The coyote, Canis latrans, is one of North America’s most adaptable and widespread carnivores, increasingly common in suburban and urban areas. This expansion results from human development encroaching on their natural habitats, forcing these resilient animals to adjust their behavior to live near people. Coyotes thrive in urban environments by utilizing green spaces and modifying their feeding habits, often shifting to nocturnal activity. This proximity introduces the potential for human-wildlife conflict, raising concerns about safety for families and pets. Understanding the actual degree of risk and implementing effective coexistence strategies is the best way to manage these interactions.
Assessing the Threat Level
Attacks by coyotes on humans are statistically rare events, especially when compared to incidents involving domestic animals. From 1977 through 2015, only 367 attacks on humans were documented across the United States and Canada, with only one recorded fatality in that timeframe. The incidents that do occur frequently involve young children, particularly toddlers, who may be perceived as potential prey due to their small size. A majority of human attacks are directly linked to habituation, where coyotes have lost their natural fear of people, often due to intentional or unintentional feeding.
The vast majority of conflicts involve domestic pets, which coyotes may view as food sources or as competitors within their territory. Small dogs and cats are particularly vulnerable when left unattended during the coyotes’ peak activity hours of dawn and dusk. Reports of attacks on pets often precede and signal a heightened risk of bolder coyote behavior toward humans in a given area. The presence of a dog was noted in about 17% of recorded coyote attacks on humans, suggesting that protective owners intervening in a pet-related conflict also face a low level of risk.
Securing Property and Protecting Pets
Reducing the availability of food and shelter is the most effective way to make your property unattractive to coyotes. Coyotes are opportunistic foragers who readily exploit human-provided food sources like unsecured garbage, discarded pet food, and fallen fruit. All trash cans should have secure, locking lids or be stored in a secured location, and outdoor pet feeding should be avoided entirely.
For pet owners, direct supervision is the most reliable defense, especially for small dogs and cats, which should never be left outdoors unsupervised, even in a fenced yard. Coyotes can scale fences and are adept at digging underneath barriers to gain access. Perimeter fences should be at least six feet high, and preferably eight feet, to deter climbing.
To prevent burrowing, the fence base should be buried a minimum of 12 inches underground, or a galvanized wire apron should be extended outward from the base. A further modification involves installing coyote rollers—cylindrical PVC or metal tubes—along the top of the fence, which spin if a coyote attempts to gain purchase, preventing them from climbing over. Removing dense brush, woodpiles, and enclosed spaces like crawl spaces eliminates potential den sites and hiding spots, further reducing the appeal of your property.
Strategies for Direct Human Encounters
When encountering a coyote that appears unafraid or reluctant to leave, the best approach is “hazing,” designed to restore its natural wariness of humans. Hazing works by applying an immediate, negative stimulus to the animal, teaching it that proximity to humans is uncomfortable and undesirable. The first step is to immediately make yourself look large and intimidating by standing tall, waving your arms overhead, and shouting loudly.
Never turn your back or run away from a coyote, as this can trigger a predatory chase response. Instead, maintain eye contact and approach the animal if it does not immediately retreat, increasing the intensity of the deterrent. Effective noisemakers include air horns, whistles, or a “shaker can” filled with coins or rocks, which produce an unsettling sound.
If the coyote remains, you can escalate by throwing small objects like sticks, clumps of dirt, or small rocks toward the animal, not at it, to startle it without causing injury. A water hose or a high-powered water gun can also be used effectively, particularly in a yard setting. Continue hazing until the coyote has completely left the area, as a coyote that runs a short distance and then stops to look back still needs a stronger message.
Understanding Disease Transmission Risks
Coyotes can carry several pathogens and parasites that pose a low, but present, risk to domestic animals and, less commonly, to humans. The most widely recognized risk is rabies, which is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal, typically via a bite or scratch. Any contact with a coyote suspected of having rabies requires immediate medical evaluation and contact with local health authorities.
Parasitic risks are more frequent, including the mites that cause sarcoptic mange, which can be transmitted to pets through direct contact, though the risk of human transmission is very low. Another concern is the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, whose eggs are passed in coyote feces after they consume infected rodents. This parasite can infect dogs and, in rare cases, humans, potentially causing a serious, tumor-like disease in the liver. The most important preventative measure against these diseases is ensuring all domestic pets are current on their core vaccinations and parasite prevention medications.