I Hear Animals Fighting In My Yard: What Do I Do?

The sight and sound of two animals fighting in your yard can be scary. After all, you may worry about the animals’ safety, and you may naturally fear that they’ll turn on you. So, what should I do if I hear animals fighting in my yard?

Keep your distance if you hear animals fighting in your yard, as they may have rabies. If you’re already outside and see them fighting, you can spray them with a hose to deter them, then head indoors. Motion-activated lights, sprinklers, and fences can help keep animals from fighting in your yard in the first place.

Otherwise, it’s best to stay inside, crack a window, and yell at the animals to startle them. Call a local wildlife removal service or Animal Control if you worry about the animals’ safety. Follow along as we explore everything you should know about dealing with aggressive animals in your yard.

What To Do If Animals Are Fighting In Your Yard

Keep Your Distance

If animals are already fighting, that means their most aggressive instincts are at play. That’s why you should keep your distance to protect yourself before they turn on you. You’re better off staying inside your house or heading inside if you’re already outside.

If you are outside, position yourself so that large objects separate you from the aggressive animals. For example, you may want to move to the other side of your car, so the animals can’t charge at you. Otherwise, head inside and close the door as quickly as possible.

Spray Them

Heading inside isn’t always an option, especially if the aggressive animals appear while you’re doing yard work. In that case, you can spray them with water to quickly startle and deter them. However, you shouldn’t do this if you’re near the animals or if they show signs of rabies. Only spray them if you can quickly run into your house, shed, garage, or car. That way, you can protect yourself if the animals threaten you. While spraying them may be effective, you’re still better off heading inside. 

Get Loud

If you’re indoors and notice animals fighting in your yard, you don’t have many options. However, you can at least crack a window and yell at them. Animals respond strongly to loud sounds, so yelling may make them leave. That should at least get the animals to go their separate ways and hopefully prevent injuries.

Call Professionals

If animals are fighting in your yard, they may be injured or diseased. In that case, you owe it to your community to call Animal Control and report the incident. That way, you can ensure that professionals can remove the diseased animal and protect the neibourhood. Similarly, they can help treat an injured animal and put it in a safer environment. If you don’t want to call Animal Control, you should at least call a local wildlife removal service. That’s especially true if you’re an animal lover.

How To Keep Animals From Fighting In Your Yard

It’s easier to prevent animals from fighting in your yard than it is to stop them while they’re fighting. Luckily, you can keep animals out of your yard cheaply and easily using several proven methods, such as:

Build A Fence

The easiest way to keep animals from fighting in your yard is to install a fence. Ideally, you should install a fence that stands at least 6 feet tall, but 8 to 10 feet is even better. That’s because many animals can jump and climb higher than you may think.

Burying the fence as deep as possible is just as important as the height. Many small, aggressive animals can easily dig and burrow beneath the average fence. You should bury your fence at least 6” to 12” beneath the ground to prevent burrowing. For example, Florida homeowners must protect themselves from alligators, animals that can dig deep. The further into the ground the fence goes, the better.

Motion-Activated Lights

Many wild animals are quite skittish, and they react to strong stimuli. That includes bright lights, especially when they’re navigating the darkness in your yard. Installing motion-activated lights can help keep animals out of your yard, as the flash of sudden light will startle them.

Ideally, you should install several motion-activated lights throughout the property. Pay attention to where animals typically enter your yard and install lights there. For example, you should install some motion-activated lights on trees or the fence around the edge of your property. It’s also a good idea to put some motion-activated lights above your garage door and porch. Not only will this deter aggressive animals, but it should also deter burglars.

Remove/Protect Free Food Sources

If animals are fighting in your yard, it’s likely because they entered in search of food. For example, deer and raccoons are often drawn to unprotected vegetables and fruit. You can discourage these animals by elevating your vegetables and surrounding them with chicken wire.

It’s also important to remove fallen fruit and veggies when you find them in your yard. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to keep animals away, and they may fight over the food. Many animals also view garbage cans as free food sources, and you must consider that. It helps to keep your trash can in your garage until trash collection day comes. That way, your garbage will only sit outside overnight once a week. You may also want to raise your birdfeeders or remove them entirely if other animals get into them.

Ultra-Sonic Devices

Ultra-sonic devices emit unpleasant sounds to deter animals. Many of these devices are motion-activated, so they only emit sound when animals approach. With careful planning, you can spread ultra-sonic devices throughout your yard to cover all sections. You only need 2-3 ultra-sonic devices in most yards, but you may need more if you have a large property. However, this may not be a great option if you have dogs, as the devices may irritate them. In that case, you’re better off using motion-activated lights and sprinklers.

Motion-Activated Sprinklers

Motion-activated sprinklers are arguably more effective than motion-activated lights. That’s because they spray a stream of water when an animal or person comes close enough. This stream of water won’t hurt the animal, but it will startle them. Sprinklers are cheap, easy to install, and available at many home and garden stores. You can easily pair them with motion-activated lights for the best results.

Strong Scents

If an animal is aggressive enough to fight in your yard, it is also likely have a strong sense of smell, as their sense of smell may have drawn them to your yard in the first place. You can use this to your advantage by scattering some strong scents throughout the yard. That includes coffee grounds, peppermint oil, citrus peels, cayenne pepper, and animal urine. Predator urine, such as wolf urine, can scare away many animals.

Summing It Up

If you hear animals fighting in your yard, you should go inside, crack a window, and yell at them. The loud sounds should at least make them leave your property and prevent injuries. Ideally, you should install motion-activated lights and sprinklers to keep aggressive animals out of your yard.

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