Metairie neighbors call on Jefferson Parish officials to correct coyote problem

METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Some neighbors in the New Orleans area, specifically Metairie, are fed up with the coyotes.

They say packs of them come out at night and are killing their cats.

Surveillance video from a house on Haring Road in Metairie shows a couple of coyotes trapping and killing a cat.

The cat’s owner, Darlene Villere, says the coyotes paid her home a visit two weeks in a row, killing all but one of her cats. 

“The next day, one of my neighbors told me that they saw a cat on the side of the road. I walked down to the second block,” Villere said. “It was the back half of my cat. I picked her up, brought her home, and I’m going to cry again, and I buried her in my backyard.”

Villere, along with other Jefferson Parish residents, say they will be taking their concerns to the parish council Wednesday.

They say they’re dissatisfied with the parish’s response, which is that they need to consult the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

“It’s a shame we’re having to throw them under the bus on the news for them to get off their butts to do something about it,” Villere said.

Joseph Andrade, a local nuisance wildlife control operator, has euthanized three coyotes in Metairie but says it will take a collaborative effort to curb the problem.

“As long as everybody, once you know there’s a problem, everybody has to take steps,” Andrade said. “You can’t just pin it on the parish or the state or the public; it’s a collective responsibility.”

WGNO reached out to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries about what neighbors can do regarding coyote prevention, and here is what they said:

• Do not feed wildlife.
• Identify-the problem with game cameras
• Keep small pets indoor/do not allow pets to run loose (especially dusk and dawn); walk them on a leash
• Feed pets and store pet food indoor. 
• Store garbage cans/trash bins in a garage or secure all garbage/trash bins with metal latches
• Do not use bungee cords that can be chewed through by wildlife. 
• Refrain from disposing food scraps/ leftover oil and composting
• Refrain from feeding and remove bird/squirrel feeders
  • Remove the feeders for three weeks and then replace feeders. 
• Secure domestic livestock, e.g. rabbits, chickens,
  • In elevated cages and/or using ¼” welded wire mesh no smaller than .9mm as foxes and coyotes can chew through smaller gauge wire or pull livestock legs, wings, etc. through mesh greater than ¼”. 
  • Any caging on the ground should consist of a perimeter of welded wire mesh (no smaller than .9mm) buried into the ground and bent at a 90-degree angle to prevent wildlife from digging into the enclosure/cage.
  • Electrical fences or wire should be installed at the top (and bottom, if necessary) as well to prevent wildlife from digging or climbing into cage/enclosure.
• Install barriers around exposed decks and sheds & install electrical fencing to prevent coyote denning
• Trim all shrubs & low-lying fruit tree branches & remove fallen fruit
• Use electrical fencing on garden perimeters to prevent denning
• HAZE, HAZE, HAZE
  • Do not run when you see a coyote. 
  • Employ the same tactics you would with bears https://bearwise.org/   Make noise, stomp your feet, make yourself look big-wave your arms, throw any items you might have near you, balls, rocks, or hose them! 
  • Install automatic motion sensor sprinklers-shoots a jet of water in the direction of the animal. 
  • Hazing is the MOST effective tool for preventing future encounters; however, it must be employed on a continuous basis.  Let wildlife know they are not welcome.
  • When hazing wildlife be familiar with species specific behaviors and never corner wildlife.  Be certain the animal has the ability to flee.  Healthy coyotes, when ‘scared’, will stall for a second, run/trot away, stall and look back and run again.
• Contact a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator (NWCO) if you experience aggressive, fearless coyotes

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