In my post earlier this morning I talked about constructing backyard habitat to encourage wildlife but I failed to mention the potential downside to encouraging wildlife. A story hit my mailbox about the town of Ardmore NC and coyotes moving into residential areas.
A Triad resident spotted a coyote in his back yard, and now he’s saying some pets are missing.
Neighbors in Ardmore said they can hear what have become the familiar yelps of a coyote late at night.
“I was mowing the yard and he came up,” said resident Sheldon Hoffman. “He came right up to those bushes behind me.”
Developing cover for wildlife even in urban areas can encourage them to settle in an area even if it maybe a specie you’re not excited about having near your home.
Even though Ardmore is in the heart of Winston-Salem, it’s back yards like Hoffman’s that make the perfect habitat for a coyote den, wildlife officials said. When coyotes call overgrown brush their home, it means the neighborhood is their feeding ground.
Controlling the size of the brush you allow on your property will control to some extent what critters will set up and live there. However remember the smaller critters are part of the food chain that could bring larger predators in to your yard.
I don’t think that having a fox or coyote hunting in your yard is necessarily a bad thing but depending on where you live if that critter becomes a nuisance your options of dealing with it are limited.
Since Hoffman’s sighting, two cats on Westover Street have disappeared. Neighbors said they worry about what could disappear next.
“Someone’s dog, or heaven forbid a little child would be hurt, attacked or killed would be going too far,” said Ardmore resident Josh Kwasmy.
Before things get out of hand, Hoffman said he wants the dangerous animal trapped and taken outside of Ardmore and Winston-Salem.
Capturing and relocating while it sounds like a reasonable response is really not practical. For one the critter was attracted to that area in the first place because it provided what it needed to survive moving it will only encourage more to move in because of the void. If you want it gone you have to change something in the habitat to discourage it. That is not always possible so you may have to learn to learn to coexist.
When coexisting becomes difficult a more lethal method maybe your only option. I have just a story to tell you about shortly so stay tune.
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