Foxes visiting the garden

[E&MBees]

Looking for suggestions on fox deterrents. One is visiting the garden nightly and disturbing the peace! Our dog goes ballistic. I’ve been removing the bird feeders etc. A search on the internet suggests anti fox sprays. Do these work? Any other ideas welcome. Thanks.

 

[user 20297]

I know it sounds gross and a bit dubious, but my partner encourages me to wee behind the chicken-shed whenever I'm working outside; I identify as male and that part is apparently the important part. She read online that this is a deterrent. When we are aware that foxes are definitely around, I get bossed about and told to distribute the stuff liberally at the base of all the trees which surround out garden. Fortunately, we have no near neighbours, but I've had a few near embarrassing calls with the postman.

 

[Brian Bush]

A shotgun also works!!!

 

[Antipodes]

We don't have foxes, unlike the mainland, partly due to one of the world's largest invasive pest eradication programmes ever attempted, but electric fences are excellent for many pests. See this for foxes....would be expensive.

https://pestsmart.org.au/toolkit-resource/fencing-for-fox-control/

 

[ldwgs]

Looking for suggestions on fox deterrents. One is visiting the garden nightly and disturbing the peace! Our dog goes ballistic. I’ve been removing the bird feeders etc. A search on the internet suggests anti fox sprays. Do these work? Any other ideas welcome. Thanks.

apparently lion poo works

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

apparently lion poo works

But getting a permit to keep a lion in the garden nowadays is a right PITA

 

[Murox]

I think urban foxes will be to accustomed to human scent for urine to be a deterrent. Something physically spiky placed where they enter/leave might help as long as its not nice to stand on. I've had a problem with Martins in the past and 'jerry rigged' a PIR sensor to trigger strategically placed lights and simultaneously a couple of water jets that sprayed in a semicircle – it worked - well maybe, the martin(s) stopped coming after a couple of weeks.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Looking for suggestions on fox deterrents. One is visiting the garden nightly and disturbing the peace! Our dog goes ballistic. I’ve been removing the bird feeders etc. A search on the internet suggests anti fox sprays. Do these work? Any other ideas welcome. Thanks.

p
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/foxes-moles-and-mink-how-to-protect-your-property-from-damage

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

When I worked on the boats we had a serious fox problem in the area (RSPCA dumping 'rescued' urban foxes on the mountain)it was so bad that, not just being fed up with dozens of foxes using our lawn as a thoroughfare, bin night came to resemble a bad night in Beirut.
I convinced SWMBO to leave the landing light on every evening when I was away, It bathed the whole back garden in a dim light which didn't deter the foxes, they just quickly got used to it. It did however mean, that when I got home I could sit quietly downstairs in the dining room with a silenced rifle resting on the windowsill, the problem soon went away.

 

[pargyle]

Looking for suggestions on fox deterrents. One is visiting the garden nightly and disturbing the peace! Our dog goes ballistic. I’ve been removing the bird feeders etc. A search on the internet suggests anti fox sprays. Do these work? Any other ideas welcome. Thanks.

Sadly, virtually nothing will deter an urban fox... they are so adapted to the human environment and the knowledge is passed on from parent to cub that the choice is to live with them or kill them - and killing really means a professional trapping and humanely killing them unless you have the size garden where you can legitimately discharge a firearm.

We have several foxes that visit our garden every night - one actually has an earth under the concrete floor of my workshop ! A dog can smell them through the doors and windows and our last labrador used to react as soon as he got the scent - we think he particularly disliked a dog fox that came through the garden every night between about midnight and 2.00am - the fox that lives in our garden is a female and he never bothered with her at all - indeed, we've seen her in the garden at the same time as our dog and he didn't even notice her. Dog fox scent marking is much stonger than the female.

If you are not prepared to have the foxes eradicated then the better option is to desensitise the dog ...

Foxes are pretty habitual, they tend to stick to the same routes at around the same time each night or certainly within an hour's slot - once you have determined the time when the fox is likely to disturb the dog you need to be prepared with treats and the second you see the dog reacting be ready to stop the behaviour, demonstrate positively that you are in control of the situation and then reward the dog for not reacting to the fox scent. It will take a while to get the situation under control as the dog is only doing what it thinks its job is - protecting his property from the fox. It took us the better part of three weeks of every night being ready at 1.00am but it worked. He still reacted occasionally but generally it was only a bark or two to alert us whereas, previously, he would try to tear the back door down trying to get out !

If you can shield the dog from picking up the scent it may assist but ... even with two doors closed and all the windows shut our's could smell the fox. Good luck - it's not an easy problem to solve and the proliferation of urban foxes, well adapted to the lifestyle is partly because we are building on their historic territories, they have been driven out of the country side and there are virtually no predator species apart from cars and people - we have only ourselves to blame. People leave rubbish, takeaway cartons and things that are attractive to foxes about, don't foxproof their bins and then complain when the foxes take advantage of our laziness.

 

[E&MBees]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. Heidi is only a mini schnauzer, but my goodness at 2am when the fox travels through the garden she makes enough noise to wake the dead!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. Heidi is only a mini schnauzer, but my goodness at 2am when the fox travels through the garden she makes enough noise to wake the dead!

Take her upstairs with you at bedtime.

 

[E&MBees]

Take her upstairs with you at bedtime.

Not sure hubby would be too happy having her upstairs. I had to persuade him that getting a dog was a good idea!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not sure hubby would be too happy having her upstairs. I had to persuade him that getting a dog was a good idea!

Depends what else she might bark at I suppose

 

[Hachi]

40g subsonic hollow point.

You could trap it or ask someone to trap it

 

[user 819]

Removing a fox will only lead to it being replaced by another which will move in to the territory. I have railway at the end of the garden and every year there is a vixen and her cubs play and visit most nights from late May or June onwards, yelps and chattering a plenty caught on my wildlife camera.

 

[BeeJam]

I identify as male and that part is apparently the important part.

Are foxes able to tell the difference between cis men and transmen?

 

[Ystranc]

I know it sounds gross and a bit dubious, but my partner encourages me to wee behind the chicken-shed whenever I'm working outside; I identify as male and that part is apparently the important part. She read online that this is a deterrent. When we are aware that foxes are definitely around, I get bossed about and told to distribute the stuff liberally at the base of all the trees which surround out garden. Fortunately, we have no near neighbours, but I've had a few near embarrassing calls with the postman.

Even country foxes are difficult to deter once they've found food on your land but at this time of year trap and release or shooting of vixens would be inhumane as there are almost certainly dependant cubs somewhere near by.
While I have absolutely zero sympathy for foxes ( I also keep hens as well as bees ) I would say that any action you take should not cause unnecessary suffering.

 

[user 20297]

I would say that any action you take should not cause unnecessary suffering.

I agree. Some years ago, whilst walking in some remote woods (Scotland), we came across a fox which had been intentionally trapped by the leg. It was a hopelessly sad sight, with the fox running in restricted circles and clearly in a lot of pain and distress. We reported the estate to the SSPCA, but before we had smartphones it was hard to pinpoint the location. It's probably just co-incidence, but by using the wee-wee method we don't get foxes doing damage any more and never see bears or crocodiles, for that matter.

 

[Brian Bush]

When I worked on the boats we had a serious fox problem in the area (RSPCA dumping 'rescued' urban foxes on the mountain)it was so bad that, not just being fed up with dozens of foxes using our lawn as a thoroughfare, bin night came to resemble a bad night in Beirut.
I convinced SWMBO to leave the landing light on every evening when I was away, It bathed the whole back garden in a dim light which didn't deter the foxes, they just quickly got used to it. It did however mean, that when I got home I could sit quietly downstairs in the dining room with a silenced rifle resting on the windowsill, the problem soon went away.

I believe it is illegal to move foxes in the K. Like grey squirrels they are vermin. The laws apply equally to the RSPCA and animal rescue places. Tiggywinkles the wildlife hospital in out village have been quietly warned about releasing foxes.