Predator Control. Repel or Kill?

[bblhd672]

Get a donkey.

Make sure you get one that doesn't talk.

But I was actually being serious: http://www.wideopenspaces.com/buck-donk ... p-coyotes/

Wife and I were out Friday evening for a burger at a rural dive joint between Mansfield and Burleson. Passed a fenced area full of goats that had a couple of donkeys mixed in.

[Abraham]

Well if it's hogs, you can put up a fence.

Not cheap, but very effective.

Guess how I know...?

[Steve W]

Get a donkey.

We have cattle surrounding the house. I have always heard that donkeys absolutely hate coyotes. The pair of donkeys in our pastures just watch as coyotes walk up to the herd in the daytime..

I think they are just acting as decoys for me and get the coyotes to stand still long enough for me break out the long gun. Smart Donkeys!

I shoot about 8 per year. After shooting 2 or 3 they stay away for a couple of months but always come back..

When the pastures are resting I have my son place traps in the dry creek bed and near the outer fences. The most successful traps are the simple wire snares placed in the game trails. No bait is used and we check them every day when set. Last year we caught 5 coyotes that way...

[Pawpaw]

But I was actually being serious:

I knew you were. It's become very common around here to put a donkey in the pasture with cattle. They claim females are best because they will "mother hen" the calves, who are the most susceptible to being preyed upon.

Don't property owners just make agreements with hunters to handle this?

Not unless the hunter is someone you know very well and trust.

Many so called hunters have no idea what they're doing. They have been known to shoot domestic animals, shoot toward houses and other buildings, or just generally make a mess and destroy property. Most city folks are totally clueless about country life.

[ninjabread]

I have unwanted predators on my property. Is there a cheap effective way to repel them so they stay away? If not, what is the most effective way to kill them? I don't have time to sit around all day waiting to shoot them, so I consider poison but 1080 is not available around here.

The unwanted predators are the four legged kind if that makes a difference.

Specificity, if you please. A predator to you may be a pet or a godsend to others....you know what I mean, Bro?

Did you ever notice how often, when a two legged predator is killed robbing a convenience store, the news will interview somebody upset their "godsend" got himself shot?

[Pawpaw]

I have unwanted predators on my property. Is there a cheap effective way to repel them so they stay away? If not, what is the most effective way to kill them? I don't have time to sit around all day waiting to shoot them, so I consider poison but 1080 is not available around here.

The unwanted predators are the four legged kind if that makes a difference.

Specificity, if you please. A predator to you may be a pet or a godsend to others....you know what I mean, Bro?

Did you ever notice how often, when a two legged predator is killed robbing a convenience store, the news will interview somebody upset their "godsend" g̶o̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶t was killed by that evil gun person?

[BBYC]

Shoot. Shovel. Shut up.

Step two is optional unless it's a semi-feral "pet" allowed to run wild.

[philip964]

So I like animals, and live in an urban environment. A neighbor trapped all the stray cats and got a possum or two while she was at it. She was with the CDC and I think was concerned about disease.

Well rats took their place. I’m not a big fan of rats despite my earlier statement.

So be careful what you wish for.

She moved, so the cats are slowly returning.

A friend in the country ,who raises pigmy goats, started losing some, so she got this awesome puppy who grew up with the goats. Some kind of special breed. Hasn’t lost a goat since. Plus she has a cool dog, probably more of a companion than a donkey. That pictured donkey would scare me to have around.

[anygunanywhere]

Feral cats kill more game and non-game birds than rats. Cats kill for fun not just to eat.

I dispose of feral cats whenever the opportunity presents itself. Cats are no different than dogs when it comes to people keeping their pets on their own property. Keep them off my property and they will live.

[Alf]

Thank you all for the suggestions. It sounds like it's worth trying traps before I resort to poison baits.

[flechero]

Thank you all for the suggestions. It sounds like it's worth trying traps before I resort to poison baits.

Poison may be a good option... I suggest lead, although they die from the application, long before they do lead poisoning.

[Venus Pax]

Feral cats kill more game and non-game birds than rats. Cats kill for fun not just to eat.

I dispose of feral cats whenever the opportunity presents itself. Cats are no different than dogs when it comes to people keeping their pets on their own property. Keep them off my property and they will live.

Although feral cats should be captured and spayed/neutered to prevent a colony, a few are helpful to have around. We live close to water, and we battle the mice and rats. My house cat is well-fed and too lazy to kill anything, but I would welcome a scrappy (fixed) feral cat to help the king snakes with pest control.

[Steve W]

My house cat is well-fed and too lazy to kill anything, but I would welcome a scrappy (fixed) feral cat to help the king snakes with pest control.

Say no more..... What is your address ... I'll send a few your way!

[dlh]

Raccoons are a big problem on our rural property. They tear up hummingbird feeders, carry rabies, and eat baby birds in their nests and bird eggs.
Here is a link to a highly effective solution. Sprinkle some deer corn around the trap trigger and you are "in bidness."

http://www.livetrap.com/index.php?dispa ... t_id=30251

And another link to a highly effective live-trap that I have used:

http://piedpipertraps.com/index.php?mai ... iews_id=21

[Venus Pax]

My house cat is well-fed and too lazy to kill anything, but I would welcome a scrappy (fixed) feral cat to help the king snakes with pest control.

Say no more..... What is your address ... I'll send a few your way!

As long as it has been fixed. lol.
Unfortunately, they are often allowed to remain unaltered and a colony develops in what seems like a nanosecond. Once they have a decent colony, they spread diseases and mess with the ecosystem balance quite a bit. Not to mention, many of them suffer. Never a good thing.