It’s a Wind Thing
If you want to place a trail cam where it will be most effective, it must be along a path where a coyote will travel. Think about the wind.
Have you ever strolled through your neighborhood and gotten a whiff of someone’s BBQ? Sure, and if it was good BBQ – and if you were hungry – you probably stopped in that delicious plume and thought, “Mmmm, that sure smells good!”
You most likely stopped, lifted your nose a bit… and took a couple more sniffs – just to make sure.
And though you may not have been aware of it, you probably turned your head into the wind, because somewhere in your own instinct, you knew that wonderful smell was somewhere upwind. You may not have consciously arrived at that fact, but somehow you just knew.
Yep, that’s right. That smell was being carried to you by some invisible current of air.
Coyotes also know how this works. When they are hunting – and they are always hunting – they will often move across the wind – that is: at 90o to the wind direction. This allows them to cover much more territory than what they can see with their eyes because they can also search with their nose.
And you bet: When they smell something that could be good to eat… and if they are hungry, they will stop in that delicious plume too, and think, “Mmmm, that sure smells good!”
Problem is: They could be smelling your pet cat or dog.
And if they do… and when they do, they will move upwind, using every bit of protective cover they can find. That cover could be a hedge, an overgrown lot, or simply a fence.
Think about this for a minute and consider how you might set up a security camera or trail cam along that likely pathway. You may have a good idea of coyote defense, but you’ll likely have a lot more incentive for it, once you determine that a coyote really is downwind of you – and your pets. Think about the wind. Use common sense, be proactive and be coyote proof.