Help keep coyotes away with new green bin
Residents can do your part to keep coyotes out of neighbourhoods by depriving them of an easy food source. Here are two steps you can take:
Replace Old Green Bin
Replace old green bins used for food waste that may not close properly, which makes it easy for critters and coyotes to get to the food inside. Halton Region will replace old bins with new, sturdier bins with a better latch. Drop off your old bin and pick up a new one at the Halton Waste Management Site at 5400 Regional Road 25 in Milton. I just picked mine up this week.
If a resident is clearly unable to visit the landfill site, call 311 and staff will forward your call to the waste management division for review and follow-up.
Residents may visit the landfill Monday to Saturday to exchange an old GreenCart for a new. You can also exchange an old Blue Box for a new one. The landfill will also be open Sundays for a pilot project, that commences April 17 through to July 10.
Place bin out in the morning
Don’t place your bin out till the morning of your pickup. Placing it out at night can attract animals.
Coyote Response Strategy:
On Nov. 23, 2015, City Council approved a Coyote Response Strategy, which outlines an escalating approach to dealing with coyotoes, from education to removal, depending on the type of interactions observed or reported with coyotes. You can read the Council minutes, and the staff report that went to the Nov. 9, Development & Infrastructure meeting below:
Council Minutes
Staff Report: Coyote Response Strategy
Please call our animal shelter with reports of coyotes, so we can investigate. The animal shelter number is 905-335-3030. You can also report sightings online at SeeClickFix.com.
February 14, 2016 @ 1:58 pm
The City continues to have a problem with animals occupying residential neighbourhoods. My husband and I live in Aldershot (Ward 1) and are having a problem with animals, so I wanted to comment. Animals will always be searching for food sources, and with all the construction, we are pushing them out of their homes. We were very concerned when a skunk was acting oddly on the front lawn in daylight hours. I called Animal Control, and I kid you not, the attendant asked me if its eyes were green and crusted, as it may have a virus – I said I didn’t get that close and was more concerned about rabies. I was told that we must learn to co-exist with these animals. Anyone who has lived on a farm knows that that is very shortsighted – animals multiple rapidly, resulting in an infestation. At the end of the conversation, I was provided with a company name, Hawkeye Animal Control, to call if problems persisted. Hawkeye was called in and cages were placed in the backyard. In 2015, we spent $1,200 removing 3 raccoons, 3 possums, 3 skunks, and 2 unidentified animals. This week when my husband was leaving for work there was a skunk in the backyard. We have also had mice nesting in our car engines and chewing wires – that has happened twice and cost over $1,400 in repairs. We have seen rats and rabbits also. Perhaps the City should take a closer look at animal control before we have a serious infestation.
Sincerely,
Janice Tjepkema
P.S. You have the best newsletter in the City.
February 14, 2016 @ 11:25 am
I modified my green cart with a $ 1.00 bungee cord which works perfectly to keep it latched and has several times foiled the critters. They gave up — left me a note the other day and said they wouldn’t bother me any more!