Coyotes are highly adaptable predators, and their strong sense of smell helps them find food, mates, and safe shelter. While they tend to avoid people, certain smells around a property can unintentionally draw them closer.
Knowing which scents attract coyotes can help you take steps to keep them away and protect pets and livestock.
This article is based on information from reliable online sources and is intended for general knowledge only. Coyote behaviour may vary depending on region, season, and available resources.
1. Food Waste
Garbage bags left outside overnight become beacons for hungry coyotes patrolling neighborhoods. The pungent mix of food scraps, especially meat remnants, can attract these curious predators from surprising distances.
Even small amounts of waste create powerful scent trails that lead directly to your property. Coyotes will tear open bags, scatter trash, and return repeatedly once they’ve found this easy food source.
2. Pet Food
Bowls of kibble sitting on back porches broadcast dinner invitations to wild canines roaming nearby. The meaty aromas wafting from pet food can travel for miles on a gentle breeze, drawing coyotes straight to your doorstep.
Many homeowners unknowingly create perfect coyote feeding stations by leaving pet meals outside overnight. This practice not only attracts unwanted wildlife but potentially endangers the very pets you’re trying to feed.
3. Bird Seed And Fallen Grain
Those cheerful bird feeders hanging in your garden secretly double as coyote magnets. When seeds scatter across the ground, they create an all-you-can-eat buffet for mice, voles, and other small rodents.
Coyotes quickly learn these rodent hotspots exist beneath feeders. They’re drawn first by the scent of the seeds themselves, then stay for the real prize—the concentration of small mammals that coyotes naturally hunt.
4. Livestock And Poultry
The distinctive barnyard aroma of chickens, rabbits, and other small livestock sends powerful signals to coyotes. These scents trigger their predatory instincts almost instantly, making backyard farming operations particularly vulnerable.
Coyotes can detect these smells from remarkable distances, especially at night when they’re most active. The combined scents of animals, their feed, and waste create an irresistible lure that few hungry coyotes can ignore.
5. Fresh Meat Or Carcasses
Nothing triggers a coyote’s hunting instincts faster than the metallic tang of fresh blood or raw meat. Hunting remains, improperly disposed butchering scraps, or even roadkill can broadcast powerful scent signals across surprising distances.
Coyotes have evolved specifically to detect these smells, which represent high-value food sources in the wild. Once they associate your property with these prized scents, they’ll return regularly to investigate further opportunities.
6. Fish
Weekend fishing enthusiasts often create unintentional coyote attractants when cleaning their catch outdoors. The powerful aroma of fish oils, entrails, and scales creates an irresistible perfume that can linger for days around your property.
Even thoroughly washed cutting boards or hoses used to rinse fish can leave behind enough scent to pique a coyote’s curiosity. These resourceful predators have remarkable olfactory memories and will investigate any fishy smells thoroughly.
7. Fallen Fruit
Those beautiful apple, pear, or plum trees adorning your yard become unexpected coyote magnets when fruit drops and begins fermenting on the ground. The sweet, slightly alcoholic scent of decomposing fruit travels surprisingly far on autumn breezes.
Coyotes are true omnivores with a taste for sweet treats when available. They’re drawn initially by the fruit itself but stay when they discover the bounty of insects, rodents, and other small animals also feasting on the fallen harvest.
8. Pet Waste
Uncollected dog waste creates powerful territorial signals that curious coyotes can’t resist investigating. The scent markers in feces tell them valuable information about other canines in the area—potential competitors worth monitoring.
Beyond territorial curiosity, pet waste also signals the presence of other animals. Coyotes quickly learn that where there’s dog waste, there are likely dogs—and possibly smaller pets they view as prey rather than competition.
9. Cooking Odours
Savory aromas wafting from evening barbecues create invisible scent highways leading wildlife straight to your patio. The rich smell of grilling meat particularly appeals to coyotes’ carnivorous instincts.
Outdoor kitchens, pizza ovens, and smokers produce especially potent food scents that linger for hours. Forgotten grill drip pans, unwashed utensils, or food scraps dropped during cooking sessions provide additional olfactory invitations that coyotes find nearly impossible to resist.
