Foxes

Urban Foxes

The council receives a large number of enquiries regarding animals that we do not normally provide treatment.

One of the most common of these pests is Foxes.

Why are foxes here?

Foxes have adapted well to life in towns over the last 50 years or so. They prosper because they find plentiful food and shelter in our gardens, yards and other open spaces. Their diet is varied and will include insects and grubs, slugs, worms, small rodents, and indeed anything that they can raid from our rubbish.

Are they a nuisance?

There is no doubt that foxes can cause considerable nuisance. They can damage lawns and gardens when digging for worms, they scent mark their territories with strong smelling droppings and urine, and at certain times of the year their mating calls can be very loud and distressing. They can also open rubbish bags spilling the contents.

However, many people positively enjoy the experience of encountering the urban fox even to the extent of encouraging them to gardens by deliberately feeding them.

Do they carry disease?

Yes. Foxes can carry toxocara which is a disease organism that can also be carried by domestic dogs and cats. They might also carry fleas and internal parasites such as worms. However, there is little evidence that these can be passed on to Humans or their pets.

Can they be controlled?

Controlling urban foxes is difficult, expensive and never successful. In the past, a number of local authorities tried this, particularly in London but most have now given up any form of fox control. The problem is that foxes have been in urban areas for so long that they have reached a state of equilibrium and regulate the size of their own population.

A large proportion of the foxes do not breed each year and litter sizes (average just under five) are comparatively small. The moment you increase the mortality rate, the foxes compensate by increasing the number of vixens that breed. So you do not reduce the number of foxes in the area. What you do achieve, however, is a disruption of the fox population, so that new foxes move in to try to take over the territory of the animal that has been killed. Invariably more than one fox moves in; there are fights over the territory and hence more noise and fouling of gardens. This is because calling and scent marking with both urine and faeces are used to lay claim to a territory. On top of this, having more itinerant foxes in an area is likely to lead to more killing of pets and more general nuisance.

Not only is urban fox control unlikely to achieve anything, it is both difficult and very expensive. Shooting is obviously not acceptable in urban areas, as is snaring and so only live trapping is left. The fox's reputation for cunning is well earned; it is very difficult to get one to walk into a cage trap, even if there is a really tasty delicacy inside. Catching the first fox may take three weeks or longer. However, foxes live in family groups, with an average size of about three adults and four or five cubs. Catching the second fox is harder still and it is virtually impossible to catch them all. Long before you get near this goal, new foxes are moving in to colonise the vacant niche. So at best, only a very temporary reduction in the number of foxes is achieved for a considerable expenditure of time and effort.

What can I do?

1. Deny them an easy food source: -
   • Keep your rubbish in bins until the day of collection wherever practical. Make sure your bins have lids on. You may need to secure the lids with bungy straps.
   • Do not put out large amounts of bird food. Use special bird feeders rather than putting food on the floor.
   • Do not feed your dogs and cats out of doors.
   • Do not use bone meal fertilisers in the garden.
2. Deny them territory: -

   Repellents such as Scoot, Get off my Garden, and others can be obtained from good garden centres or DIY/hardware stores. As with any chemical – please follow the instructions for safe use. Use repellents where foxes: -

   • Foul repeatedly (remove the fouling first)
   • Enter your garden (usually over or under fences)
   • Have the entrances to earths (burrows in the ground where foxes live)
   • Might be seen resting or foraging for food.

   When using chemical repellents you are effectively “scent-marking” your territory much as a fox does and competing with it to win back your garden. You will need to be persistent in removing a fox’s droppings and using chemical repellents in order to succeed.

3. Pets

   It is unlikely that a fox will attack a dog or a cat. However, if you keep small animals or birds in your garden then you will need to protect them. Ensure that their cages are stoutly built of strong materials and kept in good repair.