Pet tips: Protecting pets from coyotes, raccoons, and skunks

Coyotes are nocturnal in their primary activities. While daylight sightings are fairly common, they are mostly active at night. They may scout during the day and return during the evening to grab a pet they have seen earlier. Coyotes have habit routes and are often observed in the same places at similar times each night.

Raccoons have adapted to urban life and are commonly seen or encountered by King County residents in parks, neighborhoods or yards. Raccoons can be aggressive; do not attempt to handle them.

Safety Tips

-Keep small animals inside. Take them outside on a leash or inside a fence designed to keep predators out.

-Bring your cat inside at night. Cats are nocturnal too, which puts them on a collision course with the raccoons and coyotes. Unfortunately, the raccoon is bigger, and usually comes out the winner from any cat/raccoon encounter.

-Don’t feed the wildlife. You may be doing this without realizing it.
Make sure lids on trash cans are tightly sealed.

Feed your pets inside or remove pet dishes and pet food at night.
Store your pet food indoors.
If you have a garden, make sure it is enclosed with a fence that deters wildlife from entering.

-Clean out brush and weeded areas where rodents might live. Coyotes love to prey on small rodents and know where to find them. Coyotes also use the heavy brush to stalk domestic pets.

-Make loud noises so they won’t be encouraged to come back if you see coyotes. You may want to play music while you’re outside with your pet so the predators stay away.

-Block off any areas of your house and garden where raccoons may find themselves comfortable. Seal up chimneys and eliminate open holes around your house to prevent a raccoon from making a den.

Types of Fencing:

The critters, including coyotes, usually dig under fences. Install fencing with a 4-foot or higher fence with 12 inches of the fence buried one inch below the ground surface, bent away from the property at a 90 degree angle. This fence skirt will stop an animal from digging underneath the fence to gain entry into the property. Raccoons are good climbers so you may want to put an electric or barbed wire around the top of the fence.