Posted 2 years ago #
ws4ever
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Do trolls actually think they are amusing, or don't they have hobbies? Pigeonmom, we have a neighborhood woman who acts just like Abner's wife, who tries to engage others in her swirl of self-assigned importance and drama. <Yawn> Thanks, your picture makes me laugh!

Few things we can control except perhaps ourselves most of the time. Including coyotes.

Posted 2 years ago #
WSB
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Mixed signals now from the government. Suddenly state and local authorities are roaming Magnolia trying to take out 2 that have been spotted there - per this Times story:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010858318_coyote22m.html

The concerns cited include disappearing pets. We are not advocating for coyote death squads but wondering, if that's a concern enough to bring out this response, then why AREN'T they doing that elsewhere?

I'm going to see if I can hunt down, so to speak, WDFW comment later today.

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
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maybe their wheel is squeakier...

Posted 2 years ago #
B-squared
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I wonder, out of ALLLLLLLLL the folks who believe that coyotes killed their pets, actually have any proof whatsoever. i imagine that it happens occasionally. but i would also imagine that a lot more animals are hit by cars and their remains are removed by coyotes or raccoons. i grew up in the suburbs and we never saw coyotes, and seldom raccoons, but there was also plenty of roadkill that lingered for weeks. in west seattle, where people are packed together tighter, and use the street for parking, the chances of animals being hit by cars is far higher. could it be that many of the missing pets were hit and carted off by coyotes or raccoons? this seems very plausible to me.

Posted 2 years ago #
GenHillOne
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re: news coverage of the Magnolia/pet incident, I'm more than annoyed that it's not being mentioned (ahem, KING & Tim Robinson this a.m.) that if the woman had leashed her little dog - it's the law, right? - it could not have been able to go over to "meet" the coyote. And erin215, interesting that you say you're not a fan of co-existing, but have you read the link to what it means to co-exist? You listed many of it's main points, so it appears that you are more of a fan than you may think.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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I'll bet cars kill a lot more pets in Seattle than coyotes do.

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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KBear: obvious solution is to shoot the cars.

Posted 2 years ago #
erin215
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B-sqaured: You are correct that many cats are killed by reckless drivers, cruel teenagers, and raccoons. One of the cats we lost we had tracked by a search and rescue dog, and it's possible that someone stole her, based on the fact that the dog alerted to the cat having been alive when the trail stopped completely (though all that means if she left the pavement alive, even if it was in something's mouth). The other cat I'm pretty darn sure a coyote got. I won't say how I came to that conclusion, because it's gross.

Others have actually seen coyotes take animals, including one elderly woman who watched coyotes snatch her son's dog out of the yard.

I no longer allow cats outside, and encourage others to keep theirs indoors as well. 25+ years our cats were fine outside. The summer the coyotes arrived, we lost two and the "missing cat" signs went crazy around the neighborhood. Yes, we connected the dots without solid "proof."

WSB-- I am also very curious why Magnolia got help and we did not. I guess their kids are more important than ours. I would be very interested in what the city says.

GenHillOne: Those are my compromises. My *preference* would be rifles or poison.

Honestly, and I know everyone is going to hate me for this, I think our city-wide love fest about the coyotes is about plain and simple urban hippie guilt. We want to pretend that we're a totally green city that barely changes the landscape. We still have wildlife and trees and la la la. I'm sorry, but this is a smoke-spewing, carbon-producing city and we crushed nature when we got here. We killed the bears and the wolves (which you would not welcome back), the deer, most of the fish, and nearly all the trees. We paved over nature. If you feel bad, I can understand. If you want to appease your guilt by welcoming predators on playgrounds, please, please go talk to some ranchers and ask them if that makes sense.

Posted 2 years ago #
erin215
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By the way, I'm not big on being snippy because we can hide behind the anonymity of the internet. If you want to actually say anything sarcastic to me, my phone number is 206-235-9182, and I'd love to meet you for coffee at the bakery sometime.

Posted 2 years ago #
GenHillOne
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SarahScoot, count me in for humanely trapping the cars if you want to go that direction ;)

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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erin215

"My *preference* would be rifles or poison."
i wonder what the coyote equivalent to that statement would be ???

The coyotes have adapted well to human occupation of their territory. Perhaps it's time that humans did a little adaption themselves.

I was in Tacoma a couple of months ago.. at their big park.. the name escapes me but it's where the zoo is.. and discovered the overabundance of racoons on the scenic drive.

We.. my two shiba dogs and I... stopped at a lookout and decided not to stay because of a woman who felt her cute little lap dog didn't need a leash...

as we were pulling out.. a group of raccoons crossed the road in front of us and headed towards the lookout. I stopped so i wouldn't hit any of them and as we sat there nearly 30 raccoons crossed to the entrance of the lookout.

i looked back and saw that the woman with the dog was standing with other people less than 10 feet away watching the raccoons.. and the tasty little morsel that was her dog was still unleashed and 5 feet closer to the raccoons than she was.

i rolled down my window.. not being stupid enough to step out of the car and expose my ankles to the raccoons surrounding the car.. and hollered that she might want to leash her dog.. that raccoons in packs can be pretty vicious.

She said.. "Oh, i know" and didn't even call the dog to her side.

I am assuming she got away with her stupidity that day since there was no big news story about a woman and her dog being attacked by raccoons in the news.. but maybe it is such a common occurrence that it wasn't newsworthy.

BTW.. the shibas, who are extreme predators themselves.. knew enough to keep a low profile with that many raccoons surrounding the car.

You have got to wonder why most humans aren't that smart.

if you don't want coyotes in your yard, don't put food in your yard to entice them.. it really is that simple.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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Erin, coyotes pose very little danger to children and absolutely no danger to house cats that are kept where they belong. I would venture to guess that the thousands of feral cats roaming our neighborhoods are a far greater hazard to children than coyotes. And just because we have wantonly destroyed our natural environment and killed off indigenous wildlife in the past doesn't mean we should continue to do it.

Posted 2 years ago #
Jiggers
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They just caught and killed a coyote this early morning in Magnolia. Maybe we should do the same in W.S. I guess it's cheaper to just kill it rather than spend resources and energy in capturing it and relocating it. Or at least they could have given it a tresspassing warning and a second chance.

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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GenHillOne - I agree. Trap & release it is. How's Florida sound for the release area? ;-)

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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SarahScoot..

they'd just hop a freight home
coyotes are very adaptable creatures:)

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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JoB - sorry, I was talking about trapping & releasing the cars.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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You remove one car from the road and another one just moves in to take its place.

Posted 2 years ago #
Jiggers
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Erin, are you hot? :)

Posted 2 years ago #
funkietoo
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‘Trap, Remove, and Kill’ is not only inhumane, but a short term solution which does not solve the larger issue. ‘Trap, Remove, and Kill’ will only resolve the immediate problem (wait, what about the lady following the leash law?), and create what is called ‘The Vacuum Effect’. With less coyotes in the area, the ones that are still there will over breed in order to fill up the empty spots. The same thing happens when the ‘Trap, Remove, and Kill’ method is used with any wild/feral animal, e.g., coyote, cats, raccoons, etc. 'Trap, Remove and Relocate' will still result in The Vacuum Effect, plus, being a pack animal,not sure how well Coyotes do with relocation.

Seems to me that if there is agreement there are too many coyotes, the WA State Wildlife and Game Department could start a Trap-Neuter-Ear Tip-Return program. Yes…this would cost money up front, but IMO it is the most humane and best,long term solution. Since the now reproductively responsible coyotes are returned to their ‘home’, the others that are still unaltered, will not over breed because there are not ‘empty spots’. Once 70% of a species has been spay/neutered, the population stabilizes. Anything over 70% results in the population declining over time.

PS: Millions of pets are stolen out of people’s yards every year---many of these pets are used for dog fighting bait; laboratories; etc. When you are not outside with your pet, please take steps to keep them safe---like covered, [locked] outdoor cat enclosures and dog kennels.

Posted 2 years ago #
mpento
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I heard about the coyote being trapped and killed in Magnolia :( I don't have any evidence/information but I suspect this was some kind of revenge killing. I mean what danger are they to people? Probably some ex trophy pet owner who was sufficently annoying or has some political influence demanded that the beast be killed! It was probably velo_nut.

Posted 2 years ago #
Wednesday
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Erin215, I'm curious what summer you think they arrived? It was '97 when one entered the downtown federal building. Who'd ever thought that really happened. I think the Trap-Neuter-Ear Tip-Return program is the best solution I've heard yet. I vote for that! Too bad that wouldn't work on Raccoons.

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
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mpento...now you just leave velo-nut out of this..he's an innocent ;o)

As was stated earlier, there was a small dog that was attacked in Magnolia. He wasn't killed though. AND - he was off leash and the owner was outside with him and watched as her dog ran up to the coyote. Probably thought it was another dog and decided to go sniff and be friends. Somehow, we have to understand that we have responsibilities...to keep our cats inside, to leash our dogs when outside...to not just let our beloved pets run wild, and then complain when something like this happens. And I do partly agree with you...I think that the Magnolia/Discovery Park area people made a little more noise, so their wheel got the grease.

Posted 2 years ago #