Coyotes

July 28, 2022

Question: What can I do to scare aggressive coyotes away from my property? My neighbor told me it is illegal to do much of anything to haze them away.

Answer: A great place to start is CDFW’s Keep Me Wild: Coyotes web page, which has lots of good information on how to prevent coyotes from being attracted to your property in the first place. CDFW also helped produce this short video about living with coyotes(opens in new tab). CDFW’s goal, and an important part of our mission, is to help people and wildlife coexist — and that includes native predators like coyotes. Coyotes occupy an extremely important niche in our ecosystem. They help keep rodents under control and regularly scavenge carrion (remains of dead animals), which helps keep neighborhoods clean. In California, people can legally haze coyotes away from themselves or their property if approached. We recommend standing tall and shouting aggressively at an approaching coyote or one that is too close for comfort. Using an airhorn, whistle or shaking a can with small stones or coins can also scare a coyote away. Remember to remain calm and slowly back away from the coyote, but do not run. California FGC section 4152(opens in new tab) does allow landowners or tenants to lethally remove coyotes that pose a risk to public safety or cause property damage, but actions must comply with all local and state laws, including county or city prohibitions on the discharge of a firearm. Also see FGC section 4004(opens in new tab) and California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 465.5(opens in new tab). If there is an immediate danger to public safety, or if a coyote has bitten or scratched a human, please take whatever measures are necessary to get to a safe location and call 911.