Predator urine can come in handy when you want to scare animals away from your yard, or if you want to cover up your scent while hunting.
The strong smell of coyote urine makes it an effective tool – but how long does coyote urine last?
Table of Contents
- Coyote Urine Usually Lasts For a Week Or Two
- Try to Reapply Urine Sprayed Onto Boots
- How Long is the Shelf-Life of Coyote Urine
- How to Make Coyote Urine Last Longer Outside
- What Animals are Affected by Coyote Urine?
- Degraded Urine Can Actually Attract Animals
- Does Coyote Urine Attract Other Coyotes?
- Conclusion
Coyote Urine Usually Lasts For a Week Or Two
Urine degrades fairly quickly when outside, which is why coyotes frequently mark their territory with pee. It’s often inconvenient for us to spread urine outside every day, but it is important to do it frequently to keep the scent strong.
If you’re using coyote urine outside, you should replace it every week or so to keep the smell fresh. Some products claim to last up to a month outside, but that poses a risk.
If it rains, you should re-apply it right after it stops, since most of the urine will have been washed away.
One study from the Journal of Chemical Ecology found that fresh coyote urine was very effective in preventing hares from browsing on twigs when it was placed in a dish nearby.
But, after a few days, it became less effective, likely because some of the important odor compounds evaporated outside.
Try to Reapply Urine Sprayed Onto Boots
The same is true when predator urine is used to cover up your scent as a hunter – it won’t last for long outside. Especially if it’s sprayed on your boots and you’re walking through grass or shrubs.
If you’re hunting for coyotes, spraying coyote urine on your boots and clothes will prevent coyotes from picking up your scent if they cross a path you’ve taken.
As territorial animals, they may also try to follow your path to confront what they think is an intruding coyote. This is useful if you want coyotes to come to you.
See also: Why Are Hunter Boots So Expensive?
How Long is the Shelf-Life of Coyote Urine
If it’s stored in a sealed container away from heat and moisture, it can last for multiple years.
Products of bottled coyote urine generally list an expiry date of one to two years after purchase. Some of its strength will be lost over time, but if it’s stored properly it can last for much longer than that.
Some coyote urine users notice that even ten years later it is still as effective as if it were brand new.
You can even prolong its shelf life by freezing it in small portions and thawing it when you want to use it again.
You may also like: Are Coyotes More Active During a Full Moon?
How to Make Coyote Urine Last Longer Outside
A common way to apply urine outside is to simply pour it every few feet around the perimeter of the area you’re trying to protect from nuisance animals. But with this method, the urine will not smell as strong by the end of the week.
To extend the effectiveness of coyote urine left outside, you can instead fill plastic bottles with urine-soaked fabric or cotton balls, poke holes in the bottles, and hang them up around your yard outside.
The scent won’t wash away with rain and will last longer overall.
Alternatively, simply spreading pieces of cloth doused in coyote pee around the area will also make the scent less likely to wash away.
It’s also worth noting that animals may get used to the smell of the urine and realize there’s no threat tied to it, after which they’ll ignore it altogether. Occasionally using other predator urine like wolf or mountain lion urine may prevent that from happening.
What Animals are Affected by Coyote Urine?
If you’re trying to ward off animals from visiting your yard, coyote urine can usually deter common coyote prey like rodents, raccoons, rabbits, and cats.
It can also deter white-tailed deer, which are occasionally preyed upon by coyotes. But it’s not a surefire way of getting rid of deer, who will munch on plants regardless of urine scent if they’re really hungry.
Results with deer also depend on if they are used to having coyotes around as predators. In some areas, coyotes have easier prey to catch and rarely go after deer. Deer in these areas will likely not be scared of coyote urine.
Related: Do Coyotes Eat Possums?
Degraded Urine Can Actually Attract Animals
If you leave coyote urine out too long, it may have the opposite effect that you want.
According to the Cambridge Philosophical Society, prey that would normally avoid coyote presence may actually be attracted to the smell of faded urine, since it suggests that the predator is no longer there.
They will sometimes even approach fresh coyote urine.
This is a normal response for prey that suddenly smell the presence of a predator nearby: they may want to investigate the smell more closely to identify the threat and find out how recently it was around.
If the urine successfully scares them, they probably won’t return for a while.
Does Coyote Urine Attract Other Coyotes?
If you’re spreading coyote urine around your yard, it should not attract coyotes.
As a territorial marker, the urine will likely prevent other coyotes from snooping around; unless they smell the urine in their own territory. Then they would likely try to find the source of the pee to protect their area.
Most coyote urine is collected from captive male coyotes. Urine sold commercially is not collected from females in heat, since that urine could attract coyotes looking for a mate.
Conclusion
Coyote urine will last for about a week when it’s spread around outside. If it’s soaked in fabric and put in containers with small holes, it will last even longer.
Meanwhile, a stock of coyote urine will last for several years in your cupboard if stored in a cool, dry, and dark place.
