(Not so) fantastic Mr Fox

[dbboy]

How about introducing Mr.Fox to the OMG rat in my garden!! Wold solve one problem but still leaves us with Mr.Fox to deal with.

[karter]

A friend of mine gave me a water cannon, typical this is, foxes are not coming round this way at the moment at the upper west side.

[eucalyptus]

If they're in the street and you can see them, then chuck rocks at them.

[Marie81]

tallulah71 -

They are fearless, I remember a time when I would drive past one and it would sprint off. Recently I drove past one sunbathing on the pavement and it didn't even batter an eyelid, just scratched it's ear and carried on basking in the sun! So sorry to hear that your dogs got into a fight and hurt, I thought surely a dog moving in would scare the foxes off. We put up netting on top of the fence in our garden where they had been climbing in and that helped aswell but obviously that may not work for you. This piece of text below is from the RSPCA website:

How can I deter foxes from using my garden?

Foxes are opportunists, searching for and defending areas with suitable food and shelter. The most humane and long-term solution to discourage foxes from your garden is to remove or prevent access to what attracts them to the area.

Remove access to any potential food supplies:

? Only provide food for wild birds on fox-proof (roofed) bird tables or in feeders.

? Protect fruit and vegetable crops ? use fencing or a frame of netting; using at least 4cm mesh to reduce the risk of other wildlife getting tangled in the netting.

? Clear away windfall fruit.

? Use securely sealed dustbins and composters.

? Keep pet rabbits etc in secure enclosures, and put a roof on any pet or chicken-run. Enclosures should also have a weld-mesh front secured with a good lock that cannot be worked loose. Also clear up any spilt pet food on the ground.

Remove places of shelter

? Cut or clear any areas of long grass or dense vegetation ? dense cover can provide a safe, sheltered location for a fox to lie up undisturbed during the day.

? Keep garage, greenhouse and shed doors closed.

? Prevent access to areas under sheds ? these can provide ideal shelter or a location for digging an earth to raise cubs.

Deter foxes from the garden

? Put up fencing or plant prickly plants around the garden.

? Use a proprietary animal repellent approved for use with foxes.

Repellent products are widely available from garden centres or hardware stores. Take care to read the label and closely follow the instructions, as each product is prepared and approved for use against certain animals in the specified way. It is illegal to use any substance to deter foxes that has not been approved for such use.

[pommie]

dbboy

thats the comment i just made about the foxes will eat the rats!

[tallulah71]

Thanks so much Marie81: that's useful. being an all round animal lover (and encouraging birds etc to my garden) I probably have inadvertantly encouraged foxes myself. AND, if I were'nt a dog owner would have probably done the same as my neighbour....Will take more proactive steps to avoid any hurting of wild/domestic species!!x

[Sue]

(tu)