Fox Repellent Safe For Dogs? The 224 Detailed Answer

Homemade repellent for a fox

Foxes can be a frustrating pest, whether you’re trying to protect a yard, livestock, or your yard from their presence. Luckily, there are many homemade fox repellents and deterrents that can not only keep foxes away, but also prevent new ones from moving in without posing a threat to the fox or your pets.

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Homemade fox repellent

Foxes have a strong sense of smell, so one of the best ways to keep them away is to make a homemade fox repellent. One of the most common ingredients in fox repellents is chili pepper. Hot peppers are particularly common in coyote repellents and contain a chemical compound called capsaicin, which gives peppers their spicy quality and can be irritating to animals with a heightened sense of smell.

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To make a homemade capsaicin fox repellent, fill a spray bottle with a mixture of chilli or cayenne pepper powder and water. Spray the solution around the yard and around possible fox access points. White vinegar is another popular fox repellent because of its strong and strong odor. Spraying white vinegar around the property can help repel foxes.

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Another homemade fox deterrent option is to combine the chili powder with white vinegar and a few cloves of garlic. For a more pungent garlicky smell, slice and boil the cloves. This cooking creates a strong odor that should deter foxes if sprayed on the property. Remember that the rain will wash away any solution you spray on, so make sure to reapply if necessary.

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Popular fox deterrent

In addition to repellents, there are several fox deterrents you can try to make your property fox repellent without doing any harm. Sometimes it’s best to scare foxes so they don’t want to come back. One way to do this is with a motion-activated sprinkler. These sprinklers are designed to turn on when the battery-powered motion sensor detects movement, startling nearby animals. These systems are usually easy to install, but you will need a garden hose to supply the water.

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An ultrasonic fox repeller is another option. If you place one near the fox’s access point, the device will emit a high-pitched noise that only animals can hear, deterring wild animals from approaching the property. However, experts recommend avoiding these solutions if you have pets or other animals.

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Outdoor lights can also deter foxes from entering the property. A good solution are motion-controlled outdoor lights that turn on when a fox approaches. Since foxes generally prefer darkness, this light often frightens them and causes them to run away.

How to keep foxes away

Foxes look for consistent food sources, so they frequently visit chicken coops, gardens, and any storage sheds that house food. Since many species of wildlife can be the culprit, smell is the best way to check if the damage is due to fox activity. Foxes leave a strong smell of ammonia to mark their territory. Once you have verified fox activity, the first course of action is to secure the food sources. Fix broken doors or fences, store your trash and compost in secure, airtight containers, and install fences if necessary.

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If you have a chicken coop or other small animals on your property, be sure to lock their doors at night and close any holes or gaps that the fox can squeeze through. When hunting, foxes also like to hide in brushwood and piles of wood, so clearing these hiding spots will make your property a less attractive hunting ground.

When did foxes settle in our cities?

Foxes have probably had a presence in our cities in very small numbers for some time, and there are even reports of foxes inhabiting Victorian London. But the main colonization took place in the interwar years, when our cities expanded rapidly to create large, leafy suburbs with owner-occupied semi-detached houses. This period of expansion produced an ideal habitat for foxes, which they quickly occupied.

Where should I look for city foxes?

Foxes are still most commonly found in the areas of the cities they first colonized – the owner-occupied suburbs of the 1930s. They’re less common in industrial or commercial areas, those old Victorian neighborhoods with small gardens and modern housing developments that are open plan or offer little cover for foxes. As a general rule, foxes are much rarer or even absent in the industrial towns of northern England, much of Wales and parts of the Midlands, and most common in the commuter towns of south-east England.

You are most likely to see foxes at dawn or dusk, when they are often more active. They spend their days in a sheltered, secluded spot above or below ground. Male foxes, called dog foxes, are not much larger than cats, weighing about 6.5 kg (14 lb) and standing 35 cm (14″) at the shoulder. Female foxes, called vixens, are slightly smaller. Their colors can vary vary slightly in spring and in the summer months they can look extremely unkempt during moulting.

Are there city foxes in any other country?

Yes, but no country has as many as the UK, nor are they as widespread. On the continent they occur in relatively few towns, and when they do occur they are not as numerous as in many English towns. In Australia (where foxes were introduced for hunting in the late 18th century), foxes are widespread and plentiful in a number of towns. In North American cities, raccoons live in suburban gardens and may outstrip foxes.

Where do foxes breed?

Almost everywhere. The most common location is under a garden shed. Adult foxes are very small (males averaging about 6 kg, females about 5 kg, with the occasional specimen up to 8.5 kg) and can squeeze through very small holes. So they can easily get under a garden house that stands on a brick. The foxes have no bedding and the young are born on bare earth. Foxes are very good diggers when needed and will dig up vast areas of earth.

Is the number of urban foxes increasing?

No, although this is a common myth. In most cities, maximum density was reached long ago, and populations are maintained at a constant level by the foxes themselves.

Should city foxes be fought?

no Most urban fox populations regulate their own numbers by limiting the number of cubs they produce each year. They do so remarkably successfully, and the cubs that survive to adulthood almost exactly replace the number of adult foxes that die each year. If you try to kill them, the foxes will respond by producing more cubs to replace the foxes that were killed. You won’t achieve anything with that. In addition, foxes in urban areas are not such a problem that they need to be eradicated; The vast majority of people in cities are either indifferent to the presence of foxes or welcome them.

Have city foxes ever been controlled?

Yes. In the 1950s, the then Department of Agriculture and Food began killing foxes in parts of London. But control operations have now been abandoned mainly as a waste of time and money. While the most common techniques were trapping or shooting, in Plymouth a local pack of foxhounds were called in to kill foxes living in the city. Luckily, riding to hounds never caught on in our cities as a modern field sport.

Why shouldn’t foxes be released in the country?

There are a number of misconceptions here. First, foxes don’t belong in cities; They do it – they are there voluntarily because it is an ideal place to live. The other is that they can all be captured and brought back to the country where they will “live happily ever after.” There are not large fox-free areas where all of these foxes could be released, and if they are released into an area they are unfamiliar with it means their life expectancy will be very short. So you wouldn’t do the foxes any good. Nor would you be popular with local farmers: foxes released into an unfamiliar area are likely to cause more problems than native ones.

Are city foxes abandoned in the countryside?

No; this is yet another myth. These stories invariably relate to a truck, specially fitted with a large number of holding cages, which has been seen unloading foxes across Wales, in the Lake District and elsewhere. If even a fraction of these reports were true, there would be a severe shortage of foxes in our cities today.

What do I do with an injured fox?

The leading cause of death for urban foxes is the car, but not every animal hit by a car is killed, and injuries are common. In London, about a third of foxes have healed fractures from road accidents. If you find an injured fox, contact your local police station or the National Fox Welfare Society for help. Otherwise call the local veterinarian. Although many are reluctant to undertake wildlife work, they are said to offer a 24-hour service and do not charge for wildlife work. For further advice it is worth contacting the National Fox Welfare Society.

What do I do with orphaned fox cubs?

Foxes usually leave their young unattended and only come back briefly to feed them. So don’t automatically assume that the boys you find are orphans just because there’s no trace of the parents; when the young lie quietly they are no doubt cared for; When hungry, they start making plaintive barking noises. If you think the boys are deserted, don’t touch them. If the whole litter is together and hungry, there is a high probability that the mother was killed. But if only a single hatchling is found, it’s much more likely that it’s lost and can’t find its way home. The plaintive bark is a contact call; Don’t touch the cub, keep an eye on it to make sure it isn’t attacked by a cat or dog, and soon after dark the vixen will find it again.

Mike from Walthamstow says:

“A fox destroyed my back garden. It’s tearing up my lawn, digging up my raised beds, eating my veggies, and shitting all over the place, and now it’s having loud sex every night. I have a cat so I don’t want to install a deterrent that might startle him. And actually, I absolutely love foxes. Google advised me to pee all over the yard.”

Tony Wileman from the London Wildlife Trust replies:

“This is normal behavior. Male foxes typically establish territories, burrow for burrows, and burrow for larvae and roots – they’re omnivores, so they’ll eat anything. And foxes are prevalent in urban areas because of the food we provide: our garbage. Keep bins safe and dispose of food waste on the morning of pickup.

“Foxes are hard to deter and there’s no point hiring a company to relocate them – your garden will likely attract a new one. However, I’m afraid the little rumor is true. The strong odor of human male urine (and only male urine) masks a male fox’s pungent odor and can often force it out. But you can buy urea-based products that will do the same job (and not upset your cat). The best can be expensive, so ask at a garden center or seek advice from the National Fox Welfare Society.

“However, foxes can be amazing, especially when they are occupying territory and having cubs in your yard. If you can, just enjoy it.”

For more wildlife advice, visit www.wildlondon.org.uk.

Do you have a real estate problem in London? Send yours to [email protected] and we’ll ask the experts.

Get more advice on living your life in London by subscribing to Time Out.

While these are not the easiest of pests to deal with, removing them from your property is very doable. Follow the tips below to get rid of foxes on your property.

This is a substance that foxes would not get their hands on instead. With this in mind, you can put some white vinegar in several bowls or jars and set them on the ground, especially in areas where the foxes are likely to visit.

You can place some in the poultry and coop, while others can be placed around your house to deter them.

If a fox invades one of these areas, they cannot stay long and will leave.

Another effective way to keep foxes away is to install a wire or electric fence around your property. This will keep foxes at bay and cause them to lose interest in visiting again.

Foxes can only invade your premises if they have access. And since they are not proficient climbers, it would be impossible to get through the wire fence.

The fence should be installed around the main areas that the foxes will target. Make sure the fence covers every inch of access and regularly check for violations.

Once your chickens, piglets and lambs are behind the fence, the foxes cannot reach them. After a vain attempt to get your livestock, the foxes will leave and try their luck elsewhere.

Among the things scavengers hate the most are loud unexpected noises. When they hear such, their first impulse would be to flee. This is why a motion-activated alarm is perfect.

This type of alarm is triggered when the sensors detect movement. The intruder needs to be within sensor range for it to work, so it would be wise to install it close to where the foxes could visit.

If a fox comes onto your property in search of food and approaches the alarm, it will go off.

The loud alarm sound will deter them. It will also inform you that an intruder is nearby.

4. Remove animal droppings

Another element that can attract foxes to your yard is animal droppings. They have a keen sense of smell and can pick up the scent from quite a distance.

Spotting feces is a clear sign that food is nearby. Because of this, you need to get rid of the evidence.

One of the best ways to do this is to hose off the poop regularly. Do this every day if possible. You can also add citronella to the soil as a special ingredient as it has the power to mask the smell of the poop.

I have to warn you that citronella is unsafe for pets like dogs or cats. They will be poisoned if they accidentally ingest it and may die.

5. Using a live cage trap

Using an animal trap is another way to control a fox. Place it in your terrain to catch them.

It would help if you were sure that the live trap would not injure or kill the fox in the process. The trap just has to hold it back.

A feather trap large enough for a fox would be ideal. You will also need bait to attract the fox.

For bait, you can try using leftover chicken wings or steak. A fox has a keen sense of smell that leads them straight to the cage and catches them when they go in to get food. Check the trap the next day to see if you made a catch.

However, you must be patient after setting the trap. It may take some time to make a catch.

After the fox is caught, you should call wildlife control so they can come and take it away. Set the trap again just in case another fox lurks.

6. Remove all attractions

There are so many things that attract foxes to your yard or garden, and most of them fall under the feeding category. And while you can’t eliminate your poultry, there are other food sources you can eliminate.

One of them is animal feed that is left outside. If you live in an area with a high incidence of fox infestations, it’s best to feed your pets indoors. If you must feed your pets outside of your home, make sure the area where they eat is kept clean after each meal.

If there are traces of animal food at your location, the foxes will pick up the scent and come to visit even in the smallest amount.

Garbage cans are also a food source for foxes. When filled with leftovers, a fox can explore the contents to see what it can find. It would be worse if the trash can overflowed and chunks of food were strewn all over the floor.

Always keep your trash can tightly closed and be careful not to spill anything on the floor. Also, lock your barn doors to prevent them from turning them into a fox den.

7. Maintain clean premises

Another step you can take to get rid of foxes is to keep your surroundings clean every day.

A fox is usually attracted to rodents and other small, crawling mammals when they are near your property. And such small animals like to sneak and hide in piles of garbage.

For this reason, you should conduct regular cleaning exercises and ensure a garbage-free environment.

Empty your garbage can, removing all piles of dead wood, dead tree stumps, piles of paper, etc. no matter how small the piles are. It would be helpful if you also trimmed overgrown shrubs in your yard as they can provide cover for these animals.

The trick is simple – clear stashes to get rid of small animals, which in turn will help get rid of the fox!

8. Male human or dog urine

For some strange reason, a human male’s urine is effective in getting rid of foxes. As silly as this may sound, many individuals and related articles have confirmed that it works!

It’s also an efficient concept. A fox is a member of the canine family, and just like dogs, they sniff around the spot before peeing. If there is already urine on the floor, they will seek out other areas to calm themselves, as they would assume the territory has already been claimed.

All you have to do is walk around your garden soil and spread the pee.

Peeing doesn’t cost a dime, so why not give it a try? A lot of people might find this absurd, but it’s a great tip!

If you have a male dog, an additional tip would be to get him to pee all over the yard and any other place the foxes might visit. Urban foxes are already used to humans and would find the smell of a male dog’s urine more ominous than that of a male human.

This is to keep foxes away.

9. Garlic

Foxes are irritated by some scents, one of which is garlic. The properties found in garlic are excellent fox repellents, and they stay well away from areas clogged with odor.

DIY garlic repellents are easy to make. Just get a few cloves of garlic and grind them into a fine shape. Mix it with some water and pour it into a spray bottle. Then apply the mixture to areas that foxes usually visit.

You can also dig up small sections of topsoil and pour in the garlic mixture.

Garlic is safe and will not harm your garden plants. There are other garlic repellents available commercially as well.

10. Call a wildlife expert

If you are not interested in controlling fox entry into your home, you can take the more practical route and consult a wildlife expert.

They are trained professionals who have a better understanding of these creatures, and they can help you control foxes on your behalf.

That’s not to say that DIY control methods don’t work; it just means that more qualified people can do the job more effectively. Realistically, this is the best way to control foxes.

You can find a wildlife expert in your area by searching the internet.

Foxes are usually classified as wild animals and not vermin. However, when foxes are in the wrong place at the wrong time, they can be a nuisance to your property and a serious threat to your livestock. Since foxes have excellent noses which give them an excellent sense of smell, we found out which smells they just can’t stand and how you can use them to protect you. You will be surprised.

Foxes have a strong sense of smell, which they use to find accessible food sources. They can take advantage of this trait by using scents they don’t like, such as chili and cayenne pepper (which are made up of capsaicin), garlic, white vinegar, and the smell of people nearby.

Before we take a closer look at the scents that serve to bombard a fox’s nose, you may be wondering why a small, pointy-eared, long-haired, narrow-snouted, sly-looking animal would be a nuisance to your property from the start. Therefore, we identify the reasons why you would want to drive a fox away in the first place. Let’s take a look together…

Just to add – if you shop through links from Pest Pointers, we may earn affiliate commissions if you make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Why do you need to keep foxes away?

Foxes are part of our beloved family of dogs, also referred to as the Canidae – which has nothing to do with Canada – but actually comes from the Latin (canis) for dog.

Fun Fact: Although they now roam every continent, the first traces of dog-like fossils come from Europe. Foxes are said to be descended from wolves, which were domesticated in Europe around 19,000 to 32,000 years ago.

Unlike dogs, foxes live mostly in the wild. Although there have been several attempts to tame a fox, the results have generally been unfavorable. Some animals are just not suitable for domestication. Overall, foxes stay in a pack of animals that prefer to keep to themselves. They become nervously shy around people and tend to become more aggressive as they get older.

Interesting Fact: Some experiments have been successful in domesticating a fox, most notably the red fox and silver fox. However, it must be noted that there is no such thing as sustainable domestication; We are only talking about isolated cases here.

Because foxes are wild animals, it goes without saying that their behavior remains highly unpredictable. But how else do they become a nuisance to your property and comfort?

Foxes vs. Livestock: Do you have livestock? Do you want it to stay like this? Of course, foxes can be dangerous to your pets in general – they don’t shy away from a juicy chicken or a nervous rabbit. Worse, they might even chase your pets, like the fish in the bowl or the cat in the threes. Natural predators, cunning as they are, they can easily find a way to prey on your livestock.

: Do you have cattle? Do you want it to stay like this? Of course, foxes can be dangerous to your pets in general – they don’t shy away from a juicy chicken or a nervous rabbit. Worse, they might even chase your pets, like the fish in the bowl or the cat in the threes. Natural predators, cunning as they are, they can easily find a way to prey on your livestock. Foxes vs. Compost: Have you ever caught a fox in your compost pile? It can happen, and when it does, you may have to hire an entire cleaning crew to transform your property… In fact, foxes can mess up your nest. They are drawn to the leftovers, whatever they are. Installing a proper compost bin—or any type of support structure—might make things a bit more complex for them.

: Ever caught a fox in your compost heap? It can happen, and when it does, you may have to hire an entire cleaning crew to transform your property… In fact, foxes can mess up your nest. They are drawn to the leftovers, whatever they are. Installing a proper compost bin—or any type of support structure—might make things a bit more complex for them. Foxes vs. Plants: Although they prefer to eat prey whenever the opportunity allows, foxes are known to be omnivores. This means they will feed on anything from a piece of meat to a pile of seeds. Therefore, they will not shy away from tasting the plants in your garden. They may also dig holes to get to the roots and worms in the soil below.

: Although they prefer to eat prey whenever the opportunity allows, foxes are known to be omnivores. This means they will feed on anything from a piece of meat to a pile of seeds. Therefore, they will not shy away from tasting the plants in your garden. They may also dig holes to get to the roots and worms in the soil below. Foxes vs. Fruits & Veggies: A fox might feast on your fruits and veggies too. Menu favorites are usually a serving of berries, apples, pears, seeds, grains and mushrooms. This means they can pose a serious threat to your crops and general garden life.

: A fox might also feast on your fruit and veg. Menu favorites are usually a serving of berries, apples, pears, seeds, grains and mushrooms. This means they can pose a serious threat to your crops and general garden life. Foxes vs. Gardening: In the end, foxes are against everything. They can snag your livestock, dig up every plant they can find and leave your garden in ruins.

In short, foxes will fall in love with a rich and diverse garden, even more so if there is garbage and a compost heap, especially if there are livestock. As such, they can be a huge liability when it comes to keeping your property clean.

Now that we know what we’re up against, are you ready to get smart as a fox? Let’s dive into the 4 ways to fend off a fox right under its nose!

Pepperoni keeps foxes away

To scent trick a fox, let’s start our list with a classic repellent by looking at the Piperaceae, the pepper family.

What is particularly frightening to a fox is the main ingredient in peppers, capsaicin. This main active ingredient gives paprika its hot and spicy quality with a subsequent burning sensation. This is especially true for animals with a heightened sense of taste and smell, like our furry little friends in red.

Interesting Fact: Although capsaicin is repulsive to many mammals and generally inedible, it does not appear to be detectable by birds.

Incredibly potent, if not deadly, are the chillies we eat from North America to the shores of India. Bombing a predator’s nose has never worked better than with some chilli pepper.

In fact, it’s a classic and commonly used against animals of similar species, such as coyotes. All in all, pepper convinces with its high sharpness and intensity. However, it’s not entirely bulletproof, as results remain somewhat mixed.

Because there are various circumstances – especially the weather – in which the pepper cannot achieve the desired effect.

Quick tip: mix chilli or cayenne pepper powder with some water and spray your garden, especially around the spots where they tend to poke holes, such as B. Your vegetables etc. However, it is likely to be washed away when it rains, so this method will need to be reapplied if necessary.

Use a white vinegar solution

Much like wolves and coyotes, foxes are known to dislike the smell of white vinegar. Although usually reserved for cooking or baking, cleaning or washing, it is also used to fight predators.

White vinegar is high in acetic acid — which sounds as bad as it tastes — and therefore carries a strong and strong odor. Spraying it on your property, dampening it in a cloth, or using a bowl filled with vinegar is usually recommended.

Perhaps it can also be used by mixing it with chilli pepper, a recipe for disaster indeed. However, still not as effective. To be honest, it needs to be reapplied over and over again. So it’s actually best to make a ready-to-use spray, a time saver for sure. In the end, a mix of strategies will prove most effective.

A solid, ready-to-spray vinegar solution is Natural Armor Vinegar Industrial Strength Concentrate and contains 30% vinegar concentrate.

The lingering smell of garlic can deter foxes

Well, it’s not often that garlic is included in a list of non-cooking or vampire-inspired content. Yet here we are, talking about foxes, and we can’t avoid the wonders of garlic. Yes, garlic is just as effective on a fox nose as it is on a first date. But does that mean a fox will fully repel? Unlikely.

It is often suggested to cut and boil garlic to extract more of its essence. As you may know, when garlic is crushed, a chemical compound called alliinase is released. This creates a strong scent that is actually part of a plant’s defences.

Fun fact: Halitosis, which is related to bad breath, is also sometimes referred to as garlic breath, which is not to be confused with garlic bread.

Surprisingly, there are already quite a few ready-made garlic sprays on the market. See the following spray for more information: Garlic Barrier Insect Repellent.

Quick Tip: Try simmering some raw garlic with chilli pepper, add some vinegar to the mix, and you’ve got a party ready to harass a fox or two.

The smell of people will repel foxes!

As much as foxes use their noses to see what fills their hungry stomachs, they are just as eager to spot danger by smell. So perhaps the most effective way is to use the scent of danger, or in other words, the scent of a predator.

First off, foxes are known to be shy when it comes to human contact. This is perhaps taken into account by the fact that these are nocturnal animals that wander silently through the night. Therefore, foxes do not easily tolerate the smell of humans.

Surprisingly, the most effective smell we have in our arsenal is the smell of urine. The method of using urine is also used against other predators, so there’s an excuse for not using the indoor toilet just once.

Other odors that could relate to human hazards are the odors of strong perfumes. Because perfume is highly artificial – it’s made in a lab from a series of chemicals – it’s truly “human” and not a scent that a fox naturally prefers.

However, using the urine of a natural predator, such as a wolf, would be even more effective. Since the wolf is a common enemy of the fox, it goes without saying that a wolf’s urine can serve as a warning signal to our clever subject. Therefore, using wolf urine can be an excellent technique to lure a fox away.

For more information on using a predator scent, see Predator Pee 100% Wolf Urine.

Even if you don’t use Predator Pee, be sure to look for another 100% urine formula, as some products can be highly diluted and do not emit a strong odor.

Are foxes really a nuisance?

Whether you’ve landed on this page because of your constant curiosity, or you’re just playing cat and mouse with a wily fox in your garden, it’s important to understand why these dog-like, reddish animals are sometimes viewed as a pest.

In general, it should be clear that all animals can be considered pests.

Overall, an animal is defined as a pest when the animal in question poses a destructive threat to people, property, and livestock, etc. What counts as a pest therefore relates to the relationship between species and the circumstances in which we find ourselves, as opposed to the association with the animal itself.

In fact, dogs are our number one pets, but wild dogs are also known pests. Therefore, even an elephant outside its natural habitat can become a nuisance to local farmers in Africa or Asia when it tramples on crops.

Even Australia’s beloved kangaroos are classified as pests, as their occupation of grasslands is seen from time to time as unwelcome competition for farmland. The same is true for foxes as they sometimes roam the countryside of North America looking for food and shelter.

More tips & tricks for fox defense

Keep Your Property Clean: This is the golden rule and will certainly help. Take extra care to take out the trash and cover the compost pile. It is also important to ensure that you remove all signs of previous fox visits to your yard, as one fox’s scent will attract another and another…

: This is the golden rule and will certainly help. Take extra care to take out the trash and cover the compost pile. It is also important to ensure that you remove all signs of previous fox visits to your yard, as one fox’s scent will attract another and another… Block Access: Block any open passages to prevent entry from all sides. Entry marks are usually a neatly carved hole in the ground. Be sure to fill in the gaps tightly again. You might even want to cover the holes to prevent them from using the same passage again.

: Block all open passageways to prevent access from all sides. Entry marks are usually a neatly carved hole in the ground. Be sure to fill in the gaps tightly again. You might even want to cover the holes to prevent them from using the same passage again. Build a Fence: You may want to build a fence if you haven’t already. This can be accomplished by using chicken wire and laying a few inches into the ground – to prevent them from digging under. It goes without saying that this is a must if you have livestock.

You might want to consider putting up a fence if you haven’t already. This can be accomplished by using chicken wire and laying a few inches into the ground – to prevent them from digging under. It goes without saying that this is a must if you have livestock. Scaring Techniques: You might try using sensors, alarms, and lights, although they might startle the neighbors as well. Of course, this is incredibly annoying for nocturnal animals. In the end, it might be more appropriate, if less alarming, to use some sort of scarecrow.

: They might try using sensors, alarms, and lights, although they might startle the neighbors as well. Of course, this is incredibly annoying for nocturnal animals. In the end, it might be more appropriate, if less alarming, to use some sort of scarecrow. Build a Bird’s Nest: If you know that birds are a common sight in your yard or around your property, you might want to consider building a bird’s nest. Foxes can eat both birds and bird seed. This means they have less reason to venture into your garden when the birds are neat and cozy out of sight.

If in doubt, please do not hesitate to call your local animal welfare authority. You can also contact our nationwide network of pest and wildlife control experts to find a contractor near you in seconds.

Thanks again for reading! For more information on foxes, visit Pest Pointers right here. Be sure to check out our guide on using a radio to deter foxes!

references

Baker, SE, & Macdonald, D.W. (2000). Foxes and fox hunting on farms in Wiltshire: a case study. Journal of Rural Studies.

Baylis, S., Cassey, P., (2012) Capsaicin as a deterrent against introduced mammalian nest predators. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology.

Fox, MW (1975). The wild canids: their systematics, behavioral ecology and evolution. RE warrior.

Marvin, G (2000). The fox problem: legitimate and illegitimate killing. Natural enemies: human-wildlife conflicts from an anthropological perspective.

Saunders, G. & Brian; Kinnear Jack., (1995). Management of Vertebrate Pests: Foxes. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publ. Service.

Trut, L., Oskina, I., & Kharlamova, A. (2009). Animal evolution during domestication: the domesticated fox as a model.

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Wondering how to get rid of foxes? If you’ve noticed them in your garden and want to get rid of them, we’ve got all the information you need.

Although foxes are related to dogs, they are wild animals and can be found all over the world. The red fox is the most widespread and is often seen in cities and the countryside alike.

They aren’t the worst of invaders and generally keep to themselves. In fact, some people are happy to spot a visiting fox stalk over their property at night. But they can be prone to digging up gardens, knocking over trash cans, and chasing chickens while foraging for food. And some, unfortunately, are rabid, which can endanger you and your pets.

If you’d rather keep your property fox-free, these tips on getting rid of foxes are sure to come in handy. And if you’re looking for advice on smaller pests, our guide to getting rid of ants is also worth reading.

Practical advice on how to get rid of foxes

We’ve put together some simple tips to keep foxes off your property without harming them.

How can you tell if there is a fox in your yard?

Red foxes have brownish-reddish fur with a white chest and a bushy tail. They have a pointed nose and pointed, erect ears and are about the size of a large house cat. However, foxes are shy and mostly nocturnal, meaning they can be difficult to spot, although they sometimes venture out during the day.

Some pests can cause serious damage to property (our guides on controlling termites and carpenter bees will come in handy when you need to tackle the culprits). Unlike these, foxes generally don’t do much damage. But if you’re wondering if a fox has visited your yard, there are a few telltale signs to look out for:

Foxes may dig up lawns or flower beds in search of insects.

They can also tip trash cans and leave a mess.

Foxes like to mark their territory by leaving droppings in prominent places – for example in the middle of a lawn.

You may also notice a musky smell.

Trampled plants and damaged fruit crops can be another sign that you’ve had a fox visit.

Have you ever heard a fox scream? It’s quite an unsettling sound, especially in the middle of the night!

Foxes are generally nocturnal, but they sometimes venture out during the day (Credit: Sarah Goldsmith/Alamy Stock Photo)

Getting Rid of Foxes: 6 Safe and Humane Methods

If you’d rather not have a fox (or a family of foxes) in your yard, there are some simple tricks you can try.

1. Keep it clean

Tidying up your property can be helpful in deterring all manner of pests, and what better reason to give your garden a good weed-out?

“Trim the hedges, cut the grass and keep everything in order,” says Pol Bishop, a gardening expert who works for Fantastic Gardeners (opens in new tab). Foxes like shady, sheltered areas to hide in, so the fewer the better.

“Clear the trash out of the garden and generally keep it clean,” adds Pol. If you don’t already have one, it’s worth investing in some good garden storage ideas for your containers to keep foxes from getting in. This can be helpful if you are also looking for tips on how to get rid of skunks.

Samantha Jones, gardening expert at MyJobQuote.co.uk (opens in new tab), says: “If you normally leave bread and seeds for birds, this can also attract foxes as they usually forage for litter in nearby gardens.

“You should either stop leaving food altogether, or put away any leftovers once the birds have finished eating them.”

Tidy up your property to deter foxes (Credit: Linda Kennedy/Alamy Stock Photo)

2. Install a fence

“One of the most effective ways to keep foxes out of your garden is to install a secure fencing,” says Samantha Jones of MyJobQuote.co.uk. “When erecting a fence you need to make sure there are no gaps as foxes will typically take advantage of small gaps and may also dig to gain access to entrances and exits.

“To prevent foxes from digging, consider putting a coat or two of concrete on the ground before installing any fences or walls,” says Samantha. Alternatively, you can bend the bottom of the fence into an L shape before burying it in the ground. This is a useful trick if you’re wondering how to keep rabbits out of your yard too.

“The majority of foxes can jump up to a meter high, so consider installing taller fences and gates that are over a meter tall,” she adds.

A sturdy fence can keep foxes out (Credit: AJ Zimmerman/Alamy Stock Photo)

3. Scare off pests with barbed strips

Do you know spiked stripes? These flexible, weatherproof plastic meshes are covered in small spikes that are uncomfortable underfoot. They are useful for deterring foxes, other pests and pets from digging up areas of your garden while still allowing plants to grow.

They are not harmful to the animals, but deter them. And installation is easy – just place them slightly below ground level, spikes pointing up, and lightly cover them with soil.

“Be sure to wear shoes if you decide to put these in your garden,” adds Pol Bishop of Fantastic Gardeners.

They’re also useful for getting rid of squirrels – but there are more tips in our guide.

Foxes can be a nuisance when digging up flower beds (Credit: Elizabeth Livermore/Moment Open/Getty Images)

4. Add lights to your garden

“Foxes hate light,” says Pol Bishop. “They often get startled and run away when a light suddenly appears.”

You could invest in some good garden lighting ideas. But there is an alternative option that will scare foxes more – a motion-activated light.

“I highly recommend investing in a sensitive motion-sensing light and placing it near where the fox often goes,” says Pol. “It’s a very effective way to keep them out of your garden.”

Scaring foxes away with light, sound, or water can be effective (Image credit: J Zergenyi Photography/500px/Getty Images)

5. Install motion activated sprinklers

Another way to scare foxes and keep them away is with water. You can buy motion-activated systems that are specifically designed to deter pests.

“These sprinklers are easy to install and use,” says Pol Bishop. “Foxes that walk past them will be unpleasantly surprised and hopefully run away.”

However, foxes are smart and after a while they will figure out where the systems are and avoid them. With this in mind, Samantha Jones recommends switching the system every few days to catch an unwary fox visit.

Looking for more pest control tips? Our aphid and slug control guides are full of useful advice on how to protect your plants.

A motion-sensing water system can keep foxes at bay (Image credit: Dennis Gross/EyeEm/Getty Images)

6. Try an ultrasonic fox repellent

These motion-activated devices emit a series of ultrasonic tones (that humans can’t hear) and sometimes flashing lights that can startle foxes in your yard and cause them to run away. You can find solar powered ones for added convenience, but those that run on mains power are generally more effective.

“Each product has unique properties and is more or less effective at what it does, so I recommend thoroughly researching each product and what it offers,” says Pol Bishop.

Try to deter foxes with ultrasound (Credit: Martin Pickard/Moment/Getty Images)

What smells do foxes hate?

“Foxes have a very strong sense of smell, which in a way benefits them,” says Samantha Jones. They tend to leave their scent in areas to mark their territory.

However, you can use their scent sensitivity to your advantage.

One way to do this is to mask the fox smell with something they hate. The smell of chili pepper and garlic is said to help keep foxes away, and some people mix them with water to use as sprays in their garden. It’s best to test all homemade sprays on a small area first, whether you’re using them on plants or pavement, to make sure they won’t cause any damage.

For a simpler solution, opt for a commercial fox repellent. Scoot, available from Amazon (opens in new tab), is a well-known product in the UK that is non-toxic and biodegradable. It mimics scent marks, leading foxes to believe a competitor has taken over the territory. For best results, you should use it regularly and always follow the package directions.

Foxes have a very sensitive sense of smell (Credit: Miha Pavlin/Moment/Getty Images)

Are foxes dangerous?

Foxes are generally suspicious of humans (unless someone has fed them) and pose no danger as they flee rather than fight.

However, you can hunt small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs, as well as chickens. So if you keep these in your garden, make sure their pens and enclosures are safe and secure.

Although uncommon, foxes can spread rabies (but bats, raccoons, and skunks are much more common carriers of the disease). However, if you think your pet has been bitten by a fox, you should take them to a veterinarian immediately. Likewise, in the unlikely event that you are bitten, wash well with warm, soapy water and seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Monty Don shares what jobs gardeners should do this weekend

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Foxes aren’t really called vermin, but they are wild animals and can cause untold damage to your property – let alone pets kept outdoors in pens. Their very strong sense of smell is the main factor that brings them into your garden in the first place, but you can use this sense to your advantage to ward them off for good.

Foxes love a rich and diverse garden, and even more so one with compost or accessible trash to dig through. From fruit and vegetable patches to livestock, foxes can smell that prey from a mile away, and not much can physically stop them from burrowing through fences to get there. But alongside the classic advice of keeping your yard clean by disposing of rubbish properly, not leaving food outside, and securing your yard as much as possible, using their keen sense of smell can put them off if you know how. There are a few scents that foxes absolutely loathe, and thankfully they’re not hard to come by. READ MORE: The five best summer bulbs to plant now: ‘Perfect for growing in pots’

5 scents to naturally drive foxes out of your garden for good

Human Scents Foxes are known to be nervously shy around humans, and one of the main reasons they get away with causing mayhem is because of this fear. They can detect human presence long before we see them, so of course they wait until there are no more humans around before intruding. A good way to keep them away is to trick them into believing people are around, and there are several ways you can do this. BC Pest Control highlights the effectiveness of using urine to “mark your territory,” but that’s entirely up to you if you want to go that route. For those less willing to do that to your garden, you can use other human substances like haircut.

Foxes are wild animals that can cause untold damage to your property

Scatter them around your garden to create a sort of territorial line. It will create a very subtle scent that you cannot smell, but the foxes certainly will. White Vinegar Like most humans, foxes aren’t big fans of the vinegar smell. It’s also a classic that most people already have around the house, but if they don’t, it’s always cheap to buy. White vinegar contains a lot of acetic acid, which carries a particularly strong and strong odor. Foxes hate the smell because it disturbs their sensitive olfactory glands. You can mix a solution of water and white vinegar and spray your trash cans and belongings with it, although this will need to be reapplied. Alternatively, you can hang a cloth soaked in vinegar around the property or leave an open bowl of vinegar in places where foxes like to congregate. DO NOT MISS:

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White vinegar contains a lot of acetic acid, which carries a particularly strong and strong odor.

READ MORE How to get rid of slugs and snails in your garden – 6 easy and natural methods Hot peppers Hot peppers are another powerful fox repellent as they contain a compound called capsaicin. This active ingredient gives peppers the characteristic hot and spicy sensation that is particularly evident in animals with a strong sense of smell. From plain chili to cayenne pepper, sprinkle the dried spice around key areas where foxes might invade, or mix in a vinegar and water solution to spritz the areas. Garlic foxes don’t really like the smell of garlic either. While it may not completely deter them, it will have an effect.

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Foxes are omnivores, hunting very small animals and foraging in cities and towns where freely available pet food and garbage can make life easier. It is not uncommon for a fox to be out during the day. Foxes are afraid of humans and will usually run away when they notice your presence, but they may visit your yard or neighborhood. A fox clipping through your yard is likely only passing between hunting grounds and you don’t have to do anything. It’s usually best to leave foxes alone.

Should I be concerned if I see a fox?

If a fox doesn’t seem afraid of you, it’s likely that it has learned to associate people with food (probably because someone fed them) and may be showing boldness or even approaching you. These foxes are easily scared off by making loud noises like yelling or whistling, dousing them with water houses or water guns, or throwing objects like tennis balls at them.

Read more hazing tips

What should I do if there is a fox under my porch, deck or shed?

Both red and gray foxes dig dens primarily for raising cubs, but also as protection from harsh winter weather.

Caves under porches, decks, or sheds are not uncommon in urban areas. If you find a fox family in an inconvenient location, consider allowing them to stay until the cubs are old enough to join their parents in foraging. At this point, they’re almost ready to say goodbye to the site and move on forever.

Fox cubs are born in the spring, usually March or April, and you will see them emerge from the den four or five weeks after birth. At nine weeks they begin to hunt with their parents; At this point, it’s safe to encourage them to leave.

How do I get rid of a fox or fox den in my yard?

If you need a family of foxes to move on sooner rather than later, mild harassment (to scare them away) can encourage an earlier move. Here are a few humane ways to harass once the kits show up:

Pack loose leaves, soil, or mulch into burrow openings to disturb residents.

Place urine-soaked kitty litter, a sweat-soaked t-shirt, a pair of smelly sweat socks, or old sneakers in or near the burrow opening.

Attach shiny party balloons or 12-18 inch Irri tape to sticks or poles a few feet off the ground just in front of the cave entrance.

Sprinkle paprika-based granular repellent around the cave entrance.

The purpose of these techniques is to make parents uncomfortable with moving the litter to a safer place. Once the cave has been abandoned, make sure all kits are removed from the cave before a permanent ban is set up.

If the den is under a porch, deck, or shed, it remains an attractive den area, not just for foxes. Foxes are excellent diggers, so the best defense is to bury an L-shaped foot of hardware cloth around the perimeter of the area you want to exclude.

scare devices and repellents

If you wish to discourage future hunting activity in certain areas where foxes are not welcome, try one or more of these humane but effective approaches:

Use noise-producing devices such as transistor radios or motion-sensitive alarms.

Install a motion activated sprinkler.

Use a loud voice or bang on a pot or pan.

Use products sold at garden and hardware stores to repel pet dogs from gardens and yards as they have a similar effect on a passing fox.

fencing

Because foxes and other predators can burrow under fences, consider burying an L-shaped foot around the outer perimeter of an enclosure for animals left unattended. Electric fences can be useful in combination with other fixed fencing. Place a single-leg electric fence about 10 cm off the ground about 30 cm in front of a chain link fence or similar fence. Always check local ordinances when considering electric fencing.

Are foxes dangerous? Do foxes attack humans?

Foxes are not dangerous and will not attack humans unless rabid, which is very rare, or when caught and treated. Even then, a fox’s natural tendency is to flee rather than fight.

Can I get rabies from a fox?

Foxes sometimes succumb to rabies (foxes account for about 7% of cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), but the good news is that the fox strain of the disease has rarely, if ever, been transmitted to a human in the US , and post-exposure treatment is 100% effective if administered immediately. The CDC reports that “approximately 60,000 Americans receive post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) each year to prevent rabies infection after being bitten or scratched by an infected or suspected infected animal.”

Rabies is transmitted through direct contact with an infected animal, such as through a bite or scratch. Getting your pets vaccinated against rabies is the most important thing you can do to protect them, yourself and others from rabies. Of 23 rabies-related deaths reported to the CDC between 2009 and 2018, none of the rabies contacts were attributed to foxes and eight to dogs.

Do foxes eat or attack cats, dogs, or other pets?

A typical adult cat is nearly the size of a fox and has a well-deserved reputation for self-defense, so foxes are generally not interested in taking on cats. However, kittens and very small (less than five pounds) adult cats could be prey for a fox. The best way to avoid fox-cat encounters is to keep your cats indoors—a practice that will protect your cats from other dangers like disease and fighting, to name a few.

Most dogs are not at risk from a fox attack unless they have threatened their young, but they should not be left outside unattended for a number of safety reasons, including inclement weather, harassment and napping. Depending on where you live, very small dogs are susceptible to damage from a variety of predators, including foxes, so they should be supervised when outdoors.

Foxes can prey on small pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, or chickens, so such pets should be kept indoors or in sturdy structures. (Pets like rabbits and guinea pigs should also be kept indoors for their health and safety, especially at night.) Poultry should be protected by a sturdy coop and run built to withstand attempts by foxes, raccoons or dogs.

How can I tell if a fox has rabies?

It’s normal for foxes to be out and about during the day, so that’s nothing to worry about. Foxes hunt squirrels, birds, chipmunks, and other animals that are only active during the day, so they may just be looking for a meal. Before you call to report a fox or ask for help, take the time to observe the fox’s behavior and look for these signs:

Partial paralysis or an inability to use their limbs well.

Circling or tumbling drunkenly.

self-mutilation.

Act aggressively for no reason.

Acting unnaturally tame.

If you observe these signs, do not approach the fox – remember that exposure to rabies is primarily through bites or saliva. Contact your local animal welfare, police department, or health authority if you see a fox showing signs of rabies.

How can I tell if a fox has mange?

Mange is an extremely debilitating disease caused by microscopic parasites called Sarcoptes scabiei mites that cause either patchy or complete hair loss.

The disease causes intense irritation of the skin to the point where foxes have been known to chew their own tails to relieve the itch. In advanced stages, infected foxes can often be seen during the day that do not appear to be afraid.

A fox afflicted with mange can be mistaken for a rabid fox due to its sickly appearance and apparent lack of fear. Animals afflicted with mange try to maintain their body temperature and look for warm places to find. Death can result from a variety of causes, including starvation and hypothermia.

Foxes need an intact winter coat to survive the extremes of winter weather, but the mites prefer skin with little hair. As the condition worsens and more hair is lost, the mites eventually take over the animal’s entire body.

Mange is a treatable condition. If you see a fox that you suspect is infected, contact a local wildlife carer.

What should I do if my pet is bitten by a fox?

Take any pet bitten by a wild animal to your veterinarian immediately for an evaluation and an assessment of the need for vaccination. Contact your local animal welfare agency or health department and follow applicable state laws or local ordinances for monitoring your pet at home or at a veterinary clinic.

What should I do if I’ve been bitten by a fox?

Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately. Immediate medical attention will prevent rabies infection. Be sure to report the bite to your local animal welfare, police department, or health authority.

Using essential oils for the garden can be a great natural way to treat bugs and bugs!

By choosing not to use toxic chemical-based products, we avoid polluting our beautiful planet – which is not to like!

Essential oils have a variety of health, beauty, and around the home uses, but they’re also very useful in the garden. Plants and flowers produce essential oils specifically as a self-defense mechanism against potential predators — tiny oil-producing glands in the leaves to prevent insects from eating the plant alive.

You probably already have some of the insect repellent essential oils you need, so here are a few tips on how to use them to protect yourself from an enemy invasion.

insect repellent

Rosemary oil is a powerful repellent for many insects, including flies, fleas, and mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes & Mosquitoes

Citronella, eucalyptus-lemon, lemongrass or thyme – thyme essential oil has a 91% protection rate against female mosquitoes! Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Patchouli, and Spearmint essential oils can be blended with these to create a natural repellent that can be used to repel a variety of stinging, flying insects

Don’t use lavender oil or you’ll get unwanted attention from bees and wasps!

ants

15 drops of peppermint to 25 ml of water in a trigger spray. Shake the bottle vigorously, then spray a line of defense wherever you see a line of them heading towards you.

Spiders & Bugs

Lemon scented essential oils are good and I even rub a lemon juice around windows and door frames to keep them out. White thyme, peppermint and eucalyptus globulus oils also work.

Flies & Moths

I light citronella candles, oil diffusers, or joss sticks early in the morning and evening during the summer to keep them out of the house or away from us when we eat in the garden. If you’re on a picnic, try soaking a handkerchief in some oil and leaving it near the food to act as a deterrent.

You can mix essential oil into a carrier lotion or oil and rub it on your skin to repel insects – 1 drop of essential oil in every 5ml of lotion, but remember natural insect repellents are not as strong as chemical versions so you can use them each time need to reapply 3 hours.

ticks

Rose geranium – chose Pelargonium capitatum x radens and not Pelargonium graveolens – most essential oils need to be diluted, but rose geranium does not fall into this category when used in small doses

So since you only need a few drops to get the job done, a small amount will definitely do the trick. Put a drop on each ankle and on the wrists, then behind the knees and one on the back of the neck, that’s all you need to do the trick.

You can also use it on your dog, but since they are extremely sensitive to smells, use it sparingly. A drop behind each shoulder blade and at the tip of the tail base. Be sure to avoid your face and nose.

Other essential oils like lavender, lemongrass, citronella, pine, eucalyptus, and cedarwood have also been shown to help repel ticks. Please check the specific instructions before use to ensure safety for dilution purposes.

Whatever scent you use, be careful and remember to check yourself from head to toe after returning from a summer walk in a tick-infested area.

Bites & Stings

Mix 2 drops of lavender oil, 2 drops of chamomile and 1 drop of basil essential oil with a teaspoon of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) – apply to fresh bites and stings with a cotton ball or pad.

Alternatively, substitute jojoba oil in place of ACV – clean the bite and surrounding area with ACV, pat dry and apply the oil-soaked cotton ball or pad.

mice and other rodents

Cotton balls with 1-2 drops of peppermint oil in the entrances of mouse holes, squirrel nests, etc. should encourage them to change clothes.

Snails & Snails

Cedarwood, hyssop, and pine are the best essential oils for keeping snails and snails away from your plants. Mix about a teaspoon of the selected oils in a spray bottle filled with water. Apply diluted oil in a ring around plants that snails like to visit. Update as needed. I also use crushed egg shells, coffee grounds, gravel and pick snails and drive them to a wooded area across a highway! They are said to be able to find their way home from up to 5 miles away.

Mushroom

(black spots on roses, powdery mildew, etc.)

Tea Tree Oil – is a powerful, natural fungicide. Mix 1 tablespoon of tea tree oil in 250ml of water in a spray bottle to treat or prevent existing fungal growth, but avoid spraying leaves in hot weather as sun-heated oil burns the leaves. Apply directly to infected plants once or twice a week.

Fungi are the cause of around 85% of all plant diseases and can quickly become a major problem if left untreated.

aphids

Lavender oil is most effective at keeping aphids away, so plant lavender and garlic near plants that are commonly affected or spray the plant – 5 to 10 drops of lavender oil in a spray bottle and fill with water

Cats, Dogs & Foxes

Lemon juice sprinkled on top is a great deterrent for foxes, cats, and dogs, but if your own cats know you’re marking their territory and don’t take the cue, spray your mulch with rosemary oil diluted in water to keep unwanted presents in to avoid in your vegetable patch.

Alternatively, add a few drops of rosemary oil to a wide, shallow container partially filled with water. Beat vigorously to break up oil droplets, then drop into strips of cloth or string. Let them soak long enough to absorb all of the oil. Tie string between plants or around the garden. Hang strips of fabric between garden rows, around plants, or anywhere you know cats enjoy digging. Update as needed.

Dogs hate pepper oil – use the same thread/cloth method as above but use sparingly and with caution as it may work or even turn people off!!

BUT PLEASE NOTE:

Some essential oils should be avoided when you or your pets are pregnant – peppermint is one of them.

Some essential oils are known to be toxic to cats. Therefore, use with caution when misting areas and plants where they reside with the following oils: Peppermint, Oregano, Clove, Sage, Citrus Oils, Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, Cinnamon (Cassia), Wintergreen, Thyme, Birch, Bergamot, pine, spruce and all other phenolic oils.

Just make sure they are indoors or not sleeping under a bush until the sprayed area dries.

Not all essential oils are recommended for animals, especially cats and horses. Consult your veterinarian before using essential oils on pets.

Written by Maggi M.

Illustration and photo by Suzie H.

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A garden lover on TikTok shared an imaginative orange peel hack that’s perfect for getting rid of pests. One of the biggest problems for anyone with a green thumb is knowing how to get rid of slugs and other common pests like aphids and mosquitoes.

Household brand WD-40 (opens in new tab) brought this inexpensive and eco-friendly garden maintenance trick to our attention. Not only does it keep unwanted visitors out of your vegetable patch, but it costs next to nothing and uses no harsh chemicals.

(Credit: Alamy)

Orange Peel Pest Hack

Avid gardeners will know how frustrating it is when bugs and other wildlife take advantage of plants, from hostas and dahlias to lettuce. @TheAshtonHomestead (opens in new tab) recommends shredding up leftover orange peels and scattering them over your planters to discourage pesky visitors.

“No matter how hard we try to be proactive in our garden, pests will always be around,” says the TikTok gardener. This natural hack will help you repel pests without spending money on repellants and pesticides.

According to The Ashton Homestead, orange peels contain a natural insecticide called d-limonene, which repels everything from slugs, ants and fruit flies to dogs and foxes. The smell of citrus will deter them and give you pest-free plants (almost) for free.

Leftover orange peel isn’t the only thing that can come in handy in your kitchen to deter pests. You can also use cinnamon powder (or cinnamon leaf essential oil) which kills ants if you are looking for tips on how to get rid of ants.

If your yard is being overrun by squirrels, a simple tip on how to get rid of squirrels is to grow a pot of highly scented mint, as they hate the smell.

Calum Maddock is the HomeHow Gardening Expert (opens in a new tab). We asked him what he thought of the orange peel pest hack, and he pointed out that while it works to repel and reduce insect pests, it “also repels the good bugs that naturally attack aphids and other pests.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images / Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography)

So it pays to be aware of it and use it selectively. As an alternative, Calum recommends planting marigolds instead, which also contain limonene.

Will you try this hack?

Summary: Aside from turning your yard into a militarized zone, stopping a determined fox from entering is nearly impossible. Additionally, successful physical exclusion of foxes often excludes non-target mammals such as hedgehogs as well. Various repellents (chemical, physical and audible) are available and have been used with varying degrees of success; none are guaranteed to work in every situation, and some individual foxes are simply more sensitive or persistent than others. Ultimately, it’s best to find out what lures the fox into your yard and eliminate or hide the temptation. For example, if the fox invades your compost heap, you should fence it off or invest in a compost heap. If the fox is being lured into your yard by livestock or pets, you also need to make sure the animals are safely housed. Small pet housing must include a secure frame with sturdy wire (steel mesh, not chicken wire or plastic mesh) and both a secure floor or wire buried in the ground to prevent foxes from burrowing in – the most important thing is that the Door must have secure locks, not simple twist locks. Small pets – guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, mice, etc. – are most threatened by foxes when they are housed unsafely. There have been occasional reports of foxes killing cats and even small dogs, and there have been anecdotal reports that suggest attacks on cats may be increasing; but despite recent media reports suggesting otherwise, there is no evidence that foxes pose a significant threat to domestic cats or dogs.

Foxes have a volatile relationship with humans, and are the victims of so much storytelling and word of mouth that it has become difficult to separate fact from fiction — perhaps one reason why they arguably polarize public opinion more than any other wild mammal. Before we explore how we can secure our pets/livestock and make the yard a fox-free zone, it’s worth taking a moment to consider why this might be necessary.

Foxes are perfectly at home in our cities and towns and this can cause problems for people who want free range in their gardens. – Photo credit: Paul Cecil

We share our environment with many species that will take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself. Foxes that feed chickens/rabbits/guinea pigs/etc. catch fall into this category. It is our job to protect our pets from the attention of predators. A similar parallel can be drawn if you have a baby in the house. You can’t talk to the baby yet to explain that climbing the stairs is dangerous, so attach a stair gate to stop your budding explorer. You don’t assume the baby knows stairs are dangerous, and you don’t just throw a blanket at the bottom of the stairs and expect him to do the work; Baby can easily move it out of the way or climb over it. If you try something and the baby pulls through, change the barrier until it becomes impenetrable. The older your child gets, the more they learn from experience and the harder it is to keep them out of “interesting” situations. foxes are the same; intelligent animals that learn from experience. Keeping chickens in your yard when foxes are around is in many ways like childproofing your home.

So if foxes are causing problems for you or your pets, is there anything you can do about it? I’ve heard foxes have endless patience and it’s impossible to keep them away from your pets/livestock. You are certainly patient, resourceful even, but it is possible to take steps to keep your animals safe and make your yard less attractive to them.

Necessity knows no law

A fox cage trap. Many people dislike having foxes in their neighborhoods and would like them removed. In urban areas, this often takes the form of urging pest controllers to “put it back in the country where it belongs”. – Photo credit: Marc Baldwin

The first point to be addressed is the legality of fox control. There are no specific laws preventing the killing of foxes. However, there are sections of existing legislation that govern how inspections may be conducted and what materials may be used. Several general laws, including the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the Wild Mammal (Protection) Act 1996, prohibit causing “unnecessary suffering” to an animal. I won’t go into the details of each act here (follow the links for the full text), but the gist is that it is currently illegal to gas, poison, stab, impale, beat, burn, to crush, stone, pull or choke/choke foxes in the UK.

It is also illegal to catch foxes in all but free-running traps. In addition, there are several conditions related to the use of slings (notably that they must be checked at least every 24 hours) and it seems unlikely that these conditions can be met in urban areas. The main problem with snares is that they are random. A 1968 trial conducted by the Department of Agriculture found that 155 foxes and 132 non-target animals, including domestic animals, wild cats, badgers, otters, rabbits, birds and deer, were snared.

In his 1980 book The Red Fox, Huw Gwyn Lloyd recounted how some farmers recommended spraying strong-smelling chemicals – turpentine, diesel, creosote, paraffin, etc. – to repel foxes, but there was little evidence of their effectiveness and these days its use is illegal, leading to a fine if caught. If you want to use chemical repellents, they must be certified. Repellents currently certified for use as fox repellents include Scoot, Get Off My Garden, and Wash and Get Off – repellents like these often contain pungent-smelling compounds like citronella oil and methyl nonyl ketone, which are designed to disrupt a visiting fox’s scent map ‘.

Some older texts describe the use of a tar-like repellent, similar to the wood preservative creosote called Renardine (colloquially known as “fox oil”), introduced in 1896 and used to exclude foxes, cats, moles and even badgers. However, in March 2003, the Department of Agriculture banned the sale, storage and advertising of Renardine. A certain amount of leeway has been allowed to allow stocks already purchased to be “used up”; but as of June 30, 2005, it is illegal to buy or use Renardine.

gone shooting

Lethal control, namely hiring a pest controller to remove the fox, is a potential solution to the fox disorder problem. Some individual foxes appear to be more pet/livestock interested and persistent than others and there is no doubt that trapping can be beneficial in removing such ‘problem individuals’. Those who resist deadly control have occasionally demanded that the fox be captured and released elsewhere – “elsewhere,” which is often translated as “back to the country where it belongs.” However, contrary to popular belief, this is not a practical solution. Foxes are territorial and there is a large source population. In other words, if you catch one and relocate it, there’s a good chance you’ll release it into another fox’s territory. Even if it is possible to avoid a confrontation with the owner, depending on the distance, the released animal can simply return to its territory; only to find that it has been taken over by another fox. (As such, sanctuaries always aim to release rehabilitated foxes as quickly as possible, as close to where they were caught.)

Shooting is probably the most common fox control method in the UK. Claims are often made of his humanity, suggesting that wounded foxes “sneak away to die of gangrene” but are not supported by the evidence. – Photo credit: Marc Baldwin

Consequently, the Abandonment of Animals Act (1960), which makes it illegal to leave an animal in a situation where it is unlikely to survive, arguably prohibits relocation of foxes unless arrangements are made for their welfare . Ultimately, if no one is willing to properly translocate the fox for you (i.e. keep it in a pre-release enclosure in the new area for a week or two, followed by providing post-release food), any captive fox will have to likely do be shipped from pest controllers. For this reason it is always advisable to use a licensed operator (check with the British Pest Control Association if you are unsure – see links at the bottom of this article).

The use of firearms of sufficient caliber to kill a fox (an airgun will not suffice) is strictly regulated, particularly in urban areas, and attempting it yourself is strongly discouraged. In rural areas, away from crowds, shooting with a medium-caliber weapon and using a “long dog” to ensure wounded animals do not escape can be effective in reducing local predation of livestock or increasing colonies of breeding birds protection .

Before we leave the subject of lethal control, it’s important to note that removing a fox or foxes from your yard does not help “keep the local fox population low” (see QA) and the available data suggests that a killed fox is likely to be replaced by animals from the area within about two weeks. This immigration also means that the removal of one fox may only provide a temporary respite before another arrives. Indeed, while studying fox visits to a commercial pig farm in Western Australia, Patricia Fleming and her colleagues found:

“Despite one culling of nine foxes by the farm manager during the period we monitored (December 5, 2014), there was no noticeable impact on the rate of on-camera fox-trapping events. Intermittent fox hunts may only offer a short-term solution to reducing fox numbers, particularly when there are no coordinated control efforts on neighboring properties.”

After all, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to arrange and pay for a move. Foxes are not legally considered vermin and therefore municipalities are not required to provide a control service for them. Costs vary depending on location and company you employ, but a spontaneous vox populi of some of my local pest control companies in 2015 suggested an average of between £100 and £150 for the removal of a single fox.

take my country

Foxes are skilled climbers, and sharp claws allow them to climb up meshes to gain access to open runs. – Credit: Mike Towler

Foxes are medium-sized carnivores that are reasonably good at digging and quite capable of climbing a six-foot fence from a standing position; Larger fences can easily be climbed if handy props (such as trash cans) are nearby to give a boost. Foxes also have strong, sharp claws that allow them to climb wire netting with ease. Consequently, keeping foxes out of your yard altogether (equivalent to trying to keep a cat out) is not an easy or straightforward task, and it is important to understand this from the start. Indeed, as Trevor Williams and Andrew Wilson put it in their 2000 pamphlet Unearthing the Urban Fox:

“Let us state categorically that nothing you can do except build a fort will create a permanent fox-free zone.”

Bristol University biologists Stephen Harris and Phil Baker agree in their 2001 book Urban Foxes, pointing out that it is “virtually impossible to prevent foxes from entering in the first place”. The fact that you may not be able to completely exclude foxes from your yard does not mean that you can’t make your yard less attractive to them, which should at least reduce foxes’ dwell time. In his book My Friends the Foxes, veteran fox rehabilitator Mike Towler states that foxes become uncomfortable with any change in their environment:

“[My wife] loves potted plants. Inside and outside, they are everywhere. She bought a new one – a fine, blue-glazed pot the size of a football – and set it on the bench opposite the kitchen window. Just one of many. But that was at the time [one of my native foxes] had a habit of coming over there to look in the kitchen for me. It scared her. She refused to go near him. “It’s just a pot,” I said to her and knocked on it. She bounced back like I was playing with an unexploded bomb. It was months before she stopped worrying about it. But it shows how much foxes resent change. One way to deter foxes is to move the garden ornaments from time to time.”

Foxes may well be neophobic (i.e. suspicious of new objects); but in my experience this is only temporary. sometimes just a few minutes. I’ve never observed anything as extreme as Mike says, and the science of the fox as an invasive species supports this view – presumably, like humans, neophobia is an individual response and varies from fox to fox. Regardless, regularly rearranging garden ornaments is one example of a group of potential deterrents that I classify as “home remedies.” The category also contains some slightly “weird” suggestions and I don’t want to devote much time to them; not least because few are really promising. However, there are two that need further consideration: the use of radios and putting out foxes with unpleasant-tasting food.

In the late 1990s, a chance conversation between Dave Wheeler, of the Abbotsbury Swannery flock of swans, and a Devon farmer brought to light the potential of loud human voices as a potential deterrent to foxes. Apparently, this Dutch farmer had successfully kept the local foxes away from his chicken prank when he accidentally left Radio 4 on one night. The Swannery now routinely uses this to discourage foxes from crossing the border to their Dorset location. Of particular note, both the farmer and the Swannery have found that only radio talk shows, presumably tricking the foxes into thinking people are around, seem to work—making music is apparently much less effective. I am not aware that any scientific studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of radiotelephony on fox behavior, but recent research in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California suggests that even moderate human voices can deter large and medium-sized carnivores.

Evidence from anecdotal evidence suggests that the sound of human voices can be enough to keep foxes off a property, raising the possibility that talk radio stations could be used as a deterrent in some situations. – Photo credit: Arul Irudayam (CC BY-ND 2.0)

I have read several accounts of people who have put pieces of chicken in front of their coop with very hot marinade (Tabasco, Chili, Mustard etc.) and found the fox took one and never came back. In fact, in a blog post for Permaculture magazine, sustainable farmer Tim Green explained:

“One ancient method exploited the predictable nature of foxes [sic]. If El Zorro has raided your chicken coop [sic] and killed more than one bird, you can guarantee that he will come back for the bodies. The trick used to be to generously coat the dead chicken(s) with powdered mustard, and the fox soon realizes he doesn’t like chicken anymore. As a more modern alternative, I find Tabasco sauce to be particularly powerful.”

The association of an unpleasant taste or a reaction to a specific action is called conditioned taste aversion and takes place in the brainstem medulla. In a 2004 article for Animal Welfare magazine, David Macdonald and Sandra Baker found that three hand-reared orphaned fox cubs were less likely to taste a bowl of milk after they were presented with milk containing a bitter-tasting chemical (denatonium benzoate, im Known commercially as Bitrex), although development of this reaction required fairly high concentrations of the chemical in the milk (4,000 parts per million or 0.4% solution). Taste aversion has also been tested in Australia, where foxes are significant predators of native wildlife.

Coating foods like chicken and fruit in strong-tasting spices like chili or curry powder can discourage foxes from ingesting similar unspoiled items – this is called taste aversion – Photo credit: Marco Verch

The basic premise of such experiments is that a fox eats the carcass of, say, a wild bird that has been laced with an emetic (a chemical that induces vomiting) and then becomes ill. The fox learns to associate eating this bird with the unpleasant vomiting and avoids eating it in the future. This isn’t a new idea when you think about it, many ways have evolved to appear poisonous to keep it from ending up on someone’s menu, but it can be very effective if instigated properly. In fact, in July 2015, a reader from Buckinghamshire emailed me to share her success with this technique to prevent foxes from eating her strawberries. Here is her experience, published with her permission:

“Foxes raid my strawberry patch most years. Once they get a taste, they return each night to peel the plants. This year they cut through wire fences and came in and ate something. After reading your suggestion, I heavily dressed some spoiled strawberries with hot chili powder and put them on the path to the strawberry patch. A few chili-treated straws were eaten the next evening, but some remained, and although foxes had been in the vegetable section, the strawberries were untouched. No more raids since then!”

I would be very interested to hear from anyone else who has successfully used taste aversion to discourage foxes from causing problems in their yard.

If such “home remedies” don’t work for you, the methods available to you can be roughly divided into three groups: chemical repellents; audible or other motion-activated devices; and electric fences or netting.

chemical repellents

Despite the opinion of H. Gwyn Lloyd in The Red Fox that brands of repellents are “of dubious effectiveness”, recent authors have recommended them as a means of repelling foxes. The following is a summary and the reader is referred to Trevor Williams, leader of the Fox Project, and former fox researcher Andy Wilson’s excellent book Unearthing the Urban Fox, which covers all fox control options in detail.

soil under sheds

Williams and Wilson point out that in London about 75% of fox soils are under garden sheds, other preferred locations are brambles, under building foundations or in derelict buildings. They also note that an adult fox can easily pass through a 12 cm (5 in) diameter hole, while Mike Towler described how one of the vixens he was rehabilitating passed through an 8 cm x 10 cm (3 x 4 inch) large hole that she had bitten into with her pen’s web, which means even innocuous-looking holes must be carefully blocked to prevent intrusion. In their book Urban Foxes, Stephen Harris and Phil Baker explain that the best way to remove a fox from under your shed or building is to soak straw or rags in a deterrent and use it to loosely block all entry and exit holes. The fox will invariably remove the obstacle, but simply replace it and carry on.

Fox cubs emerging from their earth under a shed. Sheds and summer houses are favorite outbuildings for foxes to build soil under, especially in urban areas. – Credit: Dottie Dowling

If the clog hasn’t been removed for two days, you can be sure the foxes have moved out, and you can permanently seal the hole with rocks, brick, plate, or wire. It’s important not to seal the hole beforehand, otherwise you could bury the foxes, which would likely result in them suffocating or starving – not only is this illegal under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act, but it would also damage the bodies left to decompose on site. Blocking the hole should be done quickly; A disused earth can be inhabited again within 14 days if it remains accessible. Foxes give birth in the spring and a female vixen will start looking for a birth soil (cube) well in advance, so it is important that all holes are plugged by the end of January at the latest.

Lawn pollution and ditch

It’s important to remember that foxes are very seasonal animals and the fact that you have foxes in your yard now doesn’t mean they will be there in a few weeks/months. The disorder is not necessarily permanent. In fact, many disturbances are confined to the summer months because they are caused by the young’s play; Most will be independent by the end of their first year and many will have moved away to find territory of their own.

Chemical repellents are available online and at most garden/ hardware stores. Application to entry/exit points, disturbance zones such as burrows, and droppings can be successful in deterring the fox. – Photo credit: Marc Baldwin

Foxes are territorial and use feces (feces) to mark their territory and items within it. Feces are often deposited on or near conspicuous objects (shoes, flower pots, rocks, etc.) where they are likely to draw the most attention. Removing the poo will only result in more being left behind, usually the following night, and so the problem needs to be addressed. Soaking a small amount of sand or sawdust in a chemical repellent and placing it next to the feces or applying it directly to the feces if using a spray applicator is recommended.

Digging in lawns and flower beds is another form of disturbance reported frequently to the Fox Project. Williams and Wilson note that foxes can smell food, and sadly this can include deceased pets buried up to 45 cm underground; They also often dig shallow holes or scratches while searching for invertebrate prey. As with fouling, the authors recommend soaking a small amount of sand in repellent and placing it in the scraper, or spraying a repellent directly onto the soil to be fouled. If there are children in the garden you can purchase specific disinfectants (e.g. PX Parvo – see Fox Solutions in the links below) for use in fox infested areas. When digging in flower beds, sand or repellent granules soaked in repellent can be sprinkled directly on the affected area.

So how do chemical repellents work? Much of fox communication is accomplished with scent, applied in the form of a strong-smelling liquid to feces from paired anal sacs, one lying on either side of the anus. Most chemical repellents contain either the strong-smelling salt aluminum ammonium sulfate or the citronella-scented carbonyl methyl nonyl ketone; both aim to overpower the animal’s own scent by introducing confusing odors that appear to have a disturbing effect on the fox. It’s worth noting that studies by Andy Wilson have found that chemical repellents are less effective in late summer because the young are less territorial than their parents and the smell of repellents is so much less bothersome.

Mr. Wilson also found that repellents were usually ineffective in preventing livestock losses, presumably because the sight of prey overpowers the scent of the repellent, and that subordinate and roving foxes (no fixed territory) behave differently than dominant animals, affecting their response can affect repellents. Overall, however, The Fox Project has found that chemical repellents are a useful method of deterrence, and Williams and Wilson state in their book that consistent and appropriate use of repellents usually discourages the dominant animals from using the garden, but they do stays in the area (i.e. just shifts their habitat use), which is important because by staying in the area, they prevent new animals from moving in.

It is possible to purchase the droppings of large carnivores such as lions, which are said to deter smaller carnivores. I am not aware of any evidence that this is an effective deterrent to foxes. – Photo credit: Marc Baldwin

Chemical repellents can be in the form of other strong-smelling compounds. Some companies sell predator dung (especially lion dung) which they claim can be used in a garden to deter various predators, including foxes, although to my knowledge there are no studies showing its effectiveness. Some people have recommended a free chemical repellent that seems to work well for repelling badgers and foxes: human male urine. Apparently urinating at the perturbations or at entry and exit points can discourage the animals from entering the garden – just as we would presumably avoid using the stairwell of the local car park!

Predator scents are known to deter prey (for example, fox urine will deter rabbits, while coyote urine is widely sold as a repellent), although they tend to be less successful at deterring predators. I’ve read testimonials that suggest (male) human urine is very effective, while others have commented that it made no difference. Again, this probably reflects both the biochemical profile of the urine donor, probably even its diet, and the individual response of local foxes to repellents.

Acoustic, visual and motion sensitive defenses

As with chemical repellents, many of these devices work by exploiting a fox’s senses or behavior, and their success is equally subject to variation in individual fox determination. In his 2002 book Living with Urban Wildlife, ex-pest exterminator John Bryant recommends a device called the Scarecrow to repel foxes. The Scarecrow is a jet of water triggered by an infrared sensor that reacts to objects up to 11 m (35 ft) away – when triggered by motion, it fires a three-second jet of cold water from its sprinkler head . Mr Bryant explains that he “found it deterred foxes, which have defied all other repellents,” but points out that it can be triggered by any movement, including cats, dogs and plants swaying in the wind to weigh.

A fox in a flower bed. – Photo credit: Clive Peters

As part of the Foxes Live programme, broadcast on Channel 4 in May 2012, a waterjet deterrent was set up to prevent foxes from digging in a lady’s garden in Clapham, south London. Das Setup wurde mit einer ferngesteuerten Nachtkamera gefilmt und das Filmmaterial zeigte, dass sich die Füchse nach ein paar anfänglichen Schrecken, die dazu führten, dass sich ein Fuchs kurz auf die andere Seite des Gartens zurückzog, sehr schnell an das Gerät gewöhnten; Kurz nach der ersten Exposition grub einer weiter, während er besprüht wurde.

Einige Geräte verlassen sich darauf, den Fuchs physisch aus dem Garten zu vertreiben, und beinhalten die Verwendung von reflektierenden oder lichtemittierenden Objekten. Ein solches Produkt namens Nite Eyes besteht aus einer Reihe blinkender roter LED-Leuchten und soll eine Vielzahl von Arten abschrecken, von Eulen über Bären bis hin zu Pumas. (Auf der Produkt-Website gehen die Hersteller so weit zu behaupten, dass, wenn die Familie Koupparis einen besessen hätte, dieser den Angriff auf ihre Zwillinge hätte verhindern können!) Die Hersteller stellen fest, dass „das Gefühl, beobachtet zu werden, die größte Angst der Nachttiere ist“. Ich habe einige Rezensionen gelesen, die darauf hindeuten, dass das Gerät sehr effektiv sein kann, aber ich muss gestehen, dass ich Vorbehalte habe. Füchse sind keine dummen Tiere und lassen sich nicht leicht täuschen. In ähnlicher Weise scheinen die meisten Stadtfüchse wenig Probleme damit zu haben, dass Menschen sie beobachten, und ich würde bestreiten, dass beobachtet zu werden ihre „größte Angst“ ist. Auch auf der Website des Herstellers gibt es teilweise widersprüchliche Aussagen und die Bewertungen auf Amazon deuten darauf hin, dass es mindestens so oft wirkungslos ist, wie es zu wirken scheint. Ich wäre daran interessiert, von Lesern zu hören, die diese Geräte erfolgreich zur Abschreckung von Füchsen eingesetzt haben.

Neben chemischen und visuellen Abwehrmitteln sind mehrere akustische Abwehrmittel erhältlich. Mehrere Unternehmen vermarkten Ultraschall-Abschreckungsmittel (d. h. zu hoch, um vom menschlichen Ohr gehört zu werden); Die allgemeine Idee ist, dass sie alle zwei Sekunden oder so für einen voreingestellten Zeitraum, nachdem das Gerät aktiviert wurde, einen Ultraschall-Sinus- oder Sirenen-ähnlichen Ton abgeben, den Füchse als unangenehm empfinden. Die Geräte werden normalerweise aktiviert, wenn Bewegung oder Körperwärme einen Passiv-Infrarot-(Nacht-)Sensor auslöst. Viele Allzweckgeräte haben einen breiten Frequenzbereich (von etwa 8 bis 40 kHz), der entsprechend dem Tier eingestellt werden kann, das Sie vertreiben möchten. Diejenigen, die speziell zur Abwehr von Katzen und Hunden entwickelt wurden, arbeiten in der Regel mit etwa 22 kHz, während die für Nagetiere zwischen 30 und 70 kHz senden. Die Einheiten sind in der Regel batteriebetrieben, mit einer Sensorreichweite von etwa 12 m (40 Fuß) und einer effektiven Entfernung von etwa 18 m (60 Fuß) (d. h. schließt Tiere aus einem Bereich aus).

Ultraschallabwehrmittel sind ein beliebtes Mittel, um Füchse und andere Arten davon abzuhalten, Gärten zu betreten. Sie sind jedoch in ihrer Wirksamkeit höchst unvorhersehbar. Ich habe Fotos von Füchsen gesehen, die Detektoren schnüffeln und versuchen herauszufinden, was sie sind, und hier hat ein Fuchs dieses funktionierende Abwehrmittel mit einem Duft markiert. – Bildnachweis: Martin C

Ein weit verbreitetes Ultraschallgerät, das speziell auf die Abschreckung von Füchsen abzielt, ist die FOXWatch-Einheit, die von Concept Research in Großbritannien hergestellt wird. Die Produktwebsite macht einige beeindruckende Behauptungen, darunter: „Nach der größten Studie dieser Art, die jemals in Großbritannien durchgeführt wurde, ist FOXWatch jetzt das einzige Fuchsabwehrmittel, das wissenschaftlich getestet und empfohlen wird“. Leider sind zum Zeitpunkt des Verfassens dieses Artikels mehrere Anfragen nach Details der Forschung (Zitate wissenschaftlicher Arbeiten, Einzelheiten zu Berichten, kooperative Organisationen usw.) von Concept Research nicht erfüllt worden, sodass ich mich nicht zu den wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen äußern kann. Auch bei der Recherche in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur habe ich eine Lücke gezogen. Tatsächlich scheinen nur sehr wenige Studien über die Hörreaktionen von Füchsen überhaupt veröffentlicht worden zu sein, geschweige denn im Zusammenhang mit der Entwicklung von Abwehrmitteln.

Concept Research ließ sein Ultraschall-Katzenabwehrmittel (Catwatch) von einem Team von RSPB-Biologen unter der Leitung von Sarah Nelson testen, und die Ergebnisse wurden 2006 in einem Artikel für die Zeitschrift Applied Animal Behavior Science veröffentlicht. Die Daten zeigen, dass das Gerät a „mäßige Abschreckungswirkung“, wodurch sowohl die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass eine Katze in den Garten kommt, als auch die Zeit, die die Katze dort verbringen würde, wenn sie sich hineinwagt, verringert wird. Nelson und ihre Kollegen fanden heraus, dass aktive Geräte währenddessen etwa 4 % effektiver waren als behinderte In den ersten neun Wochen der Studie und zwischen der zehnten und achtzehnten Woche der Studie reduzierten aktive Geräte die Wahrscheinlichkeit eines Katzenbesuchs um etwa 30 %. Wie bei den meisten Abwehrmitteln habe ich gemischte Rezensionen über die Wirksamkeit von FOXWatch gelesen, würde aber gerne von Lesern hören, die es für wirksam befunden haben.

Insgesamt sind die Studien, die mit Ultraschall-Repellents durchgeführt wurden, gemischt. In ihrem Buch „Unearthing the Urban Fox“ beschreiben Trevor Williams und Andy Wilson, wie ihre eigenen Versuche Erfolgsraten von bis zu 80 % zeigten, obwohl sie keine Details liefern und Andys Dissertation (die während seines Studiums an der Greenwich University durchgeführt wurde) nicht veröffentlicht – Herr Williams sagte mir jedoch, dass einige der Unternehmen mit den Ergebnissen einiger ihrer Tests nicht zufrieden waren. Der Oxford Croquet Club hatte Probleme mit Füchsen, die ihr Grün gruben und verschmutzten, und probierte mehrere Abwehrmittel aus; Auf ihrer Website kommen sie zu dem Schluss:

“During experiments carried out in association with Greenwich University, we found ultrasonic devices broadly ineffective, but found a water driven gadget, called “Scarecrow”, very effective.”

Electric fencing or netting

By far the most consistently effective method of predator exclusion involves the use of electric fencing and the technique has been widely used to protect nesting bird colonies from the attentions of foxes. In February 1974, for example, a trial electric fence was erected along a leading edge of the nesting sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis) colony on the Sands of Forvie National Nature Reserve in Aberdeen (Scotland). Even though foxes were able to get around the fence at either end, Ian Patterson at the University of Aberdeen found that it was still an effective deterrent and reduced fox visits to the general area by over two-thirds. Using tracks in the sand, Patterson demonstrated that the fence turned back 60% of the foxes that approached it and reduced fox activity beyond the fence to about 16% of that before the fence was erected (overall predation was reduced by 84%) – foxes crossed the fence in only 6% of visits.

A least tern (Sterna albifrons) on a beach in New Hampshire. Electric fencing has shown great promise in protecting seabirds such as terns from predators during their nesting season. – Credit: Scott Heron

A similar study, this time at a least tern (Sterna albifrons) colony on the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts (USA) during the summer of 1978, found that, while new nests established outside of the fence were depredated (raided) by foxes, none of the foxes approached closer than three metres (10ft) to the fences, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of nests within the fenced area. In this case, even when the fence was turned off for a week, it still deterred the foxes. In his summary of the data, published in the Journal of Mammalogy during 1980, Dennis Minsky concluded that:

“…there would have been virtually no production without the fence.”

In a brief paper to the journal Mammal Review during 2002, Central Science Laboratory (CSL) biologists David Poole and Ian McKillop reviewed the effectiveness of electric netting and electric strained-wire at excluding foxes. The researchers set up the two types of fence in the enclosures of seven captive foxes and monitored how readily the animals crossed the barrier. Poole and McKillop found that one of their foxes refused to cross even the un-electrified fence and netting (presumably the same fear of novel items in their territory, or neophobia, that Mike Towler observed in his pot-fearing vixen) while the remaining six crossed it multiple times, illustrating how foxes are individuals with different responses to deterrents.

In the case of the netting, foxes pushed underneath it, pulled it down or chewed a hole in it. In the strained-wire trials the animals either pushed underneath the fence, or jumped through the upper wires where the gap was wider. None of the foxes crossed the electrified netting or fences, except during the daily maintenance checks, when the fright associated with an attendant in their enclosure was sufficient to cause them to ignore the risk and jump over. Curiously, even though the fence was easily low enough for the fox to jump over, they were only seen to do so when an attendant entered the enclosure.

An extendable electric fence system. The use of electric fencing and netting is a highly effective method of excluding foxes, but it must be deployed with care. – Credit: Marc Baldwin

The behavioural observations from the CSL experiments showed that, even though the fences prevented the foxes from crossing in most cases, the animals investigated them regularly and even after receiving a shock only stayed away for about an hour. The foxes investigated the fences with their nose, a highly innervated and sensitive part of their body, and most foxes were only shocked once; one was shocked twice, but none took more than two shocks to get the message. More recently, in his mammal round-up published in the February 2017 issue of British Wildlife, mammologist Gordon Woodroffe wrote:

“It was refreshing to learn that The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) has been working with the Kilcormac Gun Club in a joint project to test the efficacy of electric poultry netting at pheasant pens as an additional deterrent to predators, including [pine martens]. Kevin Sadler, a member of the Gun Club, reported the results of his study and presented video footage clearly showing both martens and Foxes Vulpes vulpes detecting the live current and quickly leaving the area of the pen. No pheasants were lost to predators between the months of June and September when electric netting was in use.”

Popular electric fence arrangements. These typically consist of a low-level electric fence to discourage foxes from digging beneath a sturdy unelectrified fence. An alternative would be to substitute the unelectrified fence with electrified netting. Clipart fox from Free Clipart Now. (Illustrations not to scale) – Credit: Marc Baldwin / Free Clipart Now

The downside to electric fences is that they can be expensive to erect and maintain, although electric netting is cheaper than strained-wire, and some animals can be very vulnerable to them. In his 1994 book, The Complete Fox, Les Stocker pointed out that the wire of electric fences should be placed at least 15cm (6 in.) above the ground to avoid the risk of hedgehogs coming in contact with them. (It appears that, while most animals move away after receiving a shock, hedgehogs curl up and get shock after shock until they die of exhaustion, heart failure or starvation.) Nonetheless, I know several people who use electric fences to successfully exclude foxes from their property.

Arguably, electric fencing is only cost-effective for large areas, but it can be included in the design of animal housing (especially chicken coops) to add additional fox-proofing. See the diagrams below for some of the most popular configurations of electric fencing.

An electrified fence is basically an open circuit. When an animal touches the fence, it provides a pathway from the fence to the earth through which electrons travel, thereby closing the circuit. The ‘shock’ that an animal feels is a rapid muscle contraction in response to the electron flow. Animal fur is a poor electrical conductor and can insulate them against shocks delivered by electric fences if the voltage is set too low. Consequently, fences operate at a relatively high voltage, commonly between 4,000 and 5,000 volts, capable of overcoming the resistance of the fur. Note that, if you install an electric fence, you will need to strim around the bottom regularly to prevent grass or other vegetation short circuiting it.

For standard, non-electric fencing, it is possible to purchase “prickle” and “brickle” strips that line the tops of fences and walls, respectively, to deter animals climbing over them. More recently a system designed to keep cats in their owner’s garden was brought to my attention and I suspect it offer similar promise for keeping foxes out. Designed by Australian film-maker Paul Bok in 2006, the Oscillot System consists of a series of four-bladed aluminium paddles that are mounted on the top of fences. When an animal tries to jump up the fence, its paws land on the paddle, which spins, preventing the intruder gaining traction and causing them to fall to the ground. Combining prickle/brickle/Oscillot strips with chemical repellents applied to any entrance and exit holes in the garden, as well as to ‘take-off’ or ‘landing’ sites, probably provides the best opportunity to prevent foxes getting in.

Guardian animals

Finally, in terms of physical repellents, there has been a recent increase in people using so-called “guardian animals” to reduce or entirely prevent foxes taking livestock. A farm near Ruthin in north Wales made the news in late 2010 when they brought in a pair of alpacas (Vicugna pacos), a domesticated camel originating from South America, to protect their free-range chickens from foxes. At the time, this caused quite a stir, but the idea of using one livestock species to protect another wasn’t a new phenomenon. Indeed, Texas Department of Agriculture biologists Murray Walton and Andy Field presented on the use of donkeys to successfully guard sheep and goats from coyotes on 17 ranches to the Eastern Wildlife Damage Control Conference in 1989.

Orange Agricultural Institute biologist David Jenkins was probably the first to suggest that alpacas, with their strong herding instincts, could be useful at guarding livestock, in his 2003 book Guard Animals for Livestock Protection. Subsequently, in May 2004, Jo Bell of Animal Liberation made a submission to Australia’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Committee regarding the impact of pest animals on agriculture, in which she noted how:

An alpaca on a farm in the New Forest. These “guardian animals” have proven an effective, non-lethal fox deterrent. – Credit: Marc Baldwin

“Putting two mature alpaca wethers in with ewes a few weeks before lambing and leaving them there until weaning, can solve the problem of lamb losses to foxes. Farmers have observed alpacas and llamas chasing foxes away.”

and that:

“Farmers using these animals report an improved lambing rate from 80% to more than 120%. Alpacas and Llamas are also used to protect goats, poultry and even cows when they are calving.”

In a 2005 paper to the Extension Farming Systems Journal, Sara Mahoney and Allan Charry reported that the presence of alpacas in a sheep flock on their experimental farms in New South Wales increased the weaning rate of lambs by about 13% relative to those enclosures without them.

It’s not just alpaca that make good guard animals. So too do some dog breeds; Maremma sheepdogs and Anatolian Shepherd dogs, in particular. A considerable amount of research into this area has been carried out by Australia National University wildlife biologist Linda van Bommel and Chris Johnson at the James Cook University. In a paper to Wildlife Research in 2012, van Bommel and Johnson present the results of a survey of 150 farmers using livestock guardian dogs (LGD). The data show almost 66% of farmers reported that predation ceased altogether once the dogs were on duty, while a further 30% said they’d lost fewer animals to foxes or dingoes. The dogs were effective at protecting a range of livestock, including cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry and even rabbits. Obviously, there are costs associated with buying and keeping the dogs, but the authors concluded that:

“The cost of purchasing and maintaining a LGD was usually fully offset by the values of stock saved within 1–3 years of the LGD becoming fully effective. On average, after a year of training a dog, costs were returned within a year for sheep and lambs, within 2 years for cattle and within 3 years for poultry and goats.”

In her 2010 book, Guardian Dogs: Best Practice Manual for the use of Livestock Guardian Dogs, van Bommel notes that not only did Anatolian Shepherd dogs eliminate fox predation in a flock of 20,000 free-range chickens, but by significantly reducing or eliminating fox visits, their presence resulted in more relaxed chickens that produced more eggs.

A Maremma sheepdog on duty in Italy. – Credit: MGerety / WikiMedia Commons

As touched on at the start of the section, donkeys have been used to successfully deter canid predators (typically coyotes, but also foxes) from goat and sheep paddocks and, according to Jenkins’ book, their use is increasingly common in the US and Canada. There are several studies suggesting donkeys are broadly effective at reducing livestock predation, although their record appears more variable than for alpacas or dogs. Jenkins suggests this may be largely a reflection of unrealistic expectations or inappropriate training/management by livestock producers. Domestic geese breeds have also been used as guardian animals, although I’m not aware of any formal studies on their effectiveness. Furthermore, geese are can be more difficult to manage than either alpaca or dogs, sometimes being relentlessly aggressive towards people as well as predators, and foxes have been known to kill both wild and domestic varieties. Nonetheless, it appears certain breeds can make an effective fox deterrent.

Overall, the use of certain guardian species, particularly dogs and alpacas, seem a largely viable and cost-effective method of reducing, often eliminating, livestock losses to foxes in commercial situations. Their deployment removes the requirement to use poison (illegal in the UK but widely employed in the US and Australia) or exercise similarly expensive and continual fox shooting programmes.

Rules of attraction

Generally-speaking, all deterrents should be used in conjunction with some common sense actions to remove or disguise whatever it is that attracts the fox to your garden in the first place. Foxes are attracted to garden ponds to drink (consider putting netting over them at night), to bird tables where food has been left out (clear away any leftover food), to compost heaps searching for insects and rodents (consider fencing the heap, or using a compost bin), to lawns looking for insects (if you use a lawn fertilizer and it contains fishmeal or bonemeal, consider swapping it for one that doesn’t, or apply a repellent) and to gardens with trees looking for windfall fruit or berries (gather windfall and store it away). If shoes are being stolen from the garden, tidy them away – the same applies to any litter that may be an attraction.

Ponds can be an important source of freshwater for animals and can attract foxes to your garden. Using a repellent in the pond isn’t possible, so perhaps consider placing some netting over it at night or, if practical, fencing it off. Similarly, compost heaps can be fenced or replaced with plastic compost bins (above, right). – Credit: Paul Cecil / Marc Baldwin

Feeding foxes

I have heard it said many times that urban foxes thrive on our waste and that the introduction of ‘fox-proof’ wheelie bins by many local councils has meant that our urban foxes are starving. This, apparently, explains why foxes are growing bolder and are more frequently seen in gardens. I have said this before on the site, but it is an important point so I will reiterate it here: yes, foxes will take advantage of our rubbish if presented with the opportunity, but foxes do not depend on bin scavenge. Moreover, there are no data to suggest that the implementation of wheelie bins has had any impact on the health or behaviour of foxes living in our towns and cities.

The biologists at Bristol University’s Mammal Research Unit (MRU) are quick to point out that foxes scavenge from bins far less than people tend to assume, and that foxes are often assumed culprits of knocked-over bins or torn bin bags, based on an expectation of their nature. The culprit may be far from obvious, however, given that cats, dogs, rats, mice, badgers and ground-feeding birds, especially corvids, will also break into rubbish sacks. Interestingly, one survey by the MRU found that so much food was deliberately provided for foxes by householders in the city that they had no need to look anywhere else to meet their daily energy requirements. Indeed, if your neighbours feed the local foxes, it might be worth assessing how much they are putting out. Studies by the MRU suggest there is a tendency to put out far more food than is necessary; this certainly ties in with my experience of people feeding ‘their’ foxes.

In some urban areas, food put out by householders may surpass the nutritional needs of the territory holder, resulting in territorial changes. – Credit: Marc Baldwin

The problem with putting out a lot of food is that it alters the foxes’ behaviour – specifically it has the effect of concentrating their activity and, hence, any disturbance they may cause and recent work by Jo Dorning and Stephen Harris at Bristol suggests it affects female more than male behaviour. When bountiful food is provided, two things initially happen.

Firstly, the foxes tend to move around less; they don’t need to cover as much ground to get their daily ‘rations’, and this gives them more time to relax and play in and around the garden. Secondly, they start caching surplus food for later retrieval; some will be buried in the garden in which they’re being fed, but more will end up in neighbouring gardens. Over a longer timescale, if food provision remains high, the foxes may reduce the size of their territories and this can lead to more foxes in the area. When food is abundant there is also often less pressure for cubs to disperse, resulting in an increase in family group size.

Everyone has their opinion on the right, and wrong, way to feed foxes; in the end, it’s likely to vary based on the fox(es) you’re feeding, where you live, and how tolerant your neighbours are of wildlife. In my experience, a couple of handfuls of peanuts or dog biscuits sprinkled around the garden every few days will keep the fox occupied long enough to get a decent view and probably some photos without having any significant impact on its normal foraging behaviour.

Always a fox?

There is no doubt that one substantial attraction for foxes is livestock and they have a bad reputation for killing small pets and fowl. The kill itself is seldom witnessed and assumptions are often made. It is worth remembering, particularly in an age of ‘fake news’, that things are not always as they appear. Let’s be clear, foxes will take chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs and most other small pets if the opportunity presents itself. They may also attack cats, although, contrary to popular tabloid headlines, such incidents appear to be rare (see QA). Before you go to the trouble and expense of purchasing repellents, however, it is worth taking the time to ensure the culprit is actually a fox.

A case in point occurred recently when some friends of my parents came home to find all the chickens in their coop, in their garden in rural Cornwall, dead. In this particular case, however, the culprit was still in the chicken run among the bodies; not a fox, but a neighbour’s Jack Russell. Had the dog found its way back out of the coop before the owners arrived home, one wonders whether the losses would’ve been attributed to a fox. I am aware of other examples where badgers, stoats, weasels and even rats have caused similar damage having gained access to a coop, and I know of at least two instances where a pet cat was attacked by a dog that had gotten into the residents’ garden in the early hours.

Battle of the Scats: The Fox Project points out that, at many of the fox deterrence calls they attend, they find the scat of geese (left) or cats (middle), rather than fox (right). – Credit: Marc Baldwin

Assuming the disturbance is caused by a fox, if one of the main attractions in your garden is other animals, whether small pets or livestock, then the attraction must be put out of reach of the fox. The easiest way to do this is to ensure they are locked away in a secure coop/run at night and, because foxes may be around during the day as well as at night, only allowed free range of the garden while you’re there to supervise. The following covers housing small pets and livestock in domestic gardens. Enclosure, fencing and guardian animals are variously practical for large domestic or commercial situation.

Securing pets and livestock

Ducks, geese, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs should be put away at night in secure hutches or cages. When thinking about what constitutes “secure”, it is exceedingly important not to underestimate how resourceful and persistent foxes can be. Hutches with simple twist closures are insufficient to prevent a fox gaining access, each door must have at least one—ideally two, one at the top and one at the bottom—bolts that latch in place. Pets should be shut away at or before twilight. Most fowl will begin to settle down for the night at twilight, and my experience suggests that it takes only a couple of days of being ushered into a hutch for the night for them to realize this is where they should sleep, although I know chickens sometimes rebel.

When choosing netting and unelectrified fencing, it is important to remember that an adult fox can easily make it through a hole 12cm (5in.) in diameter, meaning that stock fencing is no barrier at all (above, left). They can also chew through chicken wire and low gauge welded mesh – the image in the middle shows the damage to 16 gauge mesh done by a vixen while escaping from a rehabilitation pen. Consequently, a strong steel wire — such as the 3cm (1in.) diameter mesh shown on the right — is required. (Note: If you are planning on using a lower gauge wire, select a mesh size of 1.3cm x 2.5cm (0.5 x 1in.) as this will be much more difficult for a fox to get its teeth around.) – Credit: Phil Haynes (left) / Mike Towler (middle) / Marc Baldwin (right)

Securing a flock of chickens for the night is more involved than securing a pet rabbit or duck. In their book Ducks and Geese at Home, Michael and Victoria Roberts present three practical alternatives to sitting outside the chicken coop all night with a shotgun. The first, and most elaborate, method involves building a two metre (6 ft.) high wire fence around the chickens, with electric wires running around the perimeter of the fence at the top and bottom. The second method involves a two metre (6 ft.) fence with an overhang at the top, slanted out at about 45-degrees and wire at the base of the fence running out to about 60cm (2 ft.). The third method is the same as the second, but with a one metre (just over 3 ft.) plateau at the top to stop the fox climbing up and over the fence. It seems that the most important factor to remember is that foxes will dig as well as climb, so netting should be dug into the ground or laid flat on the ground around the fence to prevent the fox from digging its way under.

Fox-proof fencing: The above schematic shows probably the most popular construction for non-electrified fences to keep foxes and poultry apart. An alternative is to bury the wire at a 45-degree angle, rather than at the 90-degree angle shown above, or pave around the perimeter with the mesh running under the slabs. The need for an overhang can be eliminated and the security of the run increased by covering the top with mesh, thereby completely enclosing the residents. The ‘secret’ to a fox-proof fence is ensuring the fox cannot jump over, or dig under, it. (Illustration not to scale). – Credit: Marc Baldwin / Free Clipart Now

In her 2014 book A Family Guide to Keeping Chickens, Anne Perdeaux notes that, if the run is a permanent fixture, you can pave the floor and cover the slabs with wood shavings or hemp bedding. (Anne points out, however, that the chickens’ persistent scratching means that they may start digging themselves out of permanently sited runs, which is why people often opt for movable ones.) The wire mesh should be buried at least 30cm/12 in., and ideally 50cm/20 in., into the ground, or a secure floor (wooden, metal, paving slabs, etc.) included in the design.

In most cases, placing paving slabs around the perimeter of the enclosure, perhaps also either burying the mesh into the ground or having it run out under the slabs, is sufficient to prevent the fox digging under the fence. Ideally, to do away with lips and over-hangs, the roof of the run should be covered by mesh thus completely enclosing the residents. When thinking about what to construct your run/coop from, the frame must be either metal or treated wood (which will, over time, still rot) with sturdy fixtures.

Perhaps the most important point to remember when constructing or purchasing a house for your livestock is that chicken wire is not sufficiently strong to keep a fox out and foxes can easily bite through it – it was designed to keep chickens in, not keep predators out. Fences should be composed of strong welded mesh, the lower the gauge the better – choose 12 or 14 gauge for maximum security. How ever you construct your coop/run, it is important that you regularly check it for weak spots (signs of digging/scratching/biting, rust/rot, loose fixtures, and so forth) and repair them as they arise.

Cats can be vulnerable to fox predation, and there have been suggestions that cases have increased in recent years. I appreciate that statistics offer no comfort to someone who has lost their cat, but incidents are still thought rare and there are no data suggesting that foxes in general pose a significant to cats (see QA). Indeed, in the majority of documented accounts the two either ignore one another, or the cat chases the fox. It is obviously not possible to lock your cat away in a hutch at night, but keeping it in at night will reduce the likelihood of it encountering a fox; it may also benefit the local wildlife as cats tend to do most of their hunting in the early hours.

Foxes are intelligent and many are persistent. – Credit: Eric Ashby

Ultimately, I think it is fair to say that foxes can cause problems for people and, in order to resolve the problem, we need to employ a common sense approach. Remove or disguise, as far as possible, the temptation that draws foxes in and, where this isn’t possible, repellents and fencing can be extremely successful in addressing the problem. Remember, despite what we may think, foxes are individuals and will vary in their response to repellents; there are many different options available, so if one doesn’t work, try something else. Don’t give up, persevere and if you need step-by-step advice on building fox-proof enclosures, or on any aspect of fox deterrence, The Fox Project operates a deterrence helpline on 01892 826222.

Fox Deterrent Links

British Pest Control Association – The body representing the Pest Control industry.

The Fox Project Deterrent Helpline – Free advice on the application of repellents and pet security.

Fox Repellent Expert – Reviews of deterrents as well as blogs and FAQs on keeping foxes out of your garden.

Fox Solutions – Advice and online shop for fox deterrents and repellents.

FoxWatch Ultrasonic Deterrent

Home and About – Selling various repellents, including a spray repellent to deter foxes.

Agrisellex Electric Fencing – Information on, and sales of, electric fencing. This page contains details on the exclusion of foxes using such fences.

National Fox Welfare Society: Fox problems – Information about common fox nuisance problems and how to address them.

Check-a-Trade – A reliable, rated searchable database including various pest control companies from across the UK.

DISCLAIMER: Links are provided for the purposes of information and further research only – their inclusion here is not an endorsement of the product(s).

Foxes in the garden – what you need to know

“As Cunning as a Fox Just Appointed Professor of Stealth at Oxford University”, Blackadder Goes Forth, 1989

The humble and cunning fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a common sight in towns and gardens across Britain. Unfortunately, many now consider foxes to be dangerous animals whose only thought is to kill.

While it’s important to keep in mind that wild animals can be dangerous, foxes are generally quite docile. They will avoid confrontation unless provoked, threatened, or cornered. But that doesn’t mean they can be treated like our other domesticated four-legged friends.

Although there is a seemingly endless stream of fox horror stories out there, they do very little harm in our gardens. There may be signs of digging, a pungent odor, and a trash can on the side with trash strewn across the lawn. In most cases, however, foxes will run away from people and pets instead of brutally attacking them. Even garden pets like rabbits and guinea pigs are safe as long as the coop is well constructed and secured. Foxes may be cunning, but they also know when to give up when the trouble outweighs the reward.

Reasons why foxes make it into your yard

Foxes are intelligent animals. They have been able to continuously adapt to our ever-changing landscape and live just as happily in a sprawling urban environment as they do in the countryside. Our gardens often create a wonderland full of interesting and tasty things that are irresistible to the ever-curious fox.

If you’ve spotted foxes or signs of fox activity in your yard but can’t figure out why they like your yard, check out the list of some common fox attractants below:

There is a water source. If you have a pond, fountain or swimming pool in your backyard, don’t be surprised if you get some thirsty late-night visitors. Foxes, like most animals, are attracted to safe water sources and keep coming back.

If you have a pond, fountain or swimming pool in your backyard, don’t be surprised if you get some thirsty late-night visitors. Foxes, like most animals, are attracted to safe water sources and keep coming back. They feed other wild animals. If you leave food in your yard for other wildlife, such as birds or hedgehogs, you will most likely be visited by at least one fox as well. Providing a wildlife-friendly environment is commendable, but if you don’t want foxes in your yard, consider changing the way you feed other animals. Use specialized feeding troughs whenever possible and place loose food in spots that are easy to reach when you’re small, like a hedgehog, but difficult to reach when you’re the size of a fox.

If you leave food in your yard for other wildlife, such as birds or hedgehogs, you will most likely be visited by at least one fox as well. Providing a wildlife-friendly environment is commendable, but if you don’t want foxes in your yard, consider changing the way you feed other animals. Use specialized feeding troughs whenever possible and place loose food in spots that are easy to reach when you’re small, like a hedgehog, but difficult to reach when you’re the size of a fox. You feed your cat or dog outside. While the smell of leftover pet food can be off-putting to us, for scavengers like foxes it’s a difficult meal to ignore.

While the smell of leftover pet food can be off-putting to us, for scavengers like foxes it’s a difficult meal to ignore. Your yard is messy, overgrown, has a shed or patio. Foxes are quite shy and prefer to run away and hide at the first sign of danger. Don’t be surprised if foxes call your yard home when it’s overgrown, full of trash, and discarded equipment. Or if you have a patio or shed with empty space underneath.

Foxes are quite shy and prefer to run away and hide at the first sign of danger. Don’t be surprised if foxes call your yard home when it’s overgrown, full of trash, and discarded equipment. Or if you have a patio or shed with empty space underneath. You keep birds or other small animals in your garden. While foxes don’t kill as many animals as you might think, that doesn’t mean they have no interest in these critters at all. If you keep small animals or chickens in your yard and don’t want them eaten, you need to make sure their coops are secure and not made of flimsy materials.

While foxes don’t kill as many animals as you might think, that doesn’t mean they have no interest in these critters at all. If you keep small animals or chickens in your yard and don’t want them eaten, you need to make sure their coops are secure and not made of flimsy materials. They have flower beds or freshly dug soil. The reason foxes love to dig up our gardens may surprise some. Adult foxes love to dig up worms and maggots for a quick and nutritious snack. On the other hand, fox cubs dig just for practice and for the sake of digging.

The reason foxes love to dig up our gardens may surprise some. Adult foxes love to dig up worms and maggots for a quick and nutritious snack. On the other hand, fox cubs dig just for practice and for the sake of digging. They use natural fertilizers that contain bone meal, blood, or fish. As mentioned earlier, foxes don’t need much of a reason to dig up your yard. However, using any of the above fertilizers is a guaranteed way to attract foxes to your yard.

As mentioned earlier, foxes don’t need much of a reason to dig up your yard. However, using any of the above fertilizers is a guaranteed way to attract foxes to your yard. They routinely leave garden tools, rubber boots, shoes, or toys outside overnight. Leaving items like shoes and children’s toys in the garden overnight may save you a few minutes in the evening, but it attracts foxes, especially young ones. Puppies view our discarded garden items as chew toys or the perfect thing to practice hunting, while adult foxes tend to defecate on them to mark their territory. Nobody wants to put on their rubber boots just to step into fox poo and tidy up your yard.

Symptoms of foxes in the garden

If you are unsure whether or not your garden is receiving nocturnal fox visits, these are the signs to look out for:

A pungent, musky smell.

A fox scent in your garden.

droppings in prominent places.

trampled plants.

flower beds dug up.

holes in the lawn.

Chewed shoes or toys.

Half-eaten fruit (if you have fruit trees or shrubs).

Damage to fences, wire mesh, hoses, polythene tunnels.

Garbage was scattered in your garden.

Your garden looks like a freshly plowed field, foxes dig up entire gardens when there are many beetle larvae.

What to do with foxes in the garden

Since foxes are not the violent monsters they are thought to be, the best answer to the question “What to do if you have a fox in your yard?” is to learn to live with the furry visitors. This way you have a front row seat to watching happily playing fox cubs, watching the antics of adult foxes and your garden is kept rodent free.

However, it is understandable that some may not welcome such late-night visitors, especially if there are young children in the home. This isn’t the only reason you should keep foxes out of your yard. Constantly repairing damage and fixing your flower beds or filling holes in your lawn can become frustrating.

If you’re wondering, “How can I keep foxes out of my yard?” follow the advice below to humanely repel foxes.

Block all entrances to your garden. Examine the edges to find where foxes are entering and seal these breaches.

Examine the edges to find where foxes are entering and seal these breaches. Gather any toys, shoes, or other loose items in your yard before night falls.

in your garden before night falls. Cover all water sources.

. Remove or cover leftover pet food.

Block off all access to spaces under your home, decking, shed, or other garden structure.

, decking, shed or other garden structure. Secure pens or cages for small animals kept outdoors.

of all small animals kept outdoors. Remove food sources. Ensure all garbage bags are tied and placed in bins with secure lids. If you feed other animals in your yard, consider buying specialized feeders so others can’t get to the treats inside.

Ensure all garbage bags are tied and placed in bins with secure lids. If you feed other animals in your yard, consider buying specialized feeders so others can’t get to the treats inside. Use plant-based fertilizers instead of fertilizers that contain blood, fish, or bone meal.

rather than those containing blood, fish, or bone meal. Place a paving stone at your pet’s funeral if you have one. That way foxes can’t dig up the corpse.

if you have any. That way foxes can’t dig up the corpse. Leave a radio on in a shed to deter foxes and their young.

to deter foxes and their young. Use commercial repellents, they are not harmful to foxes, your yard or other critters.

If all else fails, there is the option of installing more sophisticated fox repellents around your property. Fox repellent systems of this type must be installed by a professional humane deterrent company.

Also check:

How to attract birds to your garden

fox facts

We have prepared answers to some of the most common questions about keeping foxes in the garden. If you want to welcome these little furry critters into your garden but have concerns, read on.

Should you feed foxes and what should you feed them?

There’s little harm in feeding the foxes in your yard, as long as you do it sensibly. Don’t give them large amounts of food and clean up leftovers. Feeding wild animals in large quantities does not tame them. It just reduces the fear they have of humans. This causes them to approach humans with the expectation of food, which can be disconcerting to those unfamiliar with animals. Make sure you discard uneaten food – if you don’t, you may be attracting less healthy pests like rats.

As for foxes, they are primarily carnivores and tend to eat birds, rodents, small animals, worms, and beetle larvae. However, foxes also have a fondness for fruit and, by adapting to our environment, have evolved the ability to eat almost anything, such as cheese, bread, vegetables, and leftovers. Foxes will eat anything you leave them. Just remember that other animals may get to the food first, so try to avoid onions, garlic, chocolate and other foods that you wouldn’t give a dog.

If foxes have frequented your garden, you may have had the pleasure of spotting a small animal carcass while gardening. Don’t worry – the foxes don’t “send messages”, foxes store food in caches throughout their territory so they have an alternative food source when needed.

However, you should also be familiar with the saying “a fed animal is a dead animal”. When it comes to feeding wild animals, they become dependent on this food source. And if they are placed with humans, it will likely endanger their survival in the future, especially if they meet people who aren’t as friendly to them. If you’re looking to accommodate these furry tenants in your yard, your best bet is to try to recreate natural wildlife conditions.

NEVER attempt to hand feed a fox, although it is unlikely that it will bite you, it is a wild animal and unpredictable. Mark Clark, gardening expert

cat safety

One of the biggest concerns for pet owners is whether their beloved animal companion will be safe while a fox is roaming around. Few people are surprised to learn that foxes will run away from a dog 99% of the time, but many are shocked to learn that foxes will also run away from cats most of the time. If they get into a fight, the fox is more likely to get hurt.

Stop foxes digging up corpses

The death of a pet in the family can be a traumatic experience for everyone involved, but if you bury your pet in the backyard and don’t take proper precautions, you may be faced with a more disturbing image of their unearthed corpse.

Foxes have a very keen sense of smell and no matter how deep you bury your pet, they will do their best to dig them up. It’s uncomfortable but not the fox’s fault as he thinks this is just more food.

If you must bury your pet in the yard, dig a deep grave and place a paving stone on the body to keep burrowing foxes at bay.

destruction of the garden

The damage that foxes and their young can do to a garden is considerable. From digging to trampling plants, their destructive abilities know no bounds. To reduce or stop the damage to your lawn and flower beds, try using a commercial fox repellent in specific areas. Just know that most plant damage is not caused maliciously. Most of the damage comes from the fox cubs happily playing, and it’s quite difficult to get annoyed with small balls of fluff.

Another way adult foxes can destroy your yard is by marking their territory. You may be lucky and only get away with a terrible musky smell, but then again, you may also come across fox droppings. This is a reality that you must live with and learn to deal with if you want your yard to be fox friendly.

Further questions:

We get quite a few questions about foxes, and while we encourage you to leave them in the comments below for our entire community to answer, we’ll feature a few of them here.

What time of day do foxes come out

You may think that foxes are nocturnal animals, and rightly so. They tend to come out mostly at night to find food, rummage through the garden and do their quirky things.

However, when it comes to puppies, you can often see them in the daylight as they come out to play. There is nothing unusual about this behavior – fox cubs have been known to do this even in the wild.

Do foxes like to eat vegetables from your garden?

In general, foxes are omnivores, meaning they can eat virtually anything that is good for their diet. However, they do not dig up plants and vegetables primarily to eat them, but to get at the worms lying underneath. It’s also possible that you used some organic matter and bone meal as a natural fertilizer, and foxes smell that.

There are foxes in my neighbor’s garden. What can I do to prevent them from coming to me?

Unfortunately, there is little that can be done about foxes in the neighboring garden if the neighbor mentioned is not cooperative. They usually burrow under overgrown bushes or under a garden shed, so both of these locations are pretty good spots for your neighbor’s yard’s fox habitat. You can either arrange for a yard clearance if vegetation is also spreading in your yard, or try to kill the maggots and worms in your yard with natural pesticides. The latter discourages foxes from digging up your plants.

So there we have it, your guide to foxes in the garden. These beautiful animals are often portrayed negatively in the media, with only the most extreme and rare cases being mentioned. In reality, they are mostly docile creatures just looking for a safe place to eat, sleep, and raise their young. As long as you take the necessary precautions, you and the foxes can share the garden space and coexist.

If you are uncomfortable with wild animals roaming your yard then we urge you to try the deterrent methods listed here first and if that doesn’t work, consult a professional. Don’t try to shoot foxes as you will likely only hurt them. This leads to slow death from infection. Instead of trying to deal with a fox yourself, call a professional.

Do you need help with foxes in the garden? Enter your zip code to see our rates and availability near you. Enter your zip code. Add a valid zip code, e.g. SE1 2TH If you have any questions about the services we offer please visit our main page or call us anytime on 020 3404 4881. *** Did we miss something? Do you have any tips about foxes in the garden? Let us know in the comments below or yell at us on social media! Icon Credits: Freepik, Smashicons, Twitter, Gregor Kresnar @ Flaticon

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If you want to keep chickens and keep foxes away then dogs could be considered as a deterrent. Maybe foxes are devastating your property and you just want to get rid of them. Regardless of the situation, this guide was written to explain whether dogs keep foxes away and whether dog urine, feces and hair are also a deterrent.

Do dogs keep foxes away?

I have read many forums online about what people are saying about using dogs to keep foxes away. There is a common theme that runs through all of them; not many people have succeeded in using a dog to deter a fox in their garden or yard.

Many comments have mentioned that a dog barking in your home is unlikely to scare off a fox. City foxes are especially brave these days and aren’t really afraid of loud noises, since they’re used to living in close proximity to people.

Other people also said they let dogs roam free in their gardens and yards for much of the day, and even these measures made no difference. The foxes always came back when the dogs went in for the night.

Based on this experience, I would say that dogs do not keep foxes away, and their scent or activity alone is unlikely to scare foxes away.

But what about other things like dog poop, dog urine, and dog hair? Do these foxes keep away?

To find out, I spoke to neighbors of mine who all keep chickens in their backyard and have had fox problems in the past. Over a 3 month period we decided to test the various dog repellents with the following results.

Does dog hair keep foxes away?

The test consisted of wrapping dog hair around the chicken fence. However, we didn’t just use hair from one dog, we used hair from male and female dogs and from various dog breeds owned by friends.

Unfortunately, the dog hair did not keep the foxes away and proved no deterrent.

Does dog urine keep foxes away?

Another tip you might find online is how dog urine deters foxes. This was hard to test as you can’t really get dog pee unless you’re really fast!

We’ve heard that male dog urine works best, from an unneutered dog.

We did it by tying my dog ​​and my neighbor’s dog to the back fence, giving them a large bowl of water and leaving them in the shade for a couple of hours. They will then inevitably urinate near the fox’s entrance.

As with dog hair, dog urine did not keep the foxes away, as they came in under the fence the same night the urine was.

Handy tip: Foxes have been known to attack small dogs, and here are some press reports of recent cases.

Does dog poop keep foxes away?

The last test was easy enough; We put dog poo around the chicken fence overnight to see if the foxes would be scared. As you might have guessed, that night we saw foxes roaming outside the chicken coop, unaware of the dog poo.

In summary, dog poop does not keep foxes away and is not a form of deterrent at all.

Handy tip: Do you have a dog that likes to eat fox droppings? If yes, please try to stop it because it might make you sick as you can learn here.

What dogs keep foxes away?

The only way dogs keep a fox away is if the dog is physically in the yard at the time the fox tries to invade the yard. Most dogs will chase after the fox and the fox will quickly run away as they are afraid of confrontation.

But of course, keeping your dog free in your yard 24 hours a day is completely impractical for most people, so you need an alternative deterrent that works.

And you can see them below.

Alternative fox repellents that work

The best repellent isn’t really a repellent at all, it just means you better secure your chicken coop. If you’re still having trouble, the following recommendation may help:

Animal defense with ultrasound

This little machine is easy to set up and works by emitting flashing lights and sounds that we can’t hear but are irritable to foxes and other pests. You can buy this on Amazon.

There’s a solar panel on it, meaning you can leave it outside to charge yourself. It has a range of 9 meters and an angle sensor that allows a long range.

As well as deterring foxes, it is said to work on other pests you want to get rid of like rats, moles, squirrels and coyotes.

Remove all food sources

Another reason foxes will visit your property is when they have a readily available food source. To prevent this, keep your dog’s food out of your garden or yard as it will attract hungry foxes. Some people even leave dog food for foxes to eat. Don’t do this if you want them to leave your yard alone.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, dogs don’t have a great track record of keeping foxes away unless they spot them at the moment and chase them away. Simply smelling a dog doesn’t seem like a deterrent, so you need to take other measures to rid your property of the fox problem.

You May Also Like …

I blog regularly about dogs and their relationships with other animals, here is a selection of the most relevant to your search:

Foxes are omnivores, hunting very small animals and foraging in cities and towns where freely available pet food and garbage can make life easier. It is not uncommon for a fox to be out during the day. Foxes are afraid of humans and will usually run away when they notice your presence, but they may visit your yard or neighborhood. A fox clipping through your yard is likely only passing between hunting grounds and you don’t have to do anything. It’s usually best to leave foxes alone.

Should I be concerned if I see a fox?

If a fox doesn’t seem afraid of you, it’s likely that it has learned to associate people with food (probably because someone fed them) and may be showing boldness or even approaching you. These foxes are easily scared off by making loud noises like yelling or whistling, dousing them with water houses or water guns, or throwing objects like tennis balls at them.

Read more hazing tips

What should I do if there is a fox under my porch, deck or shed?

Both red and gray foxes dig dens primarily for raising cubs, but also as protection from harsh winter weather.

Caves under porches, decks, or sheds are not uncommon in urban areas. If you find a fox family in an inconvenient location, consider allowing them to stay until the cubs are old enough to join their parents in foraging. At this point, they’re almost ready to say goodbye to the site and move on forever.

Fox cubs are born in the spring, usually March or April, and you will see them emerge from the den four or five weeks after birth. At nine weeks they begin to hunt with their parents; At this point, it’s safe to encourage them to leave.

How do I get rid of a fox or fox den in my yard?

If you need a family of foxes to move on sooner rather than later, mild harassment (to scare them away) can encourage an earlier move. Here are a few humane ways to harass once the kits show up:

Pack loose leaves, soil, or mulch into burrow openings to disturb residents.

Place urine-soaked kitty litter, a sweat-soaked t-shirt, a pair of smelly sweat socks, or old sneakers in or near the burrow opening.

Attach shiny party balloons or 12-18 inch Irri tape to sticks or poles a few feet off the ground just in front of the cave entrance.

Sprinkle paprika-based granular repellent around the cave entrance.

The purpose of these techniques is to make parents uncomfortable with moving the litter to a safer place. Once the cave has been abandoned, make sure all kits are removed from the cave before a permanent ban is set up.

If the den is under a porch, deck, or shed, it remains an attractive den area, not just for foxes. Foxes are excellent diggers, so the best defense is to bury an L-shaped foot of hardware cloth around the perimeter of the area you want to exclude.

scare devices and repellents

If you wish to discourage future hunting activity in certain areas where foxes are not welcome, try one or more of these humane but effective approaches:

Use noise-producing devices such as transistor radios or motion-sensitive alarms.

Install a motion activated sprinkler.

Use a loud voice or bang on a pot or pan.

Use products sold at garden and hardware stores to repel pet dogs from gardens and yards as they have a similar effect on a passing fox.

fencing

Because foxes and other predators can burrow under fences, consider burying an L-shaped foot around the outer perimeter of an enclosure for animals left unattended. Electric fences can be useful in combination with other fixed fencing. Place a single-leg electric fence about 10 cm off the ground about 30 cm in front of a chain link fence or similar fence. Always check local ordinances when considering electric fencing.

Are foxes dangerous? Do foxes attack humans?

Foxes are not dangerous and will not attack humans unless rabid, which is very rare, or when caught and treated. Even then, a fox’s natural tendency is to flee rather than fight.

Can I get rabies from a fox?

Foxes sometimes succumb to rabies (foxes account for about 7% of cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), but the good news is that the fox strain of the disease has rarely, if ever, been transmitted to a human in the US , and post-exposure treatment is 100% effective if administered immediately. The CDC reports that “approximately 60,000 Americans receive post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) each year to prevent rabies infection after being bitten or scratched by an infected or suspected infected animal.”

Rabies is transmitted through direct contact with an infected animal, such as through a bite or scratch. Getting your pets vaccinated against rabies is the most important thing you can do to protect them, yourself and others from rabies. Of 23 rabies-related deaths reported to the CDC between 2009 and 2018, none of the rabies contacts were attributed to foxes and eight to dogs.

Do foxes eat or attack cats, dogs, or other pets?

A typical adult cat is nearly the size of a fox and has a well-deserved reputation for self-defense, so foxes are generally not interested in taking on cats. However, kittens and very small (less than five pounds) adult cats could be prey for a fox. The best way to avoid fox-cat encounters is to keep your cats indoors—a practice that will protect your cats from other dangers like disease and fighting, to name a few.

Most dogs are not at risk from a fox attack unless they have threatened their young, but they should not be left outside unattended for a number of safety reasons, including inclement weather, harassment and napping. Depending on where you live, very small dogs are susceptible to damage from a variety of predators, including foxes, so they should be supervised when outdoors.

Foxes can prey on small pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, or chickens, so such pets should be kept indoors or in sturdy structures. (Pets like rabbits and guinea pigs should also be kept indoors for their health and safety, especially at night.) Poultry should be protected by a sturdy coop and run built to withstand attempts by foxes, raccoons or dogs.

How can I tell if a fox has rabies?

It’s normal for foxes to be out and about during the day, so that’s nothing to worry about. Foxes hunt squirrels, birds, chipmunks, and other animals that are only active during the day, so they may just be looking for a meal. Before you call to report a fox or ask for help, take the time to observe the fox’s behavior and look for these signs:

Partial paralysis or an inability to use their limbs well.

Circling or tumbling drunkenly.

self-mutilation.

Act aggressively for no reason.

Acting unnaturally tame.

If you observe these signs, do not approach the fox – remember that exposure to rabies is primarily through bites or saliva. Contact your local animal welfare, police department, or health authority if you see a fox showing signs of rabies.

How can I tell if a fox has mange?

Mange is an extremely debilitating disease caused by microscopic parasites called Sarcoptes scabiei mites that cause either patchy or complete hair loss.

The disease causes intense irritation of the skin to the point where foxes have been known to chew their own tails to relieve the itch. In advanced stages, infected foxes can often be seen during the day that do not appear to be afraid.

A fox afflicted with mange can be mistaken for a rabid fox due to its sickly appearance and apparent lack of fear. Animals afflicted with mange try to maintain their body temperature and look for warm places to find. Death can result from a variety of causes, including starvation and hypothermia.

Foxes need an intact winter coat to survive the extremes of winter weather, but the mites prefer skin with little hair. As the condition worsens and more hair is lost, the mites eventually take over the animal’s entire body.

Mange is a treatable condition. If you see a fox that you suspect is infected, contact a local wildlife carer.

What should I do if my pet is bitten by a fox?

Take any pet bitten by a wild animal to your veterinarian immediately for an evaluation and an assessment of the need for vaccination. Contact your local animal welfare agency or health department and follow applicable state laws or local ordinances for monitoring your pet at home or at a veterinary clinic.

What should I do if I’ve been bitten by a fox?

Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately. Immediate medical attention will prevent rabies infection. Be sure to report the bite to your local animal welfare, police department, or health authority.

A supporter of the National Wildlife Federation recently housed some foxes in her yard. The burrow is about ten feet from her front door and she worries about her family and pets. So she asked us for advice on what to do.

As our naturalist and author of Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife, I’m usually asked questions like this. Since many of you out there might be in a similar situation, I thought I’d share my answer here.

In general there is nothing to worry about if foxes choose to live in our gardens. I’m assuming that’s a red fox, our most common and widespread species here in North America. Despite being our largest species of fox, they are actually much smaller than they look. The average weight of an adult red fox is only about 15 pounds. They are usually furry and long-legged, and are actually not much larger than a house cat. Their natural diet is diverse and includes mice, voles, squirrels, muskrats, rabbits, birds, reptiles, insects, fruits, and even grasses and other plants. They’re not a threat to pets or humans – as long as we don’t artificially feed them and get them to associate us with food and lose their natural wariness of people.

That said, ten feet from the front door is certainly very close, so I can understand the concern. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s much you can do against the foxes. If you call animal control or a wildlife service, the outcome will most likely be fatal for this family of foxes. At this time of year, female foxes breed and give birth to their young. So the upside is that you’ll likely have some incredible wildlife viewing opportunities in store (and boy are baby foxes cute).

If you’re scared of close encounters, I have one piece of advice: when you go through the front door, announce yourself loudly to warn the foxes that you’re coming out. Say something like “Hello fox, I’m coming!”. will let them know you’re there, and they’ll likely scoot into their den or hide in nearby foliage. If they approach you out of curiosity, clap and yell to scare them away. They want to teach them that humans are dangerous and avoid us.

Keep pets on a leash to avoid encounters. Keeping outdoor pets under our control is always our advice to avoid conflict with wildlife. More often than not, it’s our pets that have the worst impact on wildlife and not the other way around. Make sure your pets are up to date on their rabies and distemper vaccinations – this is both to protect wildlife populations from diseases our pets can carry and to protect pets from wildlife.

No matter how adorable the new cubs are, NEVER feed the foxes or attempt to approach or pet them – this is vital to their survival. As the saying goes, “A fed mammal is a dead mammal.” When we set out animal feed or kitchen scraps for wild mammals, they alter their natural diet, which can lead to nutritional problems. Worse, they might lose their natural fear of humans and start approaching humans. Wild animals that do this don’t survive long. If you want to help foxes, consider creating a wildlife garden landscape that naturally provides what foxes and other wildlife need to survive. Visit our Garden for Wildlife program website to learn how.

Remember that seeing foxes in urban and suburban areas is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. Seeing them during the day doesn’t mean they are sick. In fact, coexistence with foxes is quite remarkable when you think about it, as most wildlife species decline and disappear as humans develop the land, but red foxes are so adaptable that they’ve figured out how to thrive with their human neighbors. That should be celebrated!

Finally, while it may be uncomfortable, remember that the situation is temporary. The foxes will disperse by the end of summer when the cubs reach late adolescence. At this point, you can contact a professional wildlife service (a quick web search is a good start!) to crawl-proof your home and make sure the foxes or other wildlife don’t try to hide so close to your door again. Good luck and have fun fox watching!

To learn more about creating a natural habitat for foxes and other wildlife in your garden, visit our Garden for Wildlife program website.

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