Guide to Snaring Nuisance Coyotes
Placing snares around the perimeter of a pasture is the most effective way to catch the coyote that is killing livestock.
Using snares on dry land is illegal in Missouri, but landowners and farmers can get a special permit from wildlife damage biologists to use snares to catch nuisance animals. The biologists also will show how to use snares and sell them at cost to those experiencing a nuisance problem.
Snares are inexpensive and easy to use. Good quality snares are made of 3/32 galvanized or stainless steel aircraft cable. Discard a snare after it has caught an ineffective.
Snares should be clean and free from odors. Hang them outside in the weather for a few days to get them ready to use. If a snare has been exposed to substances, such as motor oil or food, boil it in water to remove any smells. As with traps, wash hands before handling and setting snares.
Snares are more selective than foot-hold traps. Most small nontarget animals are less likely to be caught in snares if the procedures listed below are followed.
Neighbors and hunters know snares are being set so they can keep their dogs out of the area until snaring efforts are discontinued.
At fences
When trying to catch a coyote as it enters or leaves a field or pasture, place the snare away from the fence about 10 to 14 inches with the bottom of the snare just off the ground. Secure it to the heaviest fence wire, which is usually at the bottom.
Coyotes can jump fences up to 5 feet tall but prefer to crawl under them. Even a well-kept, woven-wire fence may have low areas where coyotes can gain easy access to the pasture.
Coyotes take advantage of ravines, small creeks and other low areas to enter a pasture. They may go under barbed-wire fences that are stretched tight with the wires close together.
To find a place to put a snare, look for coyote tracks, coyote hair on the fence or the appearance of a hole or trail under the fence. If a coyote's crawl-under spot has been found, it is almost certain that the coyote can be snared in that location because coyotes habitually use the same paths. Raccoons, opossums and other small animals also use crawl unders, so be sure the signs are those of coyotes.
Extra care should be taken if sheep, goats or pigs are pastured close to the desired snare location. If they cannot be moved away from the snare location, then the snare should not be set.
If pastured animals are likely to stick their heads under the fence, the snare should be set on the opposite side far enough back so they won't be caught. If the presence of livestock doesn't influence where the snare should go, put it on the side where weeds and grass can help camouflage and guide the coyote into the snare.
A snare placed in a small opening less than 8 inches high increases the chances of catching nontarget animals. In this situation, place the snare away from the fence about 10 to 14 inches with the bottom of the snare just off the ground. This should catch the coyote whether it's approaching the fence or has just finished crawling under it.
Sometimes at low places, a coyote may be able to walk under a fence without stooping. If this is the case, set the bottom of the snare 12 inches off the ground, which is about the height of a standing or walking coyote. If the coyote has to crouch slightly, the snare position should be adjusted accordingly.
After the location has been selected, installing the snare is fairly easy. To support the snare, cut a length of black, No. 9 gauge wire. Make it long enough so that both ends can be pushed into the ground at least a few inches and the wire can be adjusted to the height of the snare.
Black wire works best because it is softer and easier to work with than the shiny, harder, galvanized wire. The black wire also is less obvious to coyotes. To make the black wire even less noticeable, hang it outside and allow it to rust. There are other ways of supporting snares, but the No. 9 wire is simply, easy to obtain and works well.
Push each end of the No. 9 wire well into the ground so that it makes an inverted "U" shape over the area where the snare is to be positioned. Bend the wire up or down to adjust the snare's position.
To attach the snare to the No. 9 wire, first hold the snare cable with your thumb and finger close to the swivel between the swivel and the lock. Hold the snare directly under the No. 9 wire. With the other hand, tightly wrap a 5- or 6- inch piece of baling or tie wire around the snare cable and No. 9 wire to hold the snare securely in place. Make sure the wire is wrapped between the slide lock and swivel.
To keep the snare from tripping too easily, be sure that the angle of the snare at the lock is level, rather than sloping downward. The lock can be gently wedged against the support wire to help hold it.
Once the snare is in place, check to be sure it works smoothly by tripping it by hand.
Next, wire the swivel end of the snare directly to the fence or other secure object with a double strand of baling or tie wire. If a fence is used, make sure the fence wire isn't rusty and weakened. Coyotes are not large animals, but they fight hard when snared.
If a snare is positioned away from the fence, twist together four strands of baling or tie wire to make a strong cable to attach to the snare.
A word of caution: Because the proper loop size to snare a coyote will also catch a medium-size dog, every precaution should be taken to make sure that no dogs will be in the area. Dogs that are used to a chain and collar may not injure themselves when caught in a snare, but there is always a chance of them being injured or killed.
Rules to follow when using snares to control coyote damage
- Obtain and have in your possession a valid authorization to use a snare for wildlife damage control.
- Seek training in using snares from a Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife damage biologist.
- Notify pet owners in the vicinity that snares are in use. 4 Place snares where livestock cannot be caught.
- Attend the snares daily so that nontarget animals can be released unharmed. Daily maintenance is imperative because snares are often knocked down by nontarget animals, wind or rain.
- Use snares until the coyotes causing the damage has been captured, then take them up. Coyotes become wary of snares after a while, and their continued use may result in making target animals hard to catch.
- Report all wildlife caught in snares to the local conservation agent, who will tell how to dispose of them.
When setting snares along a trail, suspend the loop 12 to 14 inches off the ground and stake with re-enforcing rods. If the trail is too narrow, make it wider by walking back and forth and removing some of the weeds or brush.
Snares set back from fences can be tied to small trees. The tree must be large enough so the coyote cannot chew through it and escape.
Snares also can be secured with 5/8-inch diameter re-enforcing rod stakes 30 inches long with a nut or washer welded to the top.
Occasionally a snared coyote will chew through a snare cable. This can be avoided if the snare is attached to a fence because the snared coyote will often climb the fence and hang itself on the opposite side.
Once the snare is in place, put small sticks, brush or dried weed stems on either side to help conceal it and to guide the coyote through the loop. Do not allow the guide sticks to touch the snare because they might prevent it from working properly.
Carefully placed brush can be added if a coyote is going under or through a barbed-wire fence in a number of places. Leave open a few of the better snare locations where fur on the fence or tracks indicate coyote use.
Even good snare locations can be improved with a little extra work. Enlarging an opening can make it more attractive to a coyote looking for a place to enter a pasture. This can be done by digging underneath the fence or raising the bottom fence wire.
Coyote trapping lure, described on page 25, can be used to attract coyotes to snare locations at fences. A different type of lure can be placed on either side of the fence and out a few yards to attract the coyote. When the coyote smells the lure on the other side, it will most likely crawl under the fence where the snare is located.
On trails
If a well-defined trail through weedy or brushy cover approaches a place where coyotes are crawling under a fence, a snare can be set in the trail several feet from the fence.
Support the snare with No. 9 wire. Make the snare loop a little larger - about 10 inches across - than the ones used at crawl-under locations. The loop should be suspended so the bottom of the snare is 12 to 14 inches off the ground.
When positioning the snare, choose a location where the trail has dense vegetation to hide the snare and where the trail is narrowed by brushy or weedy vegetation. Take care not to walk around the snare once it is in place. The path made by walking around the snare might encourage the coyote to follow it rather than the trail where the snare is placed.
If the trail is not well defined, it can be enhanced by walking back and forth through the cover and removing weeds or brush that are in the way. Be sure the trail isn't much wider than the width of the snare.
If the cover along the trail isn't quite dense enough, narrow the trail by adding brush on either side. Adding upright twigs or dry weed stems to the sides of the trail is another way to improve the snare location. Coyotes usually tolerate some alteration to the existing trail, but it is best to do no more than necessary.
Coyote tracks leading from a row crop field into a field border is another good place to set snares. Again, brush, upright twigs or weed stems should be used as needed to narrow the path.
In brush with a carcass
If there are no suitable snare locations at trails or fences, a snare can be set in brush or weeds using the carcass of a hog, deer or horse as bait. Coyotes seem to prefer the decomposing carcasses of these animals over cattle or sheep.
Place the carcass in the brush, and make three or four trails to it by walking back and forth. Do not make the trails wider than the snare. If the cover is sparse, add brush to guide the coyotes along the trails. Place each snare several yards from the carcass.
Suspend the bottom of the snares 12 inches above the ground to target coyotes and allow smaller, nontarget animals to pass underneath without being caught. Wire the snares to nearby small trees. If a small tree isn't available, attach the snare to a drag, such as a log or wooden fence post.
Drags should be at least 6 inches in diameter, 6 feet long and heavy enough to keep the snared coyote from leaving the area. Another way to secure a snare is to use re-enforcing rod stakes, like those used to secure traps. See pages 19 and 21 for details.
Snare cables are hard to cut, so always carry a good pair of sloped-nosed electrician's pliers to release nontarget catches.
The Snare Advantage
Foothold traps can help control nuisance coyotes, but snares often work better when good snare locations can be found. When they can't, traps may be the best and only option available to capture problem coyotes.
Traps:
- are more difficult to learn to use.
- are more likely to catch nontarget animals.
- are more likely to be detected and avoided by coyotes.
- require more daily maintenance.
- require more time to set.
- can't be set in the pasture where coyotes are killing livestock because of the chances of the livestock springing the traps or getting caught.
The wire used to attach snares to fences, stakes, saplings or drags must be strong enough to keep a coyote from escaping. If using steel 16-gauge tie wire, twist four strands together to form a strong cable.
