David,

The most efficient legal method to remove coyotes is trapping, especially just prior to and during fawning season. Coyotes are difficult to catch, and seem to become conditioned to avoiding traps rapidly. I made the mistake of trying some ineffective trapping techniques for coyotes the first year at The Proving Grounds. I basically educated most of the local adult coyotes and made them trap shy. Since then, I’ve been involved in some research projects where a professional trapper was used on properties that hadn’t been trapped for years. The catch rate was very high as the local coyote population was naive about traps. Hence, using a professional trapper is the best method to reduce local coyote populations. Because coyotes are very mobile and disperse frequently, it is necessary to trap annually to keep the local coyote population in check. Several research projects confirm that surrounding coyote populations will fill the void created by removing coyotes from a specific property.

Growing Deer together,

Grant