People are buying coyote urine. Where does it come from?

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Last spring, a curious listener called with an unusual question about coyote urine. Is it – as advertised by companies who sell it – an effective, all natural pest deterrent? And more importantly: “Who are the coyotes that are providing this urine?” Since then, producer Taylor Quimby has been trying to find out… and with literal gallons of the stuff available online, he discovered the answers aren’t pretty. Today on Outside/In, we peek inside the unregulated Pandora’s box of urine farming. Does it work? Is it ethical? And is anybody willing to actually talk about it? Featuring Jeannie Bartlett, Caroline Long, Ed Brookmyer, Laura Koivula. Produced by Taylor Quimby. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS This 1998 study assessed coyote urine as a deterrent for deer, and found (with some caveats) a 15-24% reduction in deer browsing after exposure to the urine. However, coyote urine had no measurable effect on the deer browsing of yew saplings in this more recent study. Websites for some coyote urine brands, like PredatorPee.com and Shake-away animal repellents, claim that they source urine from regulated farms that treat animals humanely, but did not provide more information when asked. This article from Cleveland.com details the conditions at The Grand River Fur Exchange, a fur and urine farm where hundreds of animals were found in poor condition after the owner’s death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, this is Outside In, a show where curiosity and the natural world collide.
0:05.0	I'm Nate Hedgy.
0:06.5	And today's story starts in a humble strawberry patch that's under attack.
0:11.6	At one point, up to a third of the strawberry plants had been nibbled down so that just the crown was left, and most of the leaves had been eaten.
0:20.5	And, of course, lovely deer droppings all through my field, too.
0:25.2	This is Jeannie Bartlett.
0:27.3	Jeannie works on a farm in Vermont, but she also has this side hustle selling her own
0:31.5	homegrown strawberries.
0:33.4	That is, when they're not being pilfered by rogue deer.
0:35.8	Deer are cute and everything, but...
0:38.3	They recapbing.
0:40.6	Now, Jeannie has been a longtime fan of the show, which I know because she has called our listener hotline over a dozen times.
0:47.1	This is Jeannie, calling from Montpelier, Vermont.
0:49.6	Hey, outside is Gene is Jeannie Farquit.
0:52.2	This is Jeannie and several of my friends from Burlington, Vermont.
0:57.6	But this particular call about a possible solution to her dear problem was so intriguing.
1:04.2	Producer Taylor Quimby just had to call her back.
1:07.1	So where did you hear talk of the urine solution?
1:13.3	Yeah, I think I first remember hearing of coyote urine when I was little.
1:20.5	The deer were eating the yew bushes outside my house.
1:24.8	And I'm pretty sure a few years my dad sprayed a coyote urine product on them,
1:29.2	and I remember my mom complaining about the smell and being like, well, I guess it helps
	...

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