From what i've heard from ranchers and mountain men i've met, if you kill a coyote and leave it out, other coyote will take the hint and stay away.
but before you do anything drastic, here is a link to the coyote page of the CA dpt. of
fish and game.
and here are the hunting rules-
Subdivision 2 Game and Furbearers (Detail Listing)
[...]
§472. General Provisions.
Except as otherwise provided in Sections 478 and 485 and subsections (a) through (d) below, nongame birds and mammals may not be taken.
(a) The following nongame birds and mammals may be taken at any time of the year and in any number except as prohibited in Chapter 6: English sparrow, starling,
coyote, weasels, skunks, opossum, moles and rodents (excluding tree and flying squirrels, and those listed as furbearers, endangered or threatened species).[...].
^link^
i didn't read the whole thing this time, but i did read it once a long time ago. there are very specific rules about how you can kill things. there are certain traps you can and can't use.
two things that bothered me from earlier posts:
1) rabbies.
coyote are not any more or less likely to have rabbies than any other wild (warm-blooded)animal. even domestic animals can have rabbies, and they don't always foam at the mouth. an other sign to look out for is if they let you approach them.
2) animal control asking if you want something killed.
while they do have the authority to kill animals on sight, asking random people if
they want something killed sounds sadistic. i'm guessing that guy liked that part of his job a little
too much.