For the past two weeks, Elliot has been working in the Rolling Knolls subdivision in West Chester Twp., where some residents have reported their pets being snatched and killed by the animal described as a nuisance by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Success has been hard to come by there, Elliot said, but a change in tactics will eventually make a difference in controlling what he calls a growing local population.
“I think at the moment the coyotes are winning,” Elliot said. “They’re smart, wily animals.”
Elliot said he hopes to begin setting traps this weekend on farmland surrounding the Four Bridges subdivision in Liberty Twp., where residents have banded together to seek assistance in putting a dent in a population they say is growing bolder as time passes.
This is Elliot’s first foray into trapping coyotes. His Hamilton County nuisance control business specializes in the removal of bats and other varmint. But he’s confident he’ll get the job done. If not, he won’t get paid, as his fee for trapping coyotes locally is $20 per animal.
Once Elliot sets traps, he is required by law to check them every 24 hours. Because coyotes are considered nuisance animals, Elliot said they must be “dispatched,” and cannot be relocated.
“They’d just find their way back anyway,” he said.
Elliot and others, like Four Bridges resident Sheila Radebaugh, are planning to attend a meeting hosted by Liberty Twp. that will bring representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to educate residents on coyotes.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, at the township’s Administration Building on Princeton Road.
Meanwhile, Elliot said he will continue to offer his services where ever they are needed. He can be contacted at (513) 600-3079.
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