ATLANTA — Note: After this story was published, 11Alive spoke with the Coyote Project about other options for living around coyotes. Here is that article.
The original story is below.
Coyotes are causing problems in metro Atlanta neighborhoods right now, with some even attacking pets.
"High pitched squealing and howling. You definitely know when you hear them," said Jamie Bardin, who shared videos and pictures of coyotes in his backyard.
Coyote trapper, Chip Elliott, who owns Atlanta Wildlife Relocators, says these animals will eat just about anything.
"Insects, vegetables, live animals, dead animals, berries -- if it's digestible- they'll eat it," Elliott said.
And September to May is his busiest time of year because litters from spring are old enough to hunt.
"So there's more sightings of them and you start losing more pets right now," said Elliott.
Yvonne Wade says it happened to her neighbor in Buckhead.
"I heard her calling out one day and it was because she had her cat killed by a coyote and she found it," said Wade.
Elliot says they can't use cages to trap them because the coyotes are too smart -- so they dig a hole and bury a chain connected to a foothold trap.
He says the foothold traps are not dangerous to humans or non-target animals since the non-target animals can be later released without breaking any bones and humans feet are too large to get trapped in the first place.
Elliott says the numbers are so large, in some areas he's trapped more than 20 coyotes in just a few weeks.
And unfortunately, they have to euthanize them. Partly because they often carry diseases like parvo, rabies and mange, so they can’t be relocated without spreading the disease to other animals elsewhere.
Elliott says his goal is to decrease the coyote population while increasing their fear of humans. Restoring a balance, at least for a while.
"You can co-exist to some degree, but they are a predator and no-one wants their pets and children attacked," said Elliott.
To keep your pets safe, Elliott says if you take them out at night, make sure they're on a leash. To help keep coyotes off your property, he says to secure trash cans, remove dog and cat food bowls from the backyard and even remove bird feeders.
If you have a problem with coyotes, you can reach out to a trapper or the Department of Natural Resources.