Hi,
I wonder if anyone can help with a fox problem?
It seems we have a visiting fox to our garden and it seems to be coming in over our garden fence which is 6ft tall! Now I thought foxes burrowed under fences, but my other half has seen this fox jumping from our garden onto the top of the fence then making off over next door's garden shed. We weren't sure if he/she was just visiting, but this morning I noticed a fox-sized hole in a dense garden bush, and shining a torch into it tonight showed up a hollowed-out area inside the bush - a perfect hiding place for a fox.
The question is, how do I keep it out of my garden?
Ordinarily I would have no problem with it, in fact I would probably look out for it and enjoy its company, however one of my cats has started to be very jumpy and hesitant in going out and has started soiling in the house. The only reason I spotted the hole in the bush was because she sat by the patio door staring at it this morning.
So, as much as I would be happy to have a fox in my garden, I want my cat to be comfortable with going out again therefore foxy must move on. Any ideas on how I encourage it to leave and find another hidey hole?
Thanks!
With love,
Amber
we have 3 cats, and a fox living at the end of the garden. In general foxes avoid cats and will only have a go at cat that's ill.
Foxes know the damage a cat will do to them, so they give them a wide berth.
Myarka.
Yes, foxes are pretty cautious creatures, it shouldn't be too hard to devise a system to scare them away - like a large cardboard cut-out cat with big scary eyes!
I believe people use lion poo as well, foreign cats think there's a massive cat in the garden. Something like that might work for foxes?
Hi both,
Thanks for your replies.
Myarka, I have read that foxes will give cats a wide berth, trouble is my cat doesn't seem to realise that!
KVDP, I thought of the lion poo, but apparently that doesn't work on foxes...and of course I need to find something that deters the fox but doesn't further upset my cat!
Poor thing does love to go into the garden, she rarely goes beyond our garden, and she's quite put out!
With love,
Amber
Your best bet is to work out what the attraction is to your garden. Is it the shelter, or is there a food source such as unsecured bin sacks. It does sound as though the shelter is the attraction, in which case you need to make it less attractive.
First of all, mess up the area inside the bush where you believe the fox has made it's home. You can also put down various scent repellents such as "Get Off" but these usually put off cats and dogs too. Not sure with foxes but many animals dislike citrus smells as they affect their sense of smell on which they depend.
There are sound repellents you can buy but again, these will also deter cats and dogs too, they also cost a lot more than a scent repellent and hopefully you won't need it again.
Any repellent you use will only need to be temporary as the fox will just settle elsewhere if you do enough to put it off. Therefore, you could use something your cat doesn't like on a temporary basis, she's not going out there anyway and it should just deter her from that part of the garden.
Personally, I'd use a spade or other garden tool, scrape around the ground in the hole to make it obvious someone/something else has been there and leave orange and lemon peel in there and see if that works. It's cheap (or free if you use the oranges and lemons) and is worth a go as a first attempt.
Edit: I just thought of something else. I'm no gardner but if you pruned the bush back reducing the cover it gives then this might also put the fox off and the bush would then grow back.
Male Urine !
Hi Amber,
Last year the fox problem just got soo bad in out garden..as so many fox moved in to our area..and they were a real nightmare..the smell, the noise they make, mess they leave behind....list goes on!
So I did take the trouble to look in to this personally...and tried a few things ..despite our local Council not wanting to help at all...
Sadly things work for a short time..but you have to keep with it and ..that's where I failed!!!
Here's a thing that got us a better result than any other method put together..
Get your husband/partner to pee 1st thing the morning on to the very spot where the fox has created his Den...(obviously get him to pee directly or collect and then pour on top later 🙂
The Uria concentration of a male is very strong (esp in the morning after collecting in the bladder during sleep) and works on the same principle as the the Lion's poor...very much a marking of the alpha male dominance of the territory that the fox want to make home!
However strange...DO Keep up with it and ..you'll certainly see result...!!
Good luck...
with warm wishes
Vathani x
Un-married males have higher testosterone levels so their pee might be better.
We have many foxes coming in to our garden, in not so rural Streatham, SW London! We have chickens, so the reason is clear. We had a device called a Foxwatch (google it), which has a motion sensor that triggers a noise that only foxes can hear, thus scaring them away. I personally would say it was a load of rubbish, given I used to watch the foxes stroll up and down in front of it :rolleyes:
It's the noise of the foxes that is the worst, for me. First time I heard it, I thought it was a baby crying or screaming in the night - quite eerie.
I once got up at 2am to go to the loo, looked out the bathroom window, and on top of the chicken coop was my cat... and a fox! But they were sat next to each other, like the best of friends. I still shooed him away as I don't want to tempt fate, but it was quite a sight to behold 🙂