OT: Coyote Pack

[Edward Sargent]

Out on the Cape they "yip" more than howl. Eastern coyotes are thought to be breeding with with wolves. The three some you might have seen is a bitch with two nearly full grown pups. Interesting on the outer Cape last year we had a big influx of chipmunks which are the favorite food of weasels which are popular with coyotes. Lots of stories of cats and dogs going out to pee and not coming back.

 

[mauconnfan]

I live on a mountain in WesMass and they are on my back retaining walls quite often but rarely, if ever will they come below the "top" area of my property. Nonetheless I always need to either go out with my dog or be sure to look out there at all times as the thought of them makes me unsure........also the black bears and fox are always here, the bears here for the sewet, the foxes for the chipmunks and the coyotes I'm guessing for the massive amount of turkeys feeding off my bird feeders.......a regular feeding frenzy out here..........

 

[cohenzone]

I have a chipmunk problem also. I had bought a havaheart trap years ago but could never get it to set up properly. I would like to poison the buggers without taking anything else out.

I had a chipmunk problem last year that I solved with a haveaheart trap. However, it was relatively easy for me because of where the bold bugger was nesting. A few years ago we added a room that is on piers with a false foundation made of some material that the animal chewed through. I tried lots of methods to get rid of it, but I didn't want to poison it, especially since I didn't want it dying under the room. I also wasn't sure if I was only seeing one chipmunk. It was so bold that it would come out and sun itself on our patio chairs. I was able to put the trap immediately at the hole it had chewed, no way in or out without going through the trap which I set with a combo of peanut butter and bird seed. My son, a wildlife biologist, had told me that if I caught it, I should relocate if at least 3-5 miles away because rodents will find their way back "home" from shorter distances. I actually took it to a park 14 miles away and across the Q bridge, figuring that if it could find its way back from there, more power to it. Being unsure if I was dealing with more than one critter, I reset the trap and wound up trapping a mouse, which I relocated to a golf course. I also had to have that section of the foundation replaced.

 

[CL82]

Likely due to its large cougar population.

It took me a second, then I laughed out loud.

 

[Dogdeacon]

I knew a guy who was sorta a pilot and had a gopher problem. He brought home some av-gas and poured it in a number of holes - not realizing the underground network is far more vast than what you see. He set off a fuse of sorts (I think it was paper towels soaked with gas) and retreated back 10 feet. When it went off, it blew him off the ground on to his ass. It did not get rid of the gophers. I do not suggest this method (nor the caddyshack method).

Last year someone at a party told me about using 'double bubble' chewing gum in chipmunk holes. They want' digest it and fill up with water, these explosions should be less volatile but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[UCweCONN]

Except for mice which I trap with a vengeance when they get in my garage, I like animals and wouldn't kill them outside my home. I did however, have an incident where I forgot to dump out the water in my daughter's kiddy pool and when I went to dump it the following weekend, there was a very large dead chipmunk floating in it. I've also seen chipmunks in the mouths of foxes on a couple occasions, being carried in the air by red-tailed hawks, and once by a snowy owl so they seem to be a real staple prey for a lot of animals here in CT.

 

[ZenConn]

I've seen a few coyotes near the green of the 17th hole of a golf course in Northern NJ I regularly play on. Looked pretty thin, but I had a 3 iron waiting for him just in case ...