Foxes, and how to get rid

[thfc2001]

Have had a couple of foxes getting a bit too comfortable in our garden of late - digging up flower baskets, digging a hole under our fence and leaving a full sunflower, roots and all, dug up from next door in our garden and leaving little presents on our doorstep (and also, oddly, a water bottle).

Anyone have any tips on how to get rid off them (humanely)? Sure I have seen similar threads on here in the past..

[Spartacus]

Soak a cloths in jeyes fluid and leave them where the foxes frequent. The smell drives them away 

[curlylocks]

The Fox Project is a fantastic organisation and offer the following advice on their website https://foxproject.org.uk/pages/deterrence

 

I've contacted them via Facebook regarding non urgent fox welfare queries and they've been super responsive and helpful. 

[Hen123]

Get a male member of your household to regularly urinate around the perimeter of your garden. That or get a dog. 

[thfc2001]

Ha cheers - will look into these!

[Sue]

9 hours ago, curlylocks said:

The Fox Project is a fantastic organisation and offer the following advice on their website https://foxproject.org.uk/pages/deterrence

 

I've contacted them via Facebook regarding non urgent fox welfare queries and they've been super responsive and helpful. 

Thank you for this. 

I've got three large holes dug by foxes in a very small garden! I haven't seen any actual foxes or any other sign of them.

I think it's possible they may have been after ground nesting bees, as one of the holes is in a place I had white tailed bees nesting in the past.

I've ordered some Scoot (found it cheapest on eBay with free delivery).

10 hours ago, Spartacus said:

Soak a cloths in jeyes fluid and leave them where the foxes frequent. The smell drives them away 

It would probably drive everyone else away as well, though - I like to sit in my garden!

Edited July 9, 2025 by Sue

[HeadNun]

I had one leaving me a present outside my back door, three nights running. I made a spray of chilli flakes and garlic in water and sprayed it all over the poo sites (after cleaning them up!) and there was no repeat offending. It may be a coincidence...

[TWB Cat Sitter]

As wonderful as The Fox Project is, contacting them should be limited to emergency cases only. Specially at the moment, as they need all the help they can get to support foxes sustaining life-threatening injuries.

Contact Fox-A-Gon for non-lethal fox control: https://fox-a-gon.co.uk/

Edited July 9, 2025 by TWB Cat Sitter

[Sue]

Foxangels

4 hours ago, TWB Cat Sitter said:

As wonderful as The Fox Project is, contacting them should be limited to emergency cases only. Specially at the moment, as they need all the help they can get to support foxes sustaining life-threatening injuries.

Contact Fox-A-Gon for non-lethal fox control: https://fox-a-gon.co.uk/

Fox Angels will help if you find an injured fox or need help to remove a fox from your house.

https://www.foxangelsfoundation.org/

They have locally (to ED) based volunteers and in my experience are very quick to respond if you message them via  their Facebook page.

I sadly had a dying fox in my garden one year, and no other organisation I tried could help. Fox Angels took him to a vet (sadly he couldn't be saved) 

Edited July 9, 2025 by Sue

[TWB Cat Sitter]

Respectfully, the Fox Angels Foundation need all the volunteers they have to tend to emergency call-outs, & should not be used as a fox deterrent service unless the fox is in danger. Forward all fox deterrent concerns to Fox-A-Gon so not to overwhelm these rescues. 

[Sue]

22 minutes ago, TWB Cat Sitter said:

Respectfully, the Fox Angels Foundation need all the volunteers they have to tend to emergency call-outs, & should not be used as a fox deterrent service unless the fox is in danger. Forward all fox deterrent concerns to Fox-A-Gon so not to overwhelm these rescues. 

I wasn't suggesting they should be used as a fox deterrent service!

I thought I had explained that in my post.

I posted information about them and what they do because you had posted about The Fox Project!

Edited July 9, 2025 by Sue

[PickledPorcupine]

I have a laser pen that i shine at them when they start screaming outside in the middle of the night, that tends to make them scarper. 

[Spartacus]

12 minutes ago, PickledPorcupine said:

I have a laser pen that i shine at them when they start screaming outside in the middle of the night, that tends to make them scarper. 

They properly think " its that weirdo who gives us stage lighting whilst we ae mating, again'" 😅

[Forest Hill Climber]

This thread started about how to deal with pests that cause a lot of damage and leave unpleasant offerings, but has morphed into concerns about welfare for the pests.  I think it's time that local authorities gave us help with foxes and squirrels:  it's especially difficult trying to grow fruit and veg when these animals cause so much destruction.

[Sue]

5 minutes ago, Forest Hill Climber said:

This thread started about how to deal with pests that cause a lot of damage and leave unpleasant offerings, but has morphed into concerns about welfare for the pests.  I think it's time that local authorities gave us help with foxes and squirrels:  it's especially difficult trying to grow fruit and veg when these animals cause so much destruction.

Please don't call them "pests".

They are animals who have as much right to be here as we do.

Which doesn't mean we can't use humane ways to keep them off our crops, like fruit cages and netting.

[genwilliams]

33 minutes ago, Sue said:

Please don't call them "pests".

They are animals who have as much right to be here as we do.

Which doesn't mean we can't use humane ways to keep them off our crops, like fruit cages and netting.

And we humans bear a lot of responsibility for creating the conditions that brought foxes into urban settings.

I certainly don't regard them as pests - they are noisy little criminals, but I'm very fond of them (we have huge numbers of them in my area - I rescued a lost baby fox earlier this year).

However, there are pest control companies that use humane methods to deter them and redirect them to different territories (a friend of mine works for one, but sadly for OP, I don't think this is in their catchment area).

[Bumpkin]

You can buy devices for fixed that spray water when a remote sensor is triggered.  Next door use successfully - we used to have but I was the one that mostly got wet and I now enjoy our foxes - agree we should protect our precious wildlife.  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Sue said:

Please don't call them "pests".

They are animals who have as much right to be here as we do.

Which doesn't mean we can't use humane ways to keep them off our crops, like fruit cages and netting.

What else do you call them.They crap everywhere it is unpleasant clearing up after them, so I do call them a pest

[Sue]

Just now, jazzer said:

What else do you call them.They crap everywhere it is unpleasant clearing up after them, so I do call them a pest

They don't "crap everywhere".

Do you call dogs (or their owners)  "pests" as well?

I see more dog mess on the streets round here than anything produced by foxes.

[Guest]

When I have to clear the crap up on the lawn, its disgusting, so yes they are a damn nuisance and pest.

Idiotic people feed them because they feel sorry for them. They can come and clear up the fox crap and see why they are bests. They need culling. 

You probably enjoy seeing them, I don't enjoy clearing up their mess, the digging of holes in flower beds, the ripping apart of a tree stump,that's why I see them as a pest and nuisance. 

[TWB Cat Sitter]

I understand that dealing with mess in your garden is frustrating, but calling for culling & branding those who care as "idiotic" isn't just unhelpful, it's dangerously reductive.

Urban foxes exist because we've steadily removed their natural habitat. They adapt, survive & yes sometimes that means scavenging in places we'd rather they didn't. But labeling them a "pest" overlooks the bigger picture, which is that they are part of our urban ecosystem & play a vital role in controlling rodent population.

As someone above so accurately pointed out, dogs leave more waste on footpaths. A fox is a canine, just like dogs. So are you calling for the culling of pets too?

Edited July 10, 2025 by TWB Cat Sitter

[Sue]

1 hour ago, jazzer said:

When I have to clear the crap up on the lawn, its disgusting, so yes they are a damn nuisance and pest.

Idiotic people feed them because they feel sorry for them. They can come and clear up the fox crap and see why they are bests. They need culling. 

You probably enjoy seeing them, I don't enjoy clearing up their mess, the digging of holes in flower beds, the ripping apart of a tree stump,that's why I see them as a pest and nuisance. 

Well why don't you read the posts on this thread suggesting humane ways of deterring them from your garden, and do something constructive about it, instead of moaning?

As for culling - how do you think that should be done, exactly? 

And yes, as said above, they control rodents. Would you rather be overrun by rats?

Edited July 10, 2025 by Sue

[Guest]

I did read the comments above

It's not moaning, it's stating facts.

Tell you what,  you can come and clear up the near daily fox crap and see how you like dealing with it, no didn't think that would appeal to you. 

Do they control rodents? 

Foxes are vermin. 

It's an emotive topic for some, I realise that, however the facts are foxes are a pest.

Edited July 10, 2025 by jazzer

[Jenijenjen]

3 hours ago, Bumpkin said:

You can buy devices for fixed that spray water when a remote sensor is triggered.  Next door use successfully - we used to have but I was the one that mostly got wet and I now enjoy our foxes - agree we should protect our precious wildlife.  

I know an instance where the foxes quickly learned how to avoid such devices. 

[TWB Cat Sitter]

36 minutes ago, jazzer said:

I did read the comments above

It's not moaning, it's stating facts.

Tell you what,  you can come and clear up the near daily fox crap and see how you like dealing with it, no didn't think that would appeal to you. 

Do they control rodents? 

Foxes are vermin. 

It's an emotive topic for some, I realise that, however the facts are foxes are a pest.

You keep insisting that you're "just stating facts", but so far, most of what you've shared isn't fact - it's just your personal opinion, framed with hostility. 

Foxes aren't classified as "vermin" in the UK. They're wild animals protected under the Animal Welfare Act & the Wildlife & Countryside Act . & Yes, they do play a vital role in controlling rodent population.

The more you double down on insults & misinformation, the more you discredit your own argument. It's possible to be fed up & still informed. Take the information provided to you & do something about it.

BTW culling doesn't even work.