Protecting Your Hesperia Property from Mountain Lions

Human-wildlife conflict is a common occurrence in many parts of the globe. It is fueled by population growth, transportation infrastructure, inadequate protected zones, and urbanization. These phenomena bring humans and animals into each other’s territory. The result is often injuries and loss of lives and livelihoods.

In many parts of California, mountain lions – also known as cougars – stray onto people’s properties. They are particularly notorious for killing and injuring livestock and pets. In retaliation, homeowners kill or hurt the big cats whenever they spot them on their property. The state of California banned the hunting of mountain lions in 1990. However, property owners can still seek depredation permits and kill predators that harm their livestock and pets. From 2011 to 2019, the state issued over 1,846 depredation permits, resulting in the deaths of at least 802 of the large cats.

Due to these killings and inbreeding depression, several species of mountain lions are severely endangered. Conservationists are stepping up efforts to reduce the human-wildlife conflict and save the fast-declining species from extinction. One way of attaining this goal is ensuring that the residents of places like Hesperia, where encounters are common, are educated on ways of warding off the big cats. Here are some tips on keeping cougars away from your home:

Make Your Yard Unattractive

Mountain lions inhabit territories of approximately 20 square miles. They spend most of their days moving across the territories. If they fail to find suitable prey, they usually move further. To prevent them from straying onto your property, ensure you do not attract deer, their natural prey. 

Educate yourself on how to keep deer away from your farm or property. Organizations like the British Deer Society offer several empirical tips on how to ward off deer. You can use physical barriers like fences, get rid of specific plants, or apply repellants to the deer’s food plants within your property. Besides attracting deer, vegetation like bushes provide mountain lions excellent hiding places from which they can launch surprise attacks. 

Clear the bushes around your property for your safety and that of your animals. Also, store your livestock and pet’s food in enclosed spaces. Garbage cans, too, attract wildlife like deer and other lion prey that ransack them for food. Secure your trash bags and regularly dispose of them to avoid attracting deer to your property.

Keep Pets Indoors

Keeping pets inside protects them from pests, diseases, and - in Hesperia - dangerous predators. However, pets like dogs love to play and run around open fields. Keeping them tethered when you have enough play space on your property would not make sense. Fortunately, mountain lions rarely attack during the day when the pets play outside. Cougars are most active at night and will find no pet to harm if your pets sleep indoors. If your pets must stay outside, at least keep them in secure enclosures at night.

Safeguard Your Livestock

Like most predatory wildlife, mountain lions are always happy to catch easy prey like a lamb from a flock. If you have a newborn or injured animal, the scent of blood could attract a cougar to your ranch. To protect your animals, treat injuries as soon as they occur, or keep injured animals and newborns with their mothers in safe enclosures away from the rest of the flock. 

If separate enclosures are not feasible, you could build an extremely tall fence around your property. Mountain lions have been reported to make vertical leaps of over 15 feet. Therefore, your fence has to be sufficiently high and away from tall trees from which the lion could jump into your farm.

Use Scare Gadgets

Even after following all these tips, the big cats could still visit your property. If they come to your property at night, it is not wise to go out and risk your life for your animals. Instead, you can use gadgets to scare them away. Mountain lions prefer to avoid danger they do not comprehend. Consequently, timer or motion-activated gadgets around and within your compound would effectively avert an attack on your animals. Alternating devices such as sound, water, and light are an excellent way to scare away deer and other unwanted wildlife.

Reach out to All American Fence Erectors

In summary, there is a strong likelihood that mountain lions will come onto your property in Hesperia if you don’t create a barrier between you and them. At All American Fence, we specialize in erecting different types of fences. We have worked in the High Desert area for over three decades and understand the type of fencing you need to secure your Hesperia property from cougars and other uninvited guests. We have excellent chain-link fences and gates to secure your animals in enclosures away from predators. Contact us for a free quote and expert advice on the type of fencing you require for your farm.