Besides, who wants to work or play in a garden that smells like the backside of a large downtown's bus terminal? There are two facts that people often overlook in considering this type of situation. No, make that three: 1) An animal will eat just about anything if it's hungry enough (think Donner party for an extreme example). 2) I love Ethiopian food, my friend can't stand it. Translate to rabbits or deer. 3) Habit is a powerful force. We all know smoking causes a host of health problems yet 46 million Americans still do it.

Coyote ... "red phase" They range from pale cream to reddish brown like this one through the usual grey-brown and on into a silver-black coloring. For some reason, perhaps crossing with the eastern wolves, East coast coyotes seem to have more color variety. He doesn't look unusually husky to me, for a summer coyote. It's the fluffy fur in winter that makes their legs look so skinny.

I saw the post heading but did not look at the date. We too live in Canada - Toronto - and last Friday received a 4 page flyer from Animal Control re the increasing population of Coyotes in Toronto - and near our house - a few blocks away there is a big park, but the coyotes are becoming increasing brave and venturing further afield in search of food - and people have been feeding the coyote "puppies". They are competing with raccoons and skunks - they are of course a nuisance but a far cry from a raccoon. Re the OP's question re a Coyote jumping a 6 ft. fence - most definitely. Heck our 22 lb. dog can jump a 5 ft. from a standing position. I called Animal Control and was told to be careful, particularly in the early a.m. and evening - of course it is dark - and to never put our dog in the yard alone - we don't do this anyway. And to always have him on a leash - which he is. But dogs are being attacked by Coyotes while on leash, including a Chocolate Lab, not that far from here. His Mom beat off the 2 Coyotes who were biting him and then they came back for more - Mom and dog got away thankfully. In one area not far from us, Coyotes have been seen looking in windows checking for dogs and cats. Suggested deterrents are coins in a can (useless - they don't even scare my dog) - or small air horns - I got the last one at Sport Chek much to the dismay of other shoppers. I know the noise will hurt our guy's ears, but better that than the alternative. People are being told to take down bird feeders since Coyotes will search them out - I feel sorry for the birds who will return each year for food, but.... The Coyotes of course are looking for food since so much of their native habitat is now covered with houses. This problem will get worse - and a child has been bitten by a Coyote in the GTA. I for one would be eaten I guess by a Coyote while trying to save our dog. My friend owns a store in Toronto and was written up in the local area newspaper. On the adjoining page there was an article about the increase of Coyotes in Toronto and how to deal with the problem. Quite a large write-up. I did a Coyote search on our dog's specific breed forum and many people in the U.S. are facing the same issue but many states allow people to protect themselves in ways that Canadian laws do not - so an air horn it is - as well as having a fit during the early morning and night walks when we hear a noise or rustling in the bushes! Animal Control suggested speaking with neighbours to best devise ways to deal with garbage and keep pets safe - so far - zip. Cats are still being let out to run loose - and some people feel that since the major park isn't right across the street (well there is a park across the street - just a different one) that they need not worry. The usual case of "it couldn't happen to me". There are a couple of people though who are worried, thankfully.

Just wanted to follow up on our experience with the Phantom Pest Wildlife Deterrent. We have been using the model featuring a synthesized cougar hiss at random intervals at our new home bordering open space for several months now. The first morning after moving our miniature goats into their new pens, we saw a coyote skirting the fenceline looking for a way in. It was not deterred by our presence and only retreated when we approached shooting a pellet gun. We set up the deterrent in a nearby tree that day. We have not seen or heard of another coyote since then. All of our neighbors have stories about the aggressive coyotes spotted increasingly over the years, and even some sightings of bobcats. The whole neighborhood (on one acre properties) is grateful to us for the sound deterrent. So far, so good. It sure was alot less expensive than coyote rollers or electric fencing. I promise to post if we have any future encounters with predators, but for now we are sleeping soundly.