Best-good-friend has lost 2 calves in the last 2 weeks to predators on a leased place . The land owners that live on the place see the dang coyotes almost daily and they harass their guineys, but don't shoot em WTF? Anyway we've hunted this place for years, and have taken countless coyotes and bobcats. Hunting is not keeping them in check, so we need something else that'll work. I believe coyotes won't go into a trap, none I've ever seen. This morning I heard the idea of setting snares in the tree lines where the cattle can't get to it. The noose type over bait.

Is there any poison that can be set out that the deer won't touch? This place is in Collin County, I've seen the deer, I saw two seperate rubs and scrapes 2 weeks ago, so I know the deer are there. We don't want to harm the deer because it's wrong and probably illegal. But we need to thin down the coyotes in the worst way.

Before anyone jumps in and says "hey I'll come hunt for ya", it's not gonna happen- landowner says so! Myself and my friend are the only hunters allowed on the place unsupervised.

What to do?

I am sure there is all kinds of chemicals that would work but I would be really careful. In fact I probably wouldn't do it. You can get in some serious trouble if you inadvertantly poison something else. Even buzzards dieing from eating poisoned coyotes.

If hunting isn't working maybe you could call a government trapper.

I think you have to have permits to use poison. Might want to Google the story about the Eastland county peanut farmers and their escapade of trying to poison hogs. They even have the federal LEO looking at them.

i have never done it because i was scared to harm another animal or my dogs but a friend once injected anti-freeze into hot dog weiners... before anyone jumps to conclusions I have never done this i have just heard of it and the buddy that was telling me i dont know if i believe that he did it but i know it would work because he tested it on a stray dog at his farm then discarded the animal to keep from scavengers getting sick/killed

Antifreeze will kill them all right, but it is a pretty agonizing death, and dogs can't resist lapping the stuff up. either. I'd suggest passing on the antifreeze solution.

x2 on the trapper

Does the trapper charge a fee?

A place I hunted on years ago had a gov'nt trapper, he used a cyanide "bomb", govenment stuff, civilians probably couldn't get them. BUT.... I have also seen him use a LARGE trebel hook tied with parachute cord about 3 ft off the ground baited with meat.

I always used snares on fence lines myself.

Dang Rick, that sounds like some crazy stuff right there. lol.

someone said get a trapper, and that is a really good idea! I know one of our local fur trappers, and he does not charge, but he wont come out there unless u really have a problem. He is darn good, and if he is going out for a yote, he catches a yote, if he is going for a coon, he catches a coon. wish i was that good.

as far as poison, not sure if they are still allowed to use em, but the M 44 trap that hits yotes with cyanide, they did that out on our place many years ago and took out a whole bunch of yotes!

Yea... M44 traps... I'm not afraid of many things but I always walked a wide circle around those things, they just sounded like they'd git cha!

Plus I was 30 yrs younger and had a bigger imagination.

I think I'll go with the snares first. I can get some 1/8" cable at Gebo's in McKinney pretty cheap. And I've got some old meat in the freezer that needs to go anyway. I just hate for any animal to suffer, so I'll have to check the snares pretty often.

Well I was a Texas Gov trapper and the M44's you guys are speaking of do work and our still used today but the Gov has strict rules about wear they put them as well as they must have a special applicator's license to even get a hold of them and they are not a trap they are a mechanical devices that once baited shoots a chemical into the coyotes mouth which kills it on contact with any saliva or moisture it touches it can be deadly if your not trained how to use it properly.The foot traps will work better than snares and can target certain animals instead of any old creature walking into a snare and getting hung pretty much. I would get someone experienced in trapping and let them take a look before you educate the target coyotes and then make things harder for the next guy who deals with stuff like this all the time I would help you but its pretty far from wear I live and you need to check your traps daily to stay on top of things I hope this helps. Skinner

SKINNER PREDATOR HUNTER, thanks for the sharing of wisdom. What would be a good source for the foot traps? I know Valley Mills I went right through there on Tuesday on our way to I35 from Gatesville. I got a speeding ticket there 3 years ago. Yes it's a pretty far piece from where our problem is, thanks again.

M44's are super dangerous and like Skinner said, only certain people can buy them now. The guy behind us uses a trapper and he still uses the m44's
snares are good ,but steel traps are better for yotes, and if ya can find a "bitch" yote pup(dont know if a bitch dog will work, but definantly know that a yote will), cage her and on the botton of the cage, ya need rabbit wire for the floor. Place a drain pan under the cage. Collect the female urine and use for the steel traps. you will catch most of the Alpha males,and or the males looking for a pack this way, reducing the population tremendously

I've got a female Blue Heeler. She wouldn't appreciate me caging her up though. I bet a female dog would work, I've heard of Coyotes coming in to investigate a female dog before. I don't know if they were wanting to fight or breed though.

get a Donkey or 2

The donkeys do work, we moved one out there years ago and he was more trouble than he was worth at the time. Might be time to rethink that.

I'm not mean enough....

My uncle has M44 out on his ranch. I don't know how he got them or where but he does have big $$ and connections. I can attest to how well those work, he has a fence that the ranch hand hangs all of the dead coyotes on that he finds next to the traps and there are always at least 15 of them hanging up and often a new one every other day. They are kinda scary, but everyone he has out on the ranch is clearly marked by multiple warning signs on trees and fence posts near them. If you can get them then you really should try them cause they work.

We have a coyote problem too and it will take more than shooting the occasional one from the deer stand to thin them.

I've considered going to one of the predator hunting forums and finding someone who would help us out. You say it's not an option for you but some of the predator guides might make it worth the land owners while.

Dang, wish some of the coyote problems were closer to me...I'm licensed for M-44s and was a gov't trapper back in the 80's.

Fur trapping is one thing, predator/depredation control is a whole different story...you are usually after predators that have turned to killing domestics or agriculture crops (coyotes will do a number on watermelon fields). Knowing 'how' to set foot-hold traps for them and not wise them up is the main key as well as scent control, set location and also gang-setting.

PM sent

lmao, learn something new every day!

1/8 in cable is too big for coyote. it doesn't tighten as well on them as smaller ones and it's easier to see. try 3/32, i think your money will be better spent. steel traps can be had fairly cheap on ebay, or you can order from the company. Duke, victor, montgomery, sleepy creek, and blake and lamb all still make traps. duke are the cheapest, but they are not made quite as well as the others, a big yote can tear one up, especially if it is not quite big enough. look up how to make a dirt hole set, it's a lot of trappers' bread and butter set and it's not that diffcult. you're gonna have to boil your traps and handle them with gloves, if a coyote smells the trap he's either gonna dig it up or roll on it, neither will get him caught. good luck.