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Principles for Baiting Coyotes

Principles for Baiting Coyotes

Coyote (Canis latrans), for most trappers, are the most difficult furbearer to trap. Trappers that have success in catching them are held in high esteem in the trapping community. Major L. Boddicker has a Ph.D. in wildlife management and has been involved in baiting for coyotes. Coyote baiting has undergone significant research because of the coyotes’ tendency to predate on livestock. The government, seeking to help manage coyote predation, has invested a lot of money and time into learning what works and what doesn’t to improve coyote control activities. Baiting coyotes is essential as baits are used to lure coyotes to traps and to M-44s.

Coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly sought after predator. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.
Coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly sought after predator. Bait makers work hard to create baits/lures to attract them. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.

In an article entitled, “Spring and Summer Testing: Results of Spring and Summer Testing of Baits and Lures with Non-lethal Devices. How Does Temperature Affect Catch Rates? How Often Should a Trapper Re-bait Sets” published in the American Trapper 55:5(Sept-Oct):18-22, Dr. Boddicker revealed some of the findings from his research.

  • Temperature affects how well baits/lures work. As a rule, when temperatures dip below freezing, you will need to apply 1-4 times more bait/lure to achieve the same attractiveness level.
  • Coyotes progressively loose interest in baits/lures as temperature rises above 79° F.
  • Sets should be refreshed with bait/lure every 7 days or so depending on relative humidity and temperature.
  • Coyotes showed the greatest interest in baited/lured sets between 3-6 days. So be patient.
  • Urine and liquid lures have the shortest attraction times as they dry out quickly.
  • Coyotes have incredible smelling ability. When using quality baits/lures, only a Q-tip or pea-sized glob is needed.

These are just a few of the principles that Boddicker suggests. But he does have one more. He always recommends that trappers and by extension, wildlife control operators, keep records of the types of baits/lures they use. Learn what works by season, temperature in your neck of the woods. When you have some good data, then determine how well the baits/lures work by creating a success index for each bait/lure. Calculate the index by furbearer visits to your set and divide by the number of lure/bait presentations (each night). A simple Excel spreadsheet will make this easy.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Canid Trapping and Management PIGEC: A Review

Stephen M. Vantassel with a coyote.
Stephen M. Vantassel with a coyote. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.

Fournier, Gaetan. 2011.Canid Trapping and Management PIGEC: Safety and Wildlife Conservation Educational Program (PESCOF). Federation des trappeurs gestionnaires du Quebec (FTGQ). 160 pages.

Canada has been one of the international leaders in developing trapping best practices for trapping. This fact is understandable given that its trapping heritage spans all the way back to the 17th century with the French fur trade.

Canid Trapping and Management is actually an advanced course. It assumes that readers have already undergone the FTGQ’s basic trapping course. Nevertheless, the book contains enough detail that anyone with basic familiarity with trapping will not feel too overwhelmed.

The text divides the training into five chapters. After explaining the goals of the training in the introduction, chapter 1 reviews the biology of foxes, coyotes, and wolves. The biological information is not complete, however, as Fournier only focusses on biological information important for trapping success, such as marking behavior, sign, habitat selection, diet, etc. Chapter 2 reviews equipment and its preparation. Great attention is paid on foot traps designed to meet international humane standards as well as how to set some of the more unusual traps. Two of the traps mentioned, namely the Belisle Selectif and the Rudy Redwolf, I had never heard of before. Snares and their parts were also discussed in great detail.

Chapter 3, Attractants, was the most valuable chapter in my opinion. The level of scientific detail contained in this chapter will dispel any thought that more lure must be better. Readers will learn why urine is so important as well as how to identify quality urine. If nothing else, this chapter will save canine trappers plenty of money by reducing the misuse of lure. Do-it-yourselfers will find the description of lure preparation and suggested recipes helpful.

Techniques for the capture of canids is presented in chapter 4. Fournier spends a lot of time on site selection as well as proper bedding and positioning of traps. The chapter is fairly balanced between the setting of foot-traps and snares. The suggestions on using traps in deep snow to take advantage of canid behavior is particularly noteworthy such as the hillock method.

The book concludes with skinning and pelt handling. The level of detail is remarkable. The author explains how to avoid common errors (green stomach and freezer burn) along with a review of fur grading. While nothing beats hands-on experience, the text and photos in this book are a close second.

It is difficult to find sufficient superlatives to describe this book. Though contains a few typos, the quality of the layout, artwork, information, and photos make it well worth the price. I believe this text presents a standard that American trapping organizations should seek to match.

To order the PIGEC manual, send an e-mail to ftgq@ftgq.qc.ca. In the e-mail, include your complete address and the quantity of each manual desired. They in turn will send you a PayPal invoice that includes the price of the book ($63.00) and the shipping fees (all in Canadian dollars).

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest books are the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition and The Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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Coyote (Canis latrans) Scat

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Coyote (Canis latrans) scat. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.

Coyote (Canis latrans) Scat

Coyote scat in winter often is full of hair. In this case it looks like deer hair, likely from feeding on deer killed by cars or hunting. Scats are approximately 1/2 inch wide and placed along trails and intersections of trails. Scats can also appear like twisted ropes.

To learn more about identifying scat purchase the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd ed.

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest book is the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Coyote (Canis latrans) Predation Research in Virginia

Coyote (Canis latrans) Predation Research in Virginia

Canis latrans Français : Un coyote en Arizona
Canis latrans Français : Un coyote en Arizona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over the past 30 years, coyotes have expanded their range dramatically. Whereas they originally only resided in the mid to western states of the U.S., today coyotes can be found throughout the eastern seaboard. As a top carnivore, biologists want to know what coyotes are eating.

Research of scats has revealed that 2/3 of coyote scats studied in 2011 contained deer. A similar percentage was found in bobcat scats. Black bear scats, however, revealed the presence of deer in only 36% of the scats. The scat study was limited to Virginia.

These findings show that scientists need to learn more about the cumulative effect of these predators on deer populations. Since deer are an important resource, learning more about the interactions of predation is particularly relevant to wildlife management officials.

Source: Bock, Bob. 2012. Coyote Research in Virginia. Wildlife Professional 6:3(Fall):74.

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest book is the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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The Urban Coyote Management Workshop

The Urban Coyote Management Workshop

Rob Erickson of On Target ADC demonstrating the Metro Barrel. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel
On April 21, 2011, the Izaak Walton League hosted the Urban Coyote Management Workshop sponsored by the Wildlife Damage Management Working Group of the Wildlife Society and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources. This was the second workshop on wildlife damage management hosted by the Izaak Walton League. The previous workshop, held in 2010, focused on shooting in sensitive environments.

The Rise of Human-Coyote Conflicts

A workshop on the management of coyotes may seem strange to members of the Izaak Walton League given that conflicts with coyotes in Nebraska tend to center on livestock predation. Yet, in many parts of the U.S., conflicts with coyotes are on the rise. While coyotes typically attack pets and scavenge on trash, instances of coyote attacks on humans, including one death of a 19 year-old in Cape Breton Highlands National Park Canada in October 2009, are not unheard of. In light of these events, the Wildlife Damage Management Working Group decided that a hands-on workshop on the management of coyotes in urban areas was needed.

Coyote Damage Management Training

Tim Julian of A&T Wildlife teaching a class on using cable-restraints to capture coyotes.
Tim Julian teaching the Collarum Trap at the Urban Coyote Management Workshop. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel
The workshop began at 8:00 A.M. The 38 participants were divided into three groups based on their experience with shooting and trapping coyotes. The groups were assigned to the three field stations which consisted of shooting, footholds, and snares and cable restraints. The groups remained at each station for one hour before transitioning to the next in round robin fashion. Although the morning temperature was in the low 40’s and accompanied by a regular breeze, attendees took advantage of the opportunity for some hands-on experience.

Hands-On Coyote Damage Management Training

In the shooting section, Rob Erickson of On Target ADC, demonstrated the benefits of a 12-gauge shotgun fitted with a Metro barrel and the proper use of suppressed and unsuppressed .22 caliber firearms. With League member Dr. Scott Hygnstrom as range master, Erickson covered firearm selection, shot placement, safety rules, and other considerations when dealing with urban coyotes. All attendees were able to to shoot a wide range of firearms and ammunition. Footholds, traditional and padded-jaw, were discussed by Chad Richardson of USDA-Wildlife Services-Nebraska. He demonstrated setting techniques and  had each of the attendees make their own dirt hole set. Those new to trapping quickly discovered that setting dirt holes in wet clay soil is not easy. In the cable restraint and snaring area, Tim Julien of A & T Wildlife explained the finer points of using snares and cable-restraints for coyotes. As an added bonus, the manufacturer of the Collarum™ trap, which is a canine specific and live-trapping device that captures them by looping a relaxing cable over their neck, helped oversee setting the trap. While certainly, one hour of instruction for each of these sections is inadequate, the goal of the workshop was to provide attendees with an introduction to the tools and techniques useful for urban coyote management. In that regard, we consider the training successful.

Cage Trapping Coyotes

After a quick lunch, Claude Oleyar of Equalizer Wildlife Control in Colorado, gave instruction on the use of cage traps in the capture of coyotes. He explained the challenges and the opportunity that cage traps provide. The rest of the day was spent inside the lodge. Rob Erickson spoke for the next two hours on surveillance in site selection as well as handling clients. He demonstrated how attendees could use Google Earth to assist them in finding dense sites in urban areas. He also described  difficulties in handling municipal coyote control jobs. He repeatedly cautioned participants about the importance of being careful, professional, and using the best equipment available.

Media and the Control of Coyotes

Joe LaBarbera of the LaBarbera Media Group rounded out the day by helping attendees understand how to handle the press. As a former news reporter, LaBarbera explained how reporters are under tremendous time pressure and noted that reporters will report a story whether you speak to them or not. LaBarbera said it is critical that you provide the facts and that you avoid saying “no comment.” In no circumstances should you ever say something is “off the record” cautioning that there is no such thing.  He encouraged attendees to begin building relationships with reporters so that your perspective will be treated fairly which is the best that you can hope for. LaBarbera provided explicit rules of dos and don’ts in media relations which provided everyone with strategies for a more successful experience in dealing with the media. The workshop concluded with supper from Parker’s Smokehouse, which included beef, pulled pork, muffins, and baked beans along with apple crisp for dessert.

Future Coyote Training Opportunities

The Wildlife Damage Management Working Group and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources wishes to thank the Izaak Walton League for making their facilities available to us. In addition, we express our special thanks to Mike Kunkee for his willingness to go beyond the call of duty to help us. We also thank the kitchen staff of the Thursday night Trap League for “sharing” the kitchen with us. We commend the League for its leadership in helping us provide research-based information on wildlife damage management to the public.

Authors

Stephen M. Vantassel, Project Coordinator http://icwdm.org
Scott E. Hygnstrom, Professor-School of Natural Resources, UNL