Hey guys, I started putting cameras on some of my trapping locations last season, and noticed a pattern on coyotes. I noticed that a week before I made sets, coyotes would visit the area on a regular basis, but after I put sets in, the area went dead. In some cases, I would not get another coyote picture in over a week, and the ones that walked past kept their distance. What causes this? Thanks

How often do you check camera?

Some cameras will spook coyotes. The need to be extra quiet and true black flash. Took me three cameras before I found one that doesn't spook coyotes.

Sounds normal to me, what with new disturbance's, scents and your sets, does not seem unreasonable to me that most canines would stay out of the area, regardless of whether a camera was there or not.

Most seasoned trappers know it takes a while for the set are to cool down, sometimes a few days other times many days, lots of factors feed into this.

^^^^^
That's why I asked how long between camera checks. If you're there's human sent all the time they expect it to be there if you're there every now and then the new sent of humans will push the out for a time. I notice when I trap deer hunting ground they are quicker to return then if I trap land that rarely sees human traffic.

Put you camera up high, looking down. Lots of times that wont spook them but other wise they don't like the flash of the infrared cameras.......jk

Don't forget when handling and placing cameras, they can hold a lot of scent and they are usually at the right height for maximum dispersion.

Osky

When you say they are going past your sets and seem to know where your sets are and avoiding them a couple things could be happening, human scent or associating the sight or smells of that area with previously caught animals. Jmo ofcourse

Out of curiosity what camera are you using? Do u get deer coming up and looking at camera at close range?

The more I learn about coyotes, the more I discover that I do not know.
Here is what I think that I know about coyotes.
They can be extremely random about travel patterns.
They cover a lot of area in a 24 hour period.
They are not always hungry/curious.
They are random (worth mentioning twice).

I have caught a mated pair out of the same set one day apart. I made the set on a Thursday, caught the male, reset and caught the female in the same set on Friday.
I once spent 7 months to catch a single female on an Island. That one taught me a lot about randomness in coyote behavior, and how far they travel in a 24 hour period.

Without any other details about your situation, I suggest that you are witnessing mostly random behavior.

I’m using stealth cams without flash, and the coyotes never seem to notice or mind the cameras or area until I set traps. I left traps set for a little over a week, with no action or pictures. However, the week before I set these locations, coyotes came in every other night. I basically ran cameras in 2 week intervals. A week before I set, and a week of traps in the ground. I usually checked the cameras at the end of the second week. Scent shouldn’t be a huge issue, as I was checking sets while driving by. Thanks

Patience when trapping coyotes is as nesessary as the trap!

All things being equal, the only thing different is the scent issue, I believe your trying to find something else when the problem is not really a problem, but a waiting game. Cameras sometimes are a bother depending on the type, but most scent issues with cameras are noticed by bears due to the out gassing of the plastic's they are made of, bears have a tremendous nose. Flashes of course can spook most game, but lots of times they get used to them as well, we don't see them but animals have a different viewing spectrum.

Try watching the sets from a greater distance, even driving by close could be upsetting the area, if the dogs are already suspicious of a difference.

From your first post,[ the ones that walked past kept their distance]. Sounds like you could tell from the pictures the coyotes knew where some of your sets were and avoided them on purpose. Is this correct?

Not enough details to draw a conclusion from. Did this happen with one group of coyotes. How did you set the area up. Were they already spooky. Too many possible factors to really say anything one way or the other, by anyone. If this happened in twenty locations on twenty different coyote pairs, that would be an interesting and different story.

My particular experience in my particular area, is they are not random in fact some are on a tight schedule.