NEW ORLEANS -- Does wolf urine keep Coyotes out of your yard?
There have been several reports of coyotes in neighborhoods in southeast Louisiana over the years, including some where the animals would take or kill small dogs and cats. So, we looked into wolf urine to see if the product could keep your pets safe.
To verify we turned to Lindsay Ezell, Assistant Curator of Animal Ambassadors at the Audubon Nature Institute.
When an animal leaves urine behind, it's like you leaving your complete detailed profile, even your relationship status, on your Facebook page for others to read.
"It can tell if a female's in heat and ready to breed. It can tell how old they are. It contains hormones. It contains pheromones and animals smell a lot better than we can," Ezell said. “So, if a coyote smells wolf urine, it's natural instinct is survival. Coyotes are prey for wolves, so urine coming from predators, like that is certainly a deterrent, but in theory something like the urine of a predator would work."
You may be surprised to know that you can get every sort of animal urine at Pee Mart online, or even more surprised that it's at Walmart. One of our fellow CBS stations in Reno, KTVN, talked to experts who said wolf urine is very effective against a female coyotes, but maybe not as much for urban male coyotes. Since the coyote has never encountered one, he hasn't learned to be afraid of the big bad wolf. But urine is very cheap, so it's worth a try.
"The important thing to note about these products is it has to be reapplied. Just like an animal who urinates in the wild, that smell's not going to be around forever," Ezell said.
And it has to be applied right. Michael Beran, Owner and Operator of Wildlife Command Center, tells KTVN to always squirt the urine to all major posts or fences along your yard, above the height of your knee, so the coyote thinks that a big wolf is marking its territory.
So, we can verify that at the low cost, wolf urine is worth trying. And as extra protection for your pets, Lindsay recommends coyote rollers on top of your fence, so it can't jump into your back yard.
Lindsay says it's just as important to not attract the coyotes to your yard in the first place. Since coyotes are most active at dawn, dusk and night, do not have dog or cat food or even bird seeds out at night. And don't have your small animals out at night either.