Coyotes and foxes can be kept out of a yard humanely using motion triggered lights or water sprinklers that startle the animal without trapping, poisoning, or physically restraining it. Urban Nature Store carries one of each type, a light based deterrent and a water based one, built around that approach.
Why Do Motion Triggered Deterrents Work on Coyotes and Foxes?
Coyotes and foxes are naturally wary of sudden light, sound, or movement near a den or feeding route, and a deterrent that appears only when the animal gets close keeps that wariness from fading the way a light or noise left running constantly would. Because neither animal is harmed or confined, the yard stays open to every other visitor, birds included, that the deterrent was never aimed at.
How Does a Light Based Deterrent Keep Coyotes and Foxes Away at Night?
A solar charged red LED that flashes after dark, mimicking the reflective eyes of a larger predator, is how Nite Guard Solar discourages a coyote or fox from lingering near the same spot once night falls. The light needs no battery or wiring, since the unit recharges through its own small solar panel during the day.
How Does a Water Based Deterrent Keep Coyotes and Foxes Away?
Where a flashing light relies on an animal avoiding a predator's eyes, a motion sensor on Hydro Critter Blaster triggers a short burst of water instead, covering up to 1200 square feet and reaching an animal from as far as 36 feet away, including a coyote or fox that gets that close. Because the spray is only water, it can be used around children and pets without the precautions a chemical repellent would call for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Nite Guard Solar and Hydro Critter Blaster be used in the same yard?
Yes. Running a light based deterrent alongside a motion activated sprinkler covers both the nights an animal ignores the flashing light and the moments it gets close enough to trigger the water.
Does freezing weather limit how well the Hydro Critter Blaster works through a Southern Ontario winter?
In practice, yes. A hose fed sprinkler becomes impractical once outdoor water lines are shut off for the season, so a light based deterrent like Nite Guard Solar is the more workable option through the colder months.
Does the Hydro Critter Blaster deter anything besides coyotes and foxes?
Yes. Its own label also lists deer, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, and geese among the animals it responds to.
Is there a dedicated guide for keeping raccoons or deer out of a yard as well?
Yes. The Controlling Raccoons and Controlling Deer guides cover feeder specific barriers and garden deterrence for those two species separately.
Are coyotes and foxes active at a particular time of day?
Yes. Both are mostly active from dusk through dawn, which is also when a light based deterrent like Nite Guard Solar does its clearest work.
