How To Keep Coyotes Out of Your Yard

Sign up for the Woodbridge Patch newsletter!

Image: Wikipedia Commons

As the weather warms up this spring, wild animals like coyotes are getting out and about, and local authorities are cautioning residents to steer clear of them.

Cousins of domesticated dogs, coyotes have been showing up in Prince William County and other parts of suburban Virginia in recent years. But they tend to be nuisances, rooting through trash to forage for food and getting under decks and porches to make a den for their spring litters.

To avoid attracting coyotes, the Prince William County Police Department has urged residents to take steps like keeping trash inside or in an animal-proof container outside, to keep pet food inside and to remove bird feeders.

Coyotes can pose a danger to pets like small dogs and cats, says the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The department warns that in other states, the animals have even attacked and severely injured small toddlers left unattended.

Once seen as native to the American West, coyotes have been moving east in recent years and appearing in major cities like Chicago. A coyote was even spotted recently in New York City, walking on the roof of a bar in Queens, the New York Daily News reported.