Still processing this one. I was unloading groceries in the driveway …

James Adeyemi

Jul 1, 2026, 11:23 PM

Fellow newbie here, so take this as one curious person to another. I've been reading up since a coyote crossed our cul-de-sac last month, and the thing that stuck with me is that early morning is prime coyote hours, so the timing part of your question seems like the easy lever to pull. I honestly don't know yet whether air horns do much versus just being loud and confident, so I'm curious what the folks with real experience here say. Following this one closely.

Roy Rivera

Jul 1, 2026, 11:37 PM

That driveway walk-up would get me too, Emily. But honestly, straight-up-and-then-peels-off when you turned around is pretty textbook. The fifteen feet and the long look is the part I'd actually take as a decent sign, it clocked you and adjusted. Bonita Canyon backs right onto the greenbelt so they're moving through there constantly. I'd log it in Access Irvine either way, the daytime ones are worth having on the map.

Tuan Pham

Jul 2, 2026, 2:49 AM

Agreeing with Roy. Daytime by itself isn't the red flag people think it is, they move around all day, especially near open space like yours. The thing to watch isn't day vs night, it's whether it holds its ground when you make yourself big and loud. Yours left on its own before you even did anything, which is the behavior you want. The shaker can is great to have staged by the door so you're not fumbling in the moment.

Jennifer Novak

Jul 2, 2026, 6:01 AM

I'll be the one to say it, fifteen feet in your own driveway with your kids' stuff right there is not something I'd shrug off. Trotting up like it had somewhere to be means it's not scared of people, and there's usually a reason for that. Someone on your street is almost certainly leaving food out or has an open trash situation. I'd report it AND ask around, because bold now tends to get bolder.

Tuan Pham

Jul 2, 2026, 9:14 AM

Jennifer I don't totally disagree on the food part, that's worth checking. But "not scared" and "walked up then left when noticed" aren't the same thing. It didn't hold, it read her and went. I just don't want Emily coming away thinking she needs to panic over one that already did the thing we'd want it to do.

Vanessa Lee

Jul 2, 2026, 12:20 PM

Quick clarifying q Emily, was there any chance it was cutting toward the greenbelt anyway and your driveway was just the line? Sometimes what reads as "coming at me" is really just the shortest path and we happen to be standing on it. Not saying that's it, just something I started noticing once I paid attention to which direction they were actually headed.

Roy Rivera

Jul 2, 2026, 3:35 PM

Following up, I put the shaker can by our garage after a similar one off Turtle Rock last month and used it once on a lingerer, worked instantly. So yeah Emily, stage one. And re: the food angle, if you do want to check without knocking on doors, the fallen fruit thing is the sneaky one, we had a plum tree dropping into the sideyard and didn't connect it until a neighbor pointed it out.