To many people Foxes, especially the cubs, are cute and adorable creatures. To the gardener however, nothing could be further than the truth!
My wife and I moved from the countryside to the city just last year, and found out from personal experience that having foxes around the garden is NOT a good thing – especially if you are trying to grow vegetables.
Oddly enough, they were never a problem when we stayed in the country as the farmers successfully kept them in check.
City dwellers however seem to encourage them with regular feeding, and creating areas where they are safe and cosy!
The Problem With Foxes
So what is the problem with Foxes you may ask? Well here is a list I have from personal experience…
- Foxes have no care about where they poop – and they poop a LOT – and it stinks to high heaven!
- My first season of planting early potatoes was a disaster. The Foxes dug them up just about every night.
- Any new area that I worked on, the fox would make a point of pooping on it! No matter if it was a large area, or an area for a single plant – along would come Mr fox and give it the treatment!
- Since moving into our new home I built a new shed. Every night the Fox would come along and poop on the timber I had at hand to build the shed. This continued every night until I had the shed built at last.
- The noise they make at night – especially over the mating season – took us entirely by surprise. It is quite indescribable and varied. I spent many nights running out in my pj’s to throw a brick at them! Our elderly neighbour had the police out several times convinced that teenagers were screaming and larking around in her back yard.
Ok, so I could go on – but I probably don’t need to as the chances are you were searching for this very subject and discovered this article on how to deter Foxes.
So I’d better get to the point…
First of all I have to admit that this is not easy! Foxes are very determined and resourceful creatures, especially if there is food to be had.
This is why the title is how to ‘deter’ foxes and not ‘stop’ them as stopping them completely is almost impossible especially in an urban environment with lots of possible ways for them to enter your garden area.
There are however several things known to attract Foxes, that it pays to be conscious off when planning your Fox-free garden.
Things that attract Foxes to the garden
Number 1 culprit is FOOD. Foxes are always on the hunt for food – and they will eat almost anything. If it’s organic in nature, then a fox will have a go at it.
- Bird feeders come high in the list. Not only for foxes but for many other creatures such as rats & mice, squirrels, racoons and even bears! Every omnivore loves a bird feeding station it seems.
- Water bowls kept for pets, birds, hedgehogs & other wildlife will also attract the Fox especially in hot dry seasons where water is limited.
- Keeping chickens is great for fresh eggs, but Foxes love a bit of fresh chicken – and eggs. So they will ALWAYS be strongly attracted to a chicken run on the hope that they can grab a fresh meal.
- General gardening work also attracts Foxes as not only are they curious creatures, but they are also omnivores that will gladly eat up any small creatures you disturb whilst gardening.
So now we know what attracts the Foxes to begin with, steps can be taken to either remove the attractants or at least be aware of the problems they can create.
Deterring Foxes from the garden.
Quite apart from the advice above, to limit or be aware of the things that attract the Fox, there are a number of steps that can be taken to limit their activity (or interest) in your garden.
Repellent smells. Foxes have very sensitive noses – as you may imagine. However you can take advantage of this sensitivity by spraying areas around your yard with a variety of strong scents that they dislike intensely!
Top of the list here is white vinegar. Add a couple of spoons to a hand-spray container filled with water and spray where they are most active.
Use the same method with a concoction of hot chilli powder or garlic for good results.
Mens urine! Yes, gross as it sounds the urine from a man will tell the fox that a male predator is claiming this area for their own, so they had better stay clear – yes men do have some uses 😊
Speaking off water…Water sprayers set on a motion detector to switch on when they sense motion nearby are also a good deterrent – works on cats as well.
Keep in mind that with all these water-based solutions, when it rains they will be washed away or diluted and so will have to be replenished regularly.
Ultra-sonic deterrents emit a high-pitched sound that only animals like foxes, cats, squirrels dogs etc can hear. Place these near any perceived point of entry to deter the fox – not so good if you have a cat or dog though!
Motion-activated outdoor lights can sometimes work, but in my own experience the foxes soon get used to them and ignore them altogether.
Finally – what has worked best for me!
I am fortunate enough that I have a distinct boundary around my garden area, that I have gone to some lengths to make difficult for foxes to breach – but NOT impossible if they really want in.
First of all, put yourself into the mindset of the fox. To enter your garden it has some obstacle to overcome, that may possibly harm it or cause it some discomfort.
The Fox looks at the obstacle and asks itself one question “Is the lemon worth the squeeze!”
In other words, what does it have to gain if it gains entry – and at what cost. (Yes, they are that smart!).
With that in mind I have made sure that I have a 6 foot fence around most of the garden to the rear. To the front where I have a very small wall with young beech hedge.
I have added a small fence only about a foot higher than the wall, but with spikey bits poking up every 3 inches according to the 3 inch mesh I put up. (look closely at the image to see this).
Does it work? You better believe it, it works amazingly well as the fox has a very awkward jump from the wall over the spiky mesh.
As for the short fence on the wall – I’ve witnessed for myself the foxes walking along the wall but not daring the jump over the small fence – crazy I know, but it works to what the heck!
So what about the 6 foot fence, surely they can get over that if they tried? Yes indeed they can – unless you put these spiky plastic deterrents
along the top of the fence as you might see in the image.
The plastic spike will not damage the fox, but it is painful enough to discourage a second attempt! (it also works against cats and birds)
Bottom line is that although these other fox deterrents might work for a short time, I personally have found that the fencing idea. Along with just removing anything that makes it easy for them to gain access or even escape from the garden, works better than anything else.
How effective? I can say with confidence that since employing the fencing methods described I have all but eliminated fox activity from the garden.
No more poop on the shoes – and no more plants dug up.
Happy days!
