Could your compost pile be attracting coyotes? (grass, vegetable, squirrel)
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I had to stop with my composting because I had a narrow brush with coyotes chasing deer in my backyard. My 2 young daughters were standing right by me and it scared us all to death. I don't need the compost enough to invest in something other than what I have. Wouldn't any kind of composting attract nuisance critters. I'm enclosing article about problem in my community.
I had to stop with my composting because I had a narrow brush with coyotes chasing deer in my backyard. My 2 young daughters were standing right by me and it scared us all to death. I don't need the compost enough to invest in something other than what I have. Wouldn't any kind of composting attract nuisance critters. I'm enclosing article about problem in my community.
Maybe I'm wrong – but I think that coyotes only go after meat scraps in a compost pile? I always thought that our compost was safe from most critters if we restricted it to vegetable waste. Besides meat scraps; I try not to get any grease in my compost. The only critters I have seen at my compost are skunks at night – they go after the worms.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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If it smells good, it's food.
Compost piles are fair game even if they don't contain meat waste. They attract something furry and delicious that may be munching on the contents.
No I don't put any meat in my compost pile and any gardener knows not to. But cittic is right- if it smells like food they will surely come. We have a real coyote problem in my area of NC. If I knew they were eating the deer it might not be so bad but our deer problem is even worse than the coyotes.
I had to stop with my composting because I had a narrow brush with coyotes chasing deer in my backyard. My 2 young daughters were standing right by me and it scared us all to death. I don't need the compost enough to invest in something other than what I have. Wouldn't any kind of composting attract nuisance critters. I'm enclosing article about problem in my community.
Hm, I guess possibly? I'm not sure they can fit through my fence, and we don't have zillions around in my neighborhood, very few. What I do deal with are possums. Then my dog deals with them. Ugh. We had a messy spring.
No I don't put any meat in my compost pile and any gardener knows not to. But cittic is right- if it smells like food they will surely come. We have a real coyote problem in my area of NC. If I knew they were eating the deer it might not be so bad but our deer problem is even worse than the coyotes.
Eventually your deer population should go down and that will lead to fewer coyotes. But; it can take a few years. I used to have forty or fifty deer hanging around all the time. Now I rarely see over a handful. I only actually saw coyotes two times in my back yard – but I have seen many tracks in the winter snows. If coyotes got too close; they would have been history.
Is it possible that coyotes come to the compost piles for the other critters that do eat vegetable compost.
Maybe it is also what is in our compost? My compost is mainly straw (from duck bedding) leaves, and grass clippings. Household vegetable waste I let decompose in a large compost can and then I bury it in the middle of my big compost pile. I have five acres that I mow and clean up the leaves – plenty of compost.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We have a lot of coyote activity here, they can bee seen crossing the road in our suburban city in the early morning, and can be heard at night. They are attracted to the squirrels, opossums, rabbits, and people's cats. Very few people have a
compost pile and most yards are 1/3 acre or less. I'd be more concerned about the bears that we get more frequently lately.
Coyotes are carnivorous and are not interested in things that would be considered vegetation. Technically that should mean they would not be interested in a well kept and turned compost pile or compost bin. If, however, it is not frequently turned and added to (grass and leaves) it becomes a big draw for/ home to, the kind of "meat" a coyote loves to hunt; mice, voles, squirrels, chipmunks and so on. If table scraps include even small amounts of meat (even "just gravy") the smell will attract them to at least investigate the compost. Other scavengers like racoons and skunks will certainly be drawn to that. In areas with high coyote populations they are usually very used to human and more likely to come into the yard than in areas with lots of other hunting targets. A more sealed up compost bin that excludes even the smallest wildlife will be needed for such high population areas. There are some good ideas here: How to Keep Wildlife Out of Your Compost Container - For Dummies
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